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. ..,_
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
216 Check ing and filling
-If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con
tainer clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
-Do not add any type of radiator leak seal
ant to your vehicle's engine coo lant.
Adding rad iator repair fluid may adverse
ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and could result in
damage not covered by your New Vehicle Limited Warranty .
- Coolant pollutes the environment and
could cause an engine fire . Excess cool
ant wil l be forced out through the pres
s u re re lief valve in the cap when the en
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency , only water can be
added, the correct ratio between wate r
and antifreeze
c::> page 214 must be re
stored as soon as possib le .
@ For the sake of the environment
Dra ined coolant should not be reused. Al
ways dispose of used coolant while observ ing all environmental regulations.
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself.
The radiator fan is dr iven by the engine via the
V-be lt . T he viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan accord ing to the temperature o f the
coolant .
A n auxiliary e lectr ic radiator fan* switches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and other vehi cle operating conditions.
After you switch the engine off, the auxiliary
fan can cont inue runn ing for up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition off.
It can even sw itch
on again later by itself
c::> .&. , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises
due to the heat bu ild-up from the eng ine in
the engine compartment, or -
the engine compa rtment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
.&_ WARNING .........
- To reduce the risk of personal injury nev
er touch the radiator fan.
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
contro lled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan sw itches on au
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper
ature drops .
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a
quick glance.
Fig . 182 Engin e compart men t: Cove r on the b rake flu
id reservoi r
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com
partment,
a lwa ys re ad and hee d all WARN
ING S c::> .&. in Working in the engine compart
ment on page
207.
~ Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir
c::> fig. 182, c::> page 209,
fig . 177. The brake fluid level must be be
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings .
The brake fluid reservoir is located at the rear
partition of the engine compartment on the
left s ide
c::> page 209.
The fluid level may drop
slightly after some
t ime due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads. This is not cause for a larm . .,._