80 On the road
This message appears if the master key is re
moved from the vehicle with the engine run
n ing.
If the master key is no longer in the ve
hicle, you cannot switch on the ignition after
stopping the engine and you also cannot start
the eng ine again . Moreover, you can not lock
the veh icle from the outside w ith the key.
Shift to P otherwise vehicle can roll away.
Doors do not lock if lever is not in
P.
This message appears for safety reasons
a long w ith a warning signa l. It appears if the
selector lever for the automat ic transm iss ion
is not in the P position when switch ing off the
ignition . Move the selector lever to the P pos i
tion, othe rwise the ve hicle is not secured
against rolling away . You also cannot lock the
vehi cle using the locking bu tton* on the door
han dle or using the remote key.
Convenience key defective! Use ignition lock
This message appears if the eng ine must be
started or stopped using the ignition key and
not the
I STAR T ENGIN E ST OP ! button .
Electromechanical
parking brake
Operation
The electromechanicol parking brake replaces
the hand brake.
F ig. 92 Cente r console: Parking brake
.., Pull on the switch @c:> fig. 92 to apply the
parking brake. The indicator light in the
switch illum inates .
.., Step on the brake peda l or the accele rator
pedal and press the switch at the same time to re
lease the par king brake . The indicator
light in the switch goes out.
Your vehicle is equipped wi th an electrome
chanical parking brake . The parking brake is
designed to prevent the vehicle from rolling
u nintentionally and replaces the hand brake.
In addition to the normal fun ctions of a tradi
tiona l hand b rake, the electromechanical
parking brake provides various convenience
and safety f unctions .
When starting from rest
-The integral start ing assist helps you when
driving by automatica lly re leasing the par k
ing brake
c:> page 81, Starting from rest.
-When starting on inclines, the starting as
sist prevents the vehicle from unintentiona l
ly ro lling back. The braking force of the
parking brake is not released until sufficient
driving force has been built up at the
wheels.
Emergency brake function
An eme rgency b rake ensures that the vehicle
can be slowed down even if the
normal brakes
fail c:>
page 82, Emergency braking .
Indicator lights
- If the parking brake is closed with the igni
tion
switched on the. (USA models) I
• (Canada models) ind icator lights come
on in the instr ument cluster and the switch .
- If the parking brake is closed with the igni
tion
switched off the . (USA models) I
• (Canada models) indicator lights come
on in the instrument cluster and the switch
for about 20 seconds .
A WARNING
-
If a drive range is engaged with the vehicle
stationary and the engine runn ing , you
must in no instance accelerate carelessly.
Otherwise the vehicle will start to move
i mmed iately- risk of an acc ident.
86 Transmi ssion
Transmission
multitronic ®, S tronic ®,
tiptronic
Introduction
Appl ies to vehicles: with multitronic/5 tronic/tiptronic
The automatic transmission is controlled elec
tronically. The transmission ups hifts or down
shifts automatically depending on which drive program is se lected.
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
transmission se lects the most economical
driving mode. It wi ll then change up early and
de lay the downshifts to g ive better f uel econ
omy.
The transmission switches to a sporty mode after a k ick-down or when the dr iver uses a
sporty driv ing style characterized by qu ick ac
celerator peda l movements, heavy accelera
tion, frequent changes in speed and traveling
at the maximum speed .
If desired, the driver can a lso sel ect the gears
manually (tiptronic mode ) q page 86.
Various a utomatic transmissions may be in
stalled, depend ing on the mode l:
multitronic ® transmission
The mult it ron ic® transm ission is a co nti nuous
l y var iable transmission. Power is transferred
using a m ultidisk clutch. In contrast to con
ventiona l automatic transmissions using sh ift
ing operat ions, the transmission ratio in the
continuously variable transm ission is changed
continuously. This optimizes the comfort level
and conserves fuel.
S tronic ® transmission
The 5 tronic ® is a d ual-clutch transmission .
Power is transferred using two clutches that
work independently from one another. They
replace the to rque conve rter used in conven
tional automa tic transm iss ions and allow the
ve hicle to acc elerate without a noticeable in
ter ruption in traction.
tiptronic transmission
In the t ipt ro ni c transm iss ion, powe r is trans
f erred by a torque converter .
Selector lever positions
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/5 tronic/tiptronic
i--...~~-----------..,.-~ -... N
N
N
" :ll
Fig. 96 Display in t he inst ru m ent cluster: selecto r lever
in pos ition P
The selector leve r pos ition engaged appea rs
next to the se lector lever as well as in the in
strument cluster d isp lay.
P -Park
In this se lector lever posi tion the transmis
sio n is mechanica lly loc ked. Engage P o nly
whe n the vehicle is
completely stopped q .&.
in Driving the automatic transmission on
page
89.
To shift i n or out of posit ion P, yo u must first
press and ho ld the bra ke pedal and then press
the re lease b utton in the selector lever hand le
whi le movi ng the selector lever to or from P.
You can shift out of th is position only with the
ignition o n.
R - Reverse
Se lect R on ly when the vehicle is at a full stop
and the engine is running at idle speed q .&. in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page
89.
Befo re you move the se lector lever to R, press
both the release button in the hand le of the
select or lever
and the brake peda l at the same
t ime .
When the ignition is on, the bac kup lights illu
minate when t he selector lever is moved into
R. 1111-
N -Neutral
The transmission is in neutra l in this position .
Shift to this posit ion for standing with the
brakes applied
~ &. in Driving the automatic
transmission on page 89.
When the veh icle is stationary or at speeds
below 1 mph (2 km/h) , you must always apply
the footbrake before and while moving the lever out of N.
DIS -Normal position for driving forward
In the D/S position, the transmission can be
operated e ither in the normal mode Dor in
the sport mode S . To select the sport mode S,
pu ll the se lector lever back briefly. Pulling the
lever back again will select the normal mode
D. The instrument cluster display shows the
selected driving mode .
In the
normal mode D, the transmission auto
matica lly 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 .
The vehicle makes full use of the engine's
power . Shifting may become noticeable when
accelerating.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds be low 1 mph (2 km/h), you must always apply
the foot brake before and while moving the lever to D/S out of N .
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS 9 &. in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 89.
(D Note
Coasting downhill with the transmission in
N and the engine not running will result in
damage to the automatic transmission
and possibly the catalytic converter .
(D Tips
-On vehicles with drive select*, you can
adjust the sporty shift characteristics in
the
Dynamic driving mode .Swill appear
Transmission 87
in the instrument cluster display instead
ofD.
- If you accidentally select N whi le 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
this happens
9 page 92.
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL)
Applies to vehicles: with multitro nic/S tronic/t iptronic
The Automatic Shift Lock safeguards you
against accidentally shifting into a forward or the reverse gear and causing the vehicle to
move unintentionally.
Fig. 97 Shift gate: selecto r lever lock posit ions and re
lease b utto n 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 re lease button on the
side of the gear selector knob
9 fig . 97 with
your thumb until you have moved the selec
tor 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
minder to the driver, the following warning
appears in the instrument cluster display
when the selector is in P and N:
When stationary apply brake pedal while se-
lecting gear .,,_
88 Transmi ssion
The Automatic Shift Lock only functions when
the vehicle is stationary or at speeds below
1 mph (2 km/h).
A t 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 se lector
l ever from locking when it is moved through
the N position (going from R to D/S). The lock
ing e lement will lock the selector lever if the
l ever is left in N (Neutral) for more than ap
prox imately 2 seconds, w ithout the brake ped
a l being pressed.
Relea se button
The release button on the selector lever pre
vents the lever from being accidenta lly shifted
into certain positions. Depending on the direc
tion of the shift, the selector lever locks at d if
ferent positions. The positions are h ighlighted
i n the illustration
c> fig. 97.
Ignition key safety int erlock
The key cannot be removed from the ignition
un less the se lector lever is in the P park posi
tion. When the ign ition key is removed, the
selector lever will be locked in the P pos ition.
Driving the automatic transmission
App lies to vehicles: with m ultitron ic/S tronic/t iptronic
Fig. 98 Shift gate on the center conso le: selector lever
with release button
Starting the engine
,. The selector lever must be in P or N.
St arting off
,. Press and ho ld the brake pedal. ,.
Press and hold the re lease button in these
lector lever hand le, select the desired selec
tor lever posit ion such as D/S and release
the button.
,. Wait briefly unt il the transmission has shift
ed (you w ill fee l a slight movement).
,. Remove your foot from the brake pedal and
accelerate .
Stopping temporarily
,. Keep the veh icle stationary using the brak
ing pedal, for example at traffic lights.
,. Do not press the accelerator peda l when do
ing this .
,. To prevent the veh icle from rolling when
you sta rt d riving, se t the park ing brake
when stopp ing on s teep inclines
c> ,&. .
,. The parking bra ke will release a utomat ica lly
and the vehicle will start moving once you press the acce lerator pedal.
Stopping /parking
If the selector lever is not in the P position
whe n you open t he d river's door, t he veh icle
cou ld roll . The message
Transmis sion: Car
may roll! Shift to park !
appears.
,. Press and hold the bra ke peda l un til the ve
h icle has come to a comp lete stop.
,. App ly the parking brake
c> page 81, Park -
ing.
,. Select the P se lector lever position c> ,&. .
Stopping on an incline
,. Always press the brake pedal to ho ld the ve
hicle in place and p reven t it from "ro lling
back"
c> ,&. . Do not try to p revent the veh i
cle from "rolling back" when a gear is en
gaged by increasing t he engine speed
c> (D .
Starting on an incline
,. Ac tiva te the park ing brake.
,. With the driving gear selected, press the ac
celerator peda l carefully. The parking bra ke
will release automatically if your seat belt is
fastened.
U nder certa in circ umstances, such as driving
in the mo unta ins, it may be usef ul to sw itch ..,.
temporarily to the manual shift program in or
der to adjust the gears to the driving condi
tions by hand
¢ page 90.
On slopes, 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 you to start while on an incline. The sys
tem is activated when the brake pedal is
pressed down and held
for a few seconds. The
brake p ressure will hold for a moment after
the brake pedal loosens to prevent the vehicle
from rolling backwards while 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
running while in gear. If you must leave
your vehicle 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 running 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 D/S or R or "tiptronic" mode is
selected.
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever position
while the vehicle is stationary and the
engine is running .
- Never shift into R or P while driving.
- Before driving down a steep slope, 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
Transmission 89
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 lamo
[O] illu
minates and a driver message appears
¢ page 92 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 205, Engine compartment. Oth
erwise, any increase in engine speed may
set the vehicle in motion, even with the parking brake applied.
(D 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.
90 Transmi ssion
Hill descent control
App lies to vehicles: with multitronic/5 tronic/t iptronic
The hill descent control system assists th e
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 gea r that is su itab le for the incl ine. Hill de
scent control tries to maintain the spe ed ach
i eved at the t ime of bra king , wi thin physical
a nd techn ica l limita tions. It m ay st il l 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 w ith the cruise control system*
c::> page 84, hill descent contro l is also act ivat
ed when the speed is set.
.&, WARNING
H ill descen t control cannot overcome
physical limita tions, so it may not be able
to maintain a constant speed under all
conditions . Always be ready to app ly the
brakes.
Manual shift program
App lies to vehicles: with multitronic/S tronic/tiptron ic
Using the manual shift program you can
manually select gears.
F ig . 99 Ce nte r console: sh ifting t he gea rs man ually
Fig. 10 0 Stee ring w hee l: S hift b uttons*
Gear select ion with selector lever
N
--N
"' gi
The tiptronic mode can be selected ei ther with
the veh icle s tat io nary or on the move .
• Push the se lector lever to the right from D/
S. An M appears in the instrument cluster
display as soon as the transm ission has
shifted .
• To upshift, push t he se lector lever forwa rd
to the plus position
0 c::> fig. 99.
• To downshift, push the lever to the mi nus
posi tion
0 .
Gear selection with paddle levers*
The shift buttons are activated when these
lector lever is in D/S o r the tiptronic manua l
shift program .
• To upshift, touch the button on the r ight
0
c::> fig. 100 .
• To downshift, to uch the but ton on the left
0 .
• If you do not press a sh ift b utton wi thin a
sh ort time w hile in t he D/S posit ion, the
t ransmiss ion w ill retur n to automatic mode .
To kee p shifting using the shift b uttons,
move the selector lever to the r ight out of
the D/S pos it ion.
T he transm iss io n automatically sh ifts up or
down before cr itical engine speed is reached .
T he tran sm iss io n only al lows manual sh ifting
when the eng ine speed is with in the permit
ted range .
(D Tips
-Whe n you s hift into the ne xt l ower ge ar,
t he transmission will downshift only
when there is no possibility of over-rev
ving the engine.
- When the kick-down comes on, the
transmission will shift down to a lower
gear, depending on vehicle and engine
speeds.
- Tiptronic is inoperative when the trans
mission is in the fail-safe mode.
Kick-down
App lies to vehicles: with multit ro ni c/S tronic/t ipt ronic
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration .
Applies to veh icle s with a multitronic ®
transmi ssion
When you dep ress the accelerato r pedal be
yond the resistance point, the transmission downshifts into a lower gear ratio depending
on the vehicle speed and engine speed. As
long as the accelerator peda l is depressed, the
engine speed is automat ically regulated for
maximum acceleration.
Appli es t o ve hicles with a S t ronic ®-/ ,
ti ptron ic transmi ssi on
When you depress the accelerator pedal be
yond the resistance po int, the automat ic
transmission downshifts into a lower gear, de pending on vehicle speed and engine speed .
The upshift into the next higher gea r takes
p lace once the maxim um spec ified eng ine
speed is reached .
A WARNING
Please note that the drive wheels can spin
if kick-down is used on a smooth slippery
road -there is a risk of skidding.
Launch Control Program
App lies to vehicles: with S tro nic
The Launch Control Program provides the
best acceleration possible when starting from
a stop.
Requirement: The engine must be at operat
ing temperature and the steering wheel must
not be turned.
Tran sm iss ion 9 1
"" Press the I~ OFF ! button ¢ page 181 while
the engine is running. The
fl indicator light
illum inates in the instrument cl uster and
Traction control (A SR): Off. Warning! Re
stricted stability appears in the driver infor
mation system display .
"" Move the selector lever to the D/S pos it io n
or select the dynamic driv ing mode in drive
select* ¢
page 108.
"" Press t he brake pedal s trongly wi th you r left
foot and ho ld it down for at leas t 1 second .
... At the same time, press the accelerator
peda l down comp lete ly with your right foot
until the eng ine reaches and maintains a
high RPM.
"" Remove your foot from the brake pedal
w ith in S seconds ¢.& .
A WARNING
-Always adapt your dr iving to the traffic
f low.
- Only use the Launch Cont ro l Program
when road and t raff ic conditions a llow it
a nd other drivers w ill not be endangered
or annoye d by your dr iving and the vehi
cle's acceleration.
- Ple ase no te th at the d riving wheels can
spin and the vehicle can break away
when ASR is switched off, especially
when the road is s lippery.
- Once you have accelerated, you sho uld
switch the ASR back on by pressing the
I ~ OFFI button.
(D Tips
- T he transmission temperature m ay in
crease s ignificantly after using the
La unch Control P rogram . If that hap
pens, the prog ram may not be availab le
for a few m inutes. It will be ava ilable
again after a cool-down per iod.
- When accelerating using the La unch
Contro l program, a ll vehicle parts are
subject to heavy loads. Th is can result in
increased wear .
Audi drive select Driving settings
Introduction
Appl ies to vehicles: wit h Audi drive select
Dr ive select provides the possib ility to experi
ence different types of vehicle settings in one
veh icle. For instance, using the three
C o m
fort, Auto and Dynamic modes, the driver can
switch from a sporty to a comfortab le driving
mode with the press of a button.
Addit ionally, in vehicles with
MM I*, the vehi
cle setup for
Indi vidu al* mode can be cus
tomized by you. This makes it possib le to
combine settings such as a sporty engine tun
ing with comfortable steering.
A WARNING
Improper use of the Audi drive select can
cause collisions, other acc idents and seri
ous personal injury.
Description
App lies to vehicles: w it h Audi drive select
The vehicle setup in each mode depends on
the vehicle's features. However, the engine,
automatic t ransmission and steeri ng a re a l
ways involved.
-
Engine and automatic transmi ssion
Depending on the mode, the engine and the
automatic transmission respond quicker or in
a more ba lanced manner to acce lerator pedal
movements. In the sporty dynamic mode, the
automatic t ransmission shifts at h igher R PMs .
Steering
The steering adapts in terms of steering effort
and steering ratios. Indirect steer ing that
moves eas ily, like the stee ring in comfort
mode, is best su ited to long dr ives on a high
way. In contrast, dynam ic mode prov ides
sporty, di rect steering .
The follow ing applies to vehicles with dynam ic
steer ing*: the stee ring ratio changes based on
vehicle speed in order to maintain optimum
Aud i dri ve sel ect 107
steering effort for the drive r at all times . This
sets the steering to be less sensitive at higher
speeds in order to provide improved vehicle
control. At reduced speeds, however, steer ing
is more d irect in order to keep the steering ef
fort as minimal as poss ible when the driver is
maneuveri ng the veh icle . At low and average
speeds, dynamic steering addit iona lly pro
vides more responsive stee ring pe rformance.
Adapt ive damper s*
The adaptive dampers* use sensors to record
i nformation regard ing steering movements,
braking and acceleration ope rations by the
drive r, road surface, driving speed, and load.
T his makes it possible to adapt damp ing to
the d riving situation v irtu ally i n rea l time.
Drive select also makes it possib le to satisfy
the desire for spo rty suspension (Dynamic)
and comfortab le suspension (Comfort) with
out giving up ba lanced tuning (Auto) .
Sport differe ntial *
As a component of the all whee l dr ive sys tem
(quattro ®)
q page 184, the sport differential*
distributes the driving power to the rear ax le
depending on the sit uation . The distribution
of power var ies depending on the mode se
lected. The goal is a high level of agility and
ability to accelerate on curves . The ve hicle is
very respons ive to steering .
Audi adaptive cru ise control*
The behav ior when accelerating can be adjust
ed from comfortab le to sporty, depending on
the drive select mode. Adaptive cru ise control
also responds to the driv ing behavior of the
vehicle ahead in a mo re conservative or spo rty
manner .
Engine sound*
The sound of the eng ine is adapted to these
lected mode and ranges from subtle to sporty.
0) Tips
- In some models, the maximum vehicle
speed can only be reached in the
Auto
and D ynamic modes.