78 On the road
note that e lectrica l equipment such as
exterior lights wi ll switch off as well
when that happens .
Switching engine off
Applies to vehicles: with conven ience key
._ Bring your vehicle to a complete stop.
._ Move the selector lever to the P or N pos i
t ion .
._ Press the
I START ENGINE STOPI button
9 page 77, fig. 91.
Steering lock
The steering locks when you turn the engine
off us ing the
I STAR T ENGINE STOP I button
and open the dr iver's door. The locked steer
i ng helps prevent vehicle theft .
Emergency off
If necessary, the engine can be sw itched off
with the selector lever in the R or D/S pos i
tions. To do so, step on the brake pedal and
press and hold the
I START ENGINE STOP I but
ton vehicle speed must be less than 6 mph (10 km/h).
_& WARNING
- N ever turn off the eng ine before the ve
hicle has come to a comple te stop . The
f ull function o f the brake booster and the
powe r steering is not guara nteed . You
must use more force to turn or brake if
necessary. Because you cannot steer and
brake as you usually would, this could
lead to crashes and serious injur ies.
- For safety reasons, you should always
park your vehicle with the se lector lever
in P. Otherwise, the ve hicle could inad
vertent ly roll away.
-The rad iator fan can continue to ru n for
up to 10 m inutes even afte r yo u have
tu rned off the eng in e and removed the
ignition key. The radiator fa n can also
t u rn on again i f th e e ngine cool ant hea ts
up because of intense sunlight or hea t
build -up in the engine compartment. -
Always take the key with you whenever
you leave your veh icle. Otherw ise, the
engine could be started or electrical
equ ipment such as the power windows
could be ope rated. This can lead to seri
ous injury.
(D Note
If the engine has been under heavy load
for an extended period, heat bu ilds up in
the e ngine compartment after the eng ine
i s sw itched off - there is a r isk of damag ing
the engine. Allow the engine to run at id le
fo r about two minutes before switching it
off.
Driver messages
Ignition i s on
This message appears and a warning tone
sounds if you open the driver's door when the
ignition is sw itched on.
No key ident ified
This message appears when the
I S TART ENGINE STOPI button is pressed if
t h ere is no master key ins ide the ve hicle or if
the system does not recognize it. For exam
ple, the master key cannot be recognized if it
i s covered by an object (e.g . al uminum brief
case) which
screens the radio s ignal. Electron
i c dev ices such as cell phones can also i nte r
f ere with the radio s ignal.
Pres s bra ke p edal to start engine
This message appears if you do not press the
brake pedal to start the eng ine .
Shift to N or P to start engine
Th is mess age appears w hen at tempt ing to
sta rt the eng ine if the selecto r lever for the
automatic transmission is not in the P or N
pos ition . The engine can only be started with
the selecto r in these positions.
Is the key in the vehicle ?
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 engine again . Moreover, you cannot lock
the vehicle 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
along w ith a warning signa l. It appears if the
selector lever for the automat ic transm ission
is not in the P position when switch ing off the
ignition. Move the selector lever to the P posi
tion, otherw ise the veh icle is not secured
against rolling away . You also cannot lock the
veh icle using the locking button* on the door
handle or using the remote key.
Convenience key defective! Use ignition lock
This message appears if the engine must be
started or stopped using the ignition key and
not the
I STAR T ENGIN E STOP ! button .
Electromechanical
parking brake
Operation
The electromechanical parking brake replaces
the hand brake.
F ig. 92 Cen ter console: Pa rk ing 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 pedal or the acce le rator
pedal and press the switch at the same time
On the road 79
to release the parking 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
unintentionally and replaces the hand brake.
In addition to the normal functions of a tradi
tiona l hand brake, the electromec hanical
parking brake provides various convenience
and safety funct ions .
When starting from rest
-The integral start ing ass ist helps you when
driving by automatically releasi ng the park
ing brake
¢ page 80, Starting from rest.
-When starting on inclines, the starting as
sist prevents the vehicle from unintentiona l
ly rolling back. The braking force of the
parking brake is not re leased until sufficient
driving force has been bui lt up at the
wheels.
Emergency brake function
An emergency brake ensures that the veh icle
can be slowed down even if the
normal brakes
fail
c> page Bl, Emergency braking.
Indicator lights
- If the parking brake is closed with the ign i
t ion
switched on the . (USA models) /
• (Canada models) indicator lights come
on in the instrument cluster and the switch.
- If the parking brake is closed with the igni
tion
switched off the. (USA models) /
• (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 .
Othe rwise the vehicle w ill start to move
imm ediately- risk of an accident.
80 On the road
(0 Note
If the . symbol i n the display or the
1111 (USA models) ;II (Canada mo dels)
ind icator light in the instr ument cluster
flashes, there is a malfunction in the brake
system. By press ing the
ISETI button, you
can br ing up a driver message which ex
p lains the malfunction in more detail. If
the dr ive r message
Parking brake! ap
pears, there is an operating malfunction in
t he par king brake which you should have
repaired immediately by an a uthorized
Aud i dea le r or other q ualified workshop
¢page 15.
@ Tips
-You can apply the pa rking brake at any
time - even with the ignition switched
off. The ignit ion must be t urned on in or
der to release the parking brake.
- Occas iona l noises when the parking
brake is applied and re leased are norma l
and are not a cause for concern.
- When the vehicle is parked, the parking
brake goes through a se lf-test cycle at
regular intervals. Any assoc iated noises
are normal.
Parking
Parking
> Press the brake pedal to stop the vehicle .
> Pull the button @¢page 79, fig . 92 to set
t h e pa rking brake.
> Move t he selec to r lever to P.
> Turn the eng ine off¢ A.
In addition on inclines and grad es
> Turn the steer ing whee l so that your vehicle
will ro ll against the curb in case it should
sta rt to move .
.&_ WARNING
-Whe n you leave your veh icle -even if on
ly briefly - a lways remove the ign ition
key . This applies part icu larly when chil
dren remain in t he vehicle . Otherwise the children could start the eng
ine, release
the park ing brake or operate electrical
equ ipment (e.g. power windows). There
is the risk of an acc ident.
- When the veh icle is locked, no one - par
ticularly not children should rema in in
the vehicle . Locked doors make it more
difficul t for emergency wo rke rs to get in
to the vehicle - putting lives at r isk.
Starting from rest
The starting assist function ensures that the
parking brake is released automatically upon starting.
Stopping and applying par king brake
> Pull the switch @¢ page 79, fig. 92 to ap-
ply the parking brake.
Sta rting and automatically relea sing the
parking b rake
> When you sta rt to dr ive as usual, the park
ing brake is automat ically released and your
veh icle beg ins to move.
When stopping at a traffic signal or stopping in city traffic on vehicles with an a utomatic
transmission, the parking brake can be ap
plied . The vehicle does not have to be held
with the footbrake . T he parking brake elimi
nates the tende ncy to creep w ith a dr ive range
engaged. As soo n as yo u drive
off as usu a l,
the parking bra ke is re leased automatically
and the vehicle starts to move .
Starting on slopes
When starting on inclines, the sta rting assist
preve nts t he veh icle from u nintent ionally roll
i ng back. The br aking for ce of the park ing
brake is no t re leased unt il suff icien t driving
f orce has been built up at the w heels.
(D Tips
Fo r saf ety reaso ns, the pa rking br ake is re
l eased a utom atically on ly when t he d riv
er's safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Emergency braking
In the event that the conventional brake system fails or locks .
11-In an emergency, pull the switch @
r:::;, page 79, fig. 92 and cont inue to p ull it to
slow your veh icle down with the park ing
brake.
11-As soon as you release the sw itch @ or ac-
c e le rate, the braking p rocess stops.
If you pull t he sw itch @and hold it above a
speed of about 5 mph (8 km/h), the emergen
cy braking fu nction is in itiated. The vehicle is
b raked at a ll four wheels by activating the hy
d ra ulic brake system. The b rake performance
is simi lar to making an emergency stop
r:::;, &. .
In o rder not to activate the emergency brak
i ng by m istake, an a udible warning tone (b uz
zer) sounds when the switc h @ is pu lled . As
soon as the switch @is released, or the accel
erator pedal is depressed, emergency brak ing
stops.
A WARNING
Emergency braking should only be used i n
an emergency, when the normal foot brake
has failed or the brake pedal is obstructed.
Using the parking bra ke to perform emer
gency braking will slow you r vehicle down
as if you had made a fu ll brake applicat ion.
The laws o f physics cannot be s uspended
even w ith ESC and its associated compo
nents (ABS, ASR, EDS). In corne rs and
when road or weather conditions a re bad,
a full brake application can cause the vehi
cle to skid or the rear end to break away -
r isking an accident.
Speed warning system
Overview
The speed warning system helps you to keep
your driving speed below a set speed limit.
The speed warning system warns if the driver
exceeds a prev iously stored maximum speed .
A wa rning tone wi ll sound as soon as the vehi-
On th e ro ad 81
cle speed exceeds the set speed by about
3 mph (3 km/h). At the same time, a warning
symbol appears in the display. The symbo l's
appearance might be different in some mod
els.
The speed warning system has two warning
th resholds that funct ion independent ly of
each other and that have somewhat different purposes:
Speed warning 1
You can use speed warning 1 to set the maxi
mum speed while you are driving. This setting
will remain in effect unti l yo u turn off the ign i
tion, assuming that you have not changed or reset the setting.
The . (USA mode ls)
I. (Canada mode ls)
speed warning symbo l in the warning 1 dis
play appears when you exceed the maximum
speed . It goes out when the speed falls be low
the sto red maximum speed .
The speed warn ing symbol will also go out if
the speed
exceeds the stored maximum speed
by more than about 25 mph (40 km/h) for at
least 10 seconds . The stored max imum speed
is deleted.
Speed w arning 2
Storing warning 2 is recommended if yo u al
ways
want to be reminded of a certain speed,
for example whe n you are trave ling in a coun
try that has a general maximum speed limit,
o r i f you do not want to exceed a specified
speed for w inte r tir es.
The . (USA models) /. (Canada models)
speed warning 2 symbol appears in the dis
play when yo u exceed the stored speed limit.
Unlik e warning 1, it will not go out unt il the
vehicle speed dro ps below the s to red speed
li mi t.
Setting speed warn ing 2
¢ page 82.
(!) Tips
Even though your vehicle is equ ipped w ith
a speed war ning system, you sho uld still
Transmission S tronic ®
Introduction
The automat ic transm iss ion is controlled elec
tronically. The transmiss ion ups hifts or down
shifts automatically depend ing on which drive
program is se lected.
When a
modera te driving sty le is used, the
tra nsmission se lec ts the most econom ica l
driving mode.
It w ill then change up early and
de lay the downshifts to g ive better f uel econ
omy .
The transmis sion swit ches to a sporty mode
after a k ick-down o r when the driver uses a
s porty dri ving sty le characterized by quick ac
celerator peda l movements, heavy accelera
tion, frequent changes in speed and traveling
at the maximum speed.
I f desired, the drive r can a lso se lect the gears
manually ( tiptronic mode ) ~ page 89.
The S tronic ® is a dual-clutch transmission.
P owe r is transfe rred using two clutches that
work independently from one anothe r. They
rep lace the torq ue converter used in conven
tional automatic transmiss ions and allow the
vehicle to accelerate without a noticeable in
terruption in traction.
Selector lever positions
F ig. 96 Display in the instrument cluster: se lector lever
in pos itio n P
The selector lever position engaged appears
n ext to the selector leve r as well as in the in
strument cluster display.
Tran sm iss ion 85
P -Park
In this se lector lever posi tion the transm is
s ion is mechanica lly locked. Engage P on ly
when the vehicle is
completely stopped~&.
in Driving the automatic transmission on
page 87.
T o shift in or out of pos it ion P, yo u must first
press and ho ld the brake pedal and then press
the re lease button in the selector leve r hand le
whi le moving the selector lever to or from P.
You can shift out of this position only with the ignition o n.
R - Reverse
Se lect R on ly when the veh icle is at a full stop
and t he engine is running at idle speed~.&. in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 87.
Before you move the se lector lever to R, press
both the re lease button in the hand le o f the
selector lever
and the brake pedal at the same
time.
When the ignition is on, the backup lights illu
minate when the selecto r lever is moved into
R.
N -Neutral
The transmiss ion is in neu tral in this pos ition .
S hift to t his position fo r standing with the
brakes app lied
~ .&. in Driving the automatic
transmission on page 87.
When the vehicle is stat iona ry or a t speeds
below 1 mph (2 km/h), yo u must always app ly
the footbrake before and whi le mov ing the
l ever o ut of
N.
D/S - Normal posit ion for driving forward
In the D/S pos it ion, t he tr ansmission c an be
operated either in the norma l mode D or in
the sport mode S . To select the sport mode S,
pull the selector lever back briefly. P ulling the
l ever back again will se lect the norma l mode
D. The instr ument cluster disp lay shows the
selected driving mode. ..,_
86 Transmis sion
In the norm al 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.
The vehicle makes full use of the eng ine 's
power. Shifting may become noticeable when
accelerating.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds
below 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 c> .&. in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 87.
(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
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
this happensc>poge
91.
Automatic Shift Lock {ASL)
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 ga te : selecto r le ver lock positio ns and re
lease bu tto 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 release button on the
side of the gear selector knob <=>
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
The Automatic Shift Lock only functions when
the veh icle 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 w ill lock the selector lever if the
Ill>
lever is left in N (Neutral) for more than ap
prox imately 2 seconds, without the brake ped
a l being pressed .
Release button
The release button on the selector lever pre
ve nts the leve r from being accide ntally s hifted
into certain positions. Depending on the direc
tion of the shift, the se lector lever locks at d if
ferent positions. The positions are h ighlighted
in the ill ustration
c!> fig . 97.
Ignition key safety interlock
The key cannot be removed from the ignition
un less the se lector lever is in the P park posi
tion . When the ignition key is removed, the
se lector lever wi ll be locked in the P pos ition.
Driving the automatic transmission
Fi g. 98 Shift gate on t he cente r conso le: selector lever
wit h release butto n
Starting the engine
.. The selector lever must be in P or N.
Starting off
.. Press and ho ld the brake pedal.
.. Press and ho ld the release button in these
lector lever handle, se lect the desi red se lec
tor lever pos ition such as D/S and release
the b utton.
.. Wait br iefly until the transmission has shift
ed (you will feel a slight movement).
.. Remove your foot from the brake pedal and
acce le rate.
Stopping temporarily
.. Keep the vehicle stationary us ing the brak
ing pedal, for examp le at traffic lights.
Transm ission 87
.. Do not press the accelerator peda l when do
ing this .
.. To prevent the vehicle from ro lling when yo u
start driv ing, set the parking brake when
stopping on steep inclines
c!> _&. .
.. The parking brake will release automat ica lly
and the vehicle will start mov ing once you
p ress the acce lerator pedal.
Stopping /parking
If the selector lever is not in the P position
when you open the driver's door , the veh icle
could roll . The message
Transmis sion: Car
may roll! Shift to park! appears .
.. Press and hold the brake peda l until the ve-
hicle has come to a complete stop .
.. App ly the parking brake co
page 80 .
.. Select the P selector lever posit ion co_&. .
Stopping on an incline
.. Always press the brake pedal to ho ld the ve
hicle in place and prevent it from "rolling
back" co_&. . Do
not try to prevent the vehi
cle from "rolling back" when a gear is en
gaged by increas ing the engine speed co(!).
Starting on an incline
.. Activate the parking brake .
.. With the driving gear selected, press the ac
celerato r pedal carefully . The parking brake
w ill release automatically if your seat belt is
fastened .
U nder certa in circumstances, such as driving
in the mounta ins, it may be usefu l to sw itch
temporarily to the manual sh ift p rogram in or
d er to ad just the gears to the driv ing cond i
ti ons by hand co
page 89.
On slopes, activate the parking brake first and
then move the selector leve r to the P position .
T his prevents too much st ress from being
placed on the locking me chanism .
&_ WARNING
- T he vehicle can also roll when the engine
is s topped.
~
88 Transmission
-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
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
Q page 90 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
Q page 200, Engine compartment . Oth
erwise, any increase in engine speed may set the vehicle in motion, even with the
parking brake applied.
@ Note
- 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 .
- Allowing 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.
Hill descent control
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 st ill 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*
Q page 82 , hill descent control is also activat
ed when the speed is set.
A WARNING -
Hill descent control cannot overcome
physical limitations, so it may not be able
to maintain a constant speed under all