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 ...,
Interlo ck button
The lock b utton on the selector leve r prevents
the lever from being accidentally shifted into
certain positions. Pressing this button deacti
vates the se lector lever lock. Depending on
the direction of the shift, the se lector lever
locks at different positions. The positions are
hi ghlighted in the illustration
c:> fig. 84.
Ignition k ey sa fe ty 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.
Kick-down
App lies to vehicles: with multitronic or tiptro nic
The kick-down features allows maximum ve
hicle acceleration.
Appli es to v eh icl es with a multit ronic ®
t ran sm ission
When you depress the acce lerator 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 pedal is depressed, the
engine speed is automat ica lly regulated for
max imum ac celeration.
Applie s to veh icles with a tiptronic
transmission
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 gear takes
p lace once the maxim um specified engine
speed is reached.
_&. WARNING
Please note that the drive whee ls can spin
if kick-down is used on a smooth slippery
road -there is a risk of skidding.
Tran sm iss ion 87
Dynamic shift program (DSP)
App lies to vehicles: wit h m ultitro nic or t iptronic
The automatic transmission is electronically
controlled .
The transm iss ion is self adapting and will
a u
tomati call y select the best sh ift program suit
ed to the driving conditions and driv ing style.
The transmission wi ll select one of the
eco no
m y
programs when you drive at a steady
speed or a gradually changing speed w ithout
heavy acceleration . This achieves optimum
fuel eff iciency, with early upshifting and de
l ayed downshift ing .
The transm iss ion w ill automatically select the
sporty sh ift programs w hen you drive at high
er speeds, or with heavy acceleration and fre quently changing speeds. Upsh ifts are delayed
to make full use of e ngine power. Downshift
ing takes place at highe r engine speeds than
in the economy programs .
T he selection of the most suitable sh ift pro
gram is a continuous, automatic process . The
drive r can a lso make the transm iss ion sw itch
to a sporty program by
quickl y pressing down
the gas pedal.
T h is causes the t ransm ission to shift down to
a lowe r gear to ach ieve rapid acce le rat ion, e.g.
f or quickly passing another vehicle . You do not
need to press the gas pedal into the kick-down
range . After the transmission has upshifted,
the or iginal program is selected according to
your driving style .
Vehicles with mult itronic t ransmission: when
driving on hills and mountains, the gear ratio
continuously adapts to the grade . The trans
mission downshifts automatically when driv
ing downh ill if the brake pedal is pressed . As a
result, the engine braking effect inc reases.
Vehicles with tiptron ic transm issions: when
driv ing on hills and mountains, the gear se lec
tion adapts to the grade. This prevents con
stant upshift ing and downsh ifting when driv
i ng uphill.
88 Transmission
Manual shift program
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic or tiptron ic
Using the manual shift program you can
manually select gears .
Fig. 85 Center console : shift ing t he multitro nic/t ip ·
tronic manual ly
Fig . 86 Steering wheel: Shift buttons
Gear selection with selector lever
"' N
N
~
" a> CD
The tiptronic mode can be selected either with
the vehicle stationary or on the move .
.,. Push the selector lever to the right from
DI
S. As soon as the transmission has switched
over , the selected gear appears in the dis
play.
.,. To upshift, push the selector lever forward
to the plus position
0 ¢ fig. 85 .
.,. To downshift, push the lever to the minus
position
0 -
Gear selection with paddle levers*
The shift buttons are activated when these
lector lever is in D/S or the tiptronic manual
shift program.
.,. To upshift, touch the button on the right
0
¢fig . 86.
.,. To downshift, touch the button on the left
0-
When accelerating, the transmission will au
tomatically shift into the next gear before the
engine reaches its maximum RPM .
If you apply a light throttle when accelerat
ing, tiptronic will automatically shift from 1st
to 2nd gear to save fuel. If you apply a heavy
throttle, the transm iss ion will stay in 1st gear
until near maximum RPM is reached, or until
the driver shifts into 2nd gear .
If you take your foot off the accelerator pedal
when driving down a steep incline, tiptronic
will downshift from the selected gear into the
next lower gear until it reaches 1st gear,
based on road speed and engine RPM . Auto ·
matic downshifting is interrupted as soon as
you apply the throttle again .
(D Tips
-When you shift into the next lower gear,
the 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
m ission is in the fail-saf e mode.
Transmission malfunction
Applies to vehicles: with mult itronic or tiptronic
[O] Transmission: Press brake pedal and se
lect gear again .
Press the brake pedal and select the desired
selector lever position again. You can then
continue driving.
[O] Transmission overheating: Please drive
conservatively.
The transmission temperature has increased
s ignificantly due to the sporty driving manner.
Drive in a less sporty manner until the tern·
perature returns to the normal range and the
indicator light switches of.
[O] Transmission malfunction: You can con-
tinue driving ..,.
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
94 Transmi ssion
When acce lerating, the transmiss ion will au
tomatically shift into the next gear before the
engine reaches its maximum RPM.
I f you apply a ligh t throttle when accelerat
ing, tiptronic will automatically shift from 1st
to 2nd gear to save fuel. If you app ly a heavy
thrott le, the transmission will stay in 1st gear
unti l near maximum RPM is reached, or unt il
the dr iver shifts into 2nd gear.
If you take your foot off the accelerator peda l
when dr iving down a steep incline, tiptronic
will downshift from the selected gear into the next lower gear until it reaches 1st gear,
based on road speed and eng ine RPM . Auto
mat ic downshifti ng is interrupted as soon as
you apply the th rottle aga in .
(D} Tips
- When you sh ift into the next lower gear,
the transmiss ion will downshift only
when there is no possibility of over-rev
v ing the engine.
- When the kick-down comes on, the
transmission will sh ift down to a lower
gear, depending on vehicle and engine
speeds.
- Tiptronic is inope rat ive when the t rans
mission is in the fail-sa fe mode.
Kick-down
A pp lies to vehicles: with S tro nic tr ansmiss ion
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
When you press the acce lerator pedal down
beyond the resistance po int, the automatic
transmission downshifts into a lower gear, de
pending on vehicle speed and engine RP M.
It
shifts up into the next h igher ge ar once the
max imum specified engine RPM is reached.
& WARNING
Please note that the wheels could spin on
slick or slippery roads when kick-down is
active.
Launch Control Program
App lies to vehicles : wit h S tronic tra nsmi ssio n
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 t urned .
.. Press the
I~ OF F! button c::;, page 186 while
the engine is running. The
fl ind icator light
illuminates in the instrument cluster and
Traction control (ASR ): Off . Warning! Re
stricted stability
appea rs in the driver infor
mat io n system display .
.. Move the se lector lever to the D/S posit ion
or select the
d ynamic dr iv ing mode in Audi
drive select*
c::;, page 112 .
.. Press the brake peda l strongly with your left
foot and ho ld it down for at least one sec
ond.
.. At the same time, press the accelerator
pedal down complete ly w ith your r ight foot
until t he e ngine reaches and mainta ins a
h igh RP M.
.. Remove yo ur foot from the brake pedal
w ith in S seconds
c::;, A, .
& WARNING
-Always adapt your driving to the traffic
f low .
- On ly use the Launch Cont ro l Program
when road and traffic conditions a llow it
and other drivers w ill not be endangered
or annoyed by your driving and the vehi
cle's acceleration.
- Please note that the d riving wheels can
spin and the vehicle can break away
when ASR is switched off , especially
when the road is slippery .
- Once you have accelerated, you shou ld
sw itch the ASR back on by pressing the
lfl O FF ! button . .__ _____________ _J ...
@ Tips
-The t ransm ission tempe rat ure may in
crease significantly after using the l a unch control prog ram. If that happens,
the program may not be availab le for a
few m inutes . It will be ava ilab le aga in af
te r a coo l-down period .
- When accelerating us ing t he Launch
Control program, all vehicle parts a re
subjec t to heavy loads. This can res ult in
i n cre ased wea r.
Transmission malfunction
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic transmission
[O] Transmission: Press brake pedal and se
lect gear again.
P ress th e brake pedal and se lect t he des ired
selec to r lever posi tion aga in. You can then
c o ntinue dr iv ing .
[O] Transmission overheating: Please drive
con servatively.
The transmission temperature has increased
sign ificantly due to the sporty dr iving manner .
Drive in a less spo rty manner unt il the tem
pe rat ure retu rns to the norma l range and the
i nd icator light switches of.
[O] Transmission malfunction: You can con
tinue driving
There is a system ma lf u nction in the transmis
sion. You may continue driving. Drive to your
author ized Audi dealer or qua lified repair fa
cility soon to have the malfunc tion cor rected .
[O] Transmission malfunct ion: Limited driv
ing funct ionality
There is a system ma lf u nction in the transmis
sion. The transmission is sw itching to emer
gency mode. This mode only shifts into cer
tain gears or will no longer shift at a ll. The en
g ine may stall. Drive to your authorized A udi
dealer o r qualified repair facility immediately
to have the ma lfunction co rrected .
[O] lij Transmission malfunction: No reverse
You can continue driving
Transm ission 95
T he re is a system mal func tion in the t ransmis
sion . The transm ission is switching to eme r
gency mode . This mode on ly shifts into cer
ta in gears or will no longer shift at al l. The en
gine may sta ll. You cannot engage t he reverse
gear. Drive to your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified repa ir facili ty immed iately to have
the malfunction cor rected.
[O] Transmission malfunction : Stop vehicle
and shift to park.
Do not continue dr iv ing. Se lect the P selector
lever posit io n and see your authori zed A udi
dealer or qualified repair facility for assis
tance.
(D Note
If the transmission switches t o emergency
mode, you should take t he ve hicle to an
a uth orized Audi d ea lership as soon as pos
sible to have the con dit ion corrected .
Selector lever emergency release
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic transmission
If the vehicle's power supply fails , the selec
tor lever can be released in an emergency.
Fig . 94 Fro nt cente r co nso le : Remov ing t he as htray in ·
sert
Fi g. 9 5 Selecto r lever e merge ncy release
100 Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard
Switching on and off
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise co ntrol
Fig. 100 Selec tor lever: switching o n/off
Fig. 101 Instrument clus te r: adap tive cru ise control
You can set any speed between 20 mph and
95 mph (30 and 150 km/h).
Indicator lamps and messages in the instru
ment cluster display inform you about the cur
r ent system status and settings.
Switching adaptive cruise control on
.. Pull the lever toward you into posit ion @
-:>fig . 100 . ACC standby appears in the in
strument cluster d isplay .
Setting the speed and activating
regulation
.. To set the current speed , press the ISET !
button ¢ page 11 , fig. 4. The set speed is shown in the tachometer
@and is also
shown briefly in the display@r:::>fig.
101.
Switching adaptive cruise control off
.. Push the lever away from you into positio n
@ until it clicks into place. The message
ACC off appears.
@ Indicator lights
II-Adaptive cruise control is switched on. No
vehicles are detected up ahead. The stored
speed is maintained.
I -A moving vehicle is detected up ahead .
T he adaptive cru ise control system regulates
the speed and distance to the moving vehicle
ahead and accelerates/brakes automatically.
I -When automatic braking is not able to
keep e nough d istance to a prev iously detected
moving veh icle up ahead, you must take con
trol and brake ~
page 103, Request for driver
intervention.
© Display
If adapt ive cru ise control is not shown in the
display, you can call it up w ith the
I RESET I
button ¢ page 24.
Based on the symbols in the display, you can
determine if the system is maintain ing a d is
tance to the vehicle ahead and what that dis
tance is.
No vehicle -No vehicle ahead was de tected .
White vehicle -A vehicle ahead was detected .
Red vehicle -Prompt for the driver to take ac
tion
~ page 103.
Both arrows on the scale© indicate the dis
tance to the vehicle ahead. No arrow appears
when the vehicle is on an open road and there
is no object ahead. If an object is detected
ahead, the arrow moves on the scale .
T he green zone on the scale shows the stored
distance. For information on changing the
stored distance, refer to~
page 102 . If the
distance se lected is too close or may soon be
com e too close , the arrows move into the re d
z one on the sca le.