Automatic Transmission
multitronic, S tronic,
tiptronic
Introduction
App lies to vehicles: with multit ro nic/S tronic/t ipt ronic
The automat ic transm iss ion is controlled elec
tronically . The transmiss ion ups hifts or down
shifts automatically depend ing o n which drive
p rog ram is se lect ed.
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
tra nsmission selects the most econom ica l
d riving mode .
It will then change up early and
de lay the downshifts to g ive bette r fu el econ
omy.
The transmission switches to a sporty mode after a k ick- down or when the drive r uses a
sporty driving style ch aracte rized by quick ac
celerator peda l movements, heavy ac celera
tion, frequent ch anges in speed and traveling
at the maximum spee d.
I f desired, the drive r can a lso se lect the gears
manually ( tiptronic mode ) ¢ page 111.
Various automat ic transm issions may be in
stalled, depend ing o n the mode l:
multitronic transmi ssion
The mult itron ic transm ission is a continuously
variable transmission. Power is transferred us i n g a mu ltidisk clutch . In contrast to conven
tional automat ic transm iss ions using shift ing
ope rations, the transmiss ion ratio in the con
tinuously va riab le transm iss io n is changed
con tinuously. Th is op timi zes the com fort level
a nd co nserves fuel.
S tronic transmission
The S tronic is a dual -clutch transmission .
P owe r is transfe rred using two clutches that
wo rk ind ependen tly from one a nother. They
r e pl ace the tor qu e conve rter u sed in co nven
tional a utoma tic transm iss io ns an d allow t he
ve hicl e to accelerate without a no ticeable in
ter ruption in traction.
Automatic Transmission 107
tiptronic transmission
In the tipt ronic t ra nsm issio n, p ower is trans
f erred by a to rque converter .
Selector lever positions
Applies to vehicles: wit h mult itronic/5 tro nic/tiptro nic
Fig . 1 12 Disp lay in th e inst rume nt cluster: selector
l ever pos itio n
The selector leve r pos ition engaged appears
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 transm is
s io n is mechanica lly locked. Engage P on ly
whe n the vehicle is
completely stopped¢&.
in Driving the automatic transmission on
page 110.
T o sh ift i n or out of posit io n P, you must first
press and ho ld the brake pedal and then press
the re lease b utton in the selector lever hand le
whi le moving 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¢ A in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 110 .
Before you move the se lector lever to R, press
both the button in the hand le o f the selecto r
lever
and the brake pedal at the same t ime .
When the ignition is on, the backup lights illu
m inate when the selecto r lever is moved into
R. .,.
110 Automatic Tran sm iss ion
multitronic transmission : Your vehicle is
equipped with
hill hold assist allowing you to
start while on an incline. The system is acti
vated when the brake pedal is pressed down
and held
f o r a few s econds . The brake pres
sure will hold for
a moment after the brake
pedal loosens to prevent the veh icle from roll
ing backwards whi le starting up .
A WARNING
- The veh icle can also roll when the engine
is stopped.
- Unintended veh icle movement can cause
serious injury .
- Never leave your vehicle with the eng ine
running wh ile in gea r. If you must leave
yo ur vehicle when the engine is running,
act ivate the park ing brake and move the
selector lever to P .
- Power is st ill transmitted to the whee ls
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 pos ition
wh ile the vehicle is stat io nary and the
engine is running .
- Never shift into R or P wh ile driving .
- Before driv ing 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 dr iving
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substant ially re
duces b raking performance, inc reases
braking distance or causes comp lete fail
ure of the brake system.
- T o prevent the veh icle from rolling back
when stoppi ng on incl ines, always hold it
in place with the brake peda l or parking
brake.
- Never hold the veh icle on an incl ine with
a slipping clutch. The clutch opens auto
matically when it becomes too hot from the overload. An indicato
r lamp
[O] illu
minates and a driver message appears
¢ page 112 when the clutch is overload
ed.
- If the engine must remain running, never
have any driving posit io n engaged when
checking under the hood . Make sure the
selector lever has securely engaged and is locked in P with the park ing brake set
¢ page 224. O therwise, any increase in
engine speed m ay se t the vehicle in mo
tion, even with the parking brake ap plied .
(D Note
-S tronic- and tiptronic transmission :
When stopping on an incl ine , do not try
to hold the vehicle in place by pressing
the acce lerator pedal while a driving gear
is se lected. This can cause the transmis
sion to overheat and can damage it. Acti
vate the parking brake or press the brake
peda l to prevent the vehicle from roll ing.
- S tronic- and tiptronic transmission : A l
lowing the vehicle to ro ll when the en
gine is stopped and the selector lever is
in N will damage the transmission be
cause it is not l ubricated unde r those cir
cumstances.
{!) Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re
l eased automatically only when the d riv
er's safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Hill descent control
Applies to vehicles: with multitro nic/5 tronic/t iptronic
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 sui table fo r the incline. H ill de
scent contro l tries to ma inta in the speed ach-
ieved at the time of b raking, with in physica l .,.