126 Automatic transmission
8_ WARNING
-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 preven t 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
<=:> page 128when 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
r:::> page 231 . Otherwise, any increase in engine speed may set the vehicle in mo
tion, even with the parking brake ap
plied.
(D 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.
@ 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 still 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.
When the speed is set in the cruise control
system
r:::> page 95, hill descent control is also
activated.
A WARNING
-
Hill descent control cannot overcome
physical limitations, so it may not be able
to maintain a constant speed under all
conditions. Always be ready to apply the
brakes.
Manual shift program
Using the manual shift program you can
manually select gears.
F ig. 134 Cente r console: sh ift in g t he gears manual ly
Fig. 135 S tee rin g wheel: S hift b utto ns*
Gear selection with selector lever
The tiptronic mode can be selected either with
the vehicle stationary or on the move.
.. Push the selector lever to the right from 0/
S. An
M appears in the instrument cluster
display as soon as the transmission has
shifted.
.. To upshift, push the selector lever forward
to the plus position
0 c:> fig. 134 .
.. To downshift, push the lever to the minus
pos ition
0 -
Gear selection with paddle levers*
The shift buttons are activated when these
lector lever is in D/S or the t iptron ic manual
shift program.
.. To upshift, touch the button on the right
0
c> fig . 135.
Autom atic transm ission 12 7
.. To downshift, touch the button on the left
0 .
.. If you do not press a sh ift button within a
short time while in the D/S position, the
transmission will return to automatic mode.
To keep shifting using the shift buttons,
move the selector lever to the r ight out of
the D/S position .
The transm iss ion automatically shifts up or
down before cr itical engine speed is reached.
The transmission only allows manual shifting
when the engine speed is within the permit
ted range .
@ 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.
- Tiptron ic is inoperative when the trans
mission is in the fail-safe mode.
- Hybrid drive*: electric driving is not pos
sible in tiptronic mode.
Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration .
When you depress the accelerator pedal be
yond the resistance point, the automatic
transmission downsh ifts into a lower gear, de
pending on vehicle speed and engine speed .
The upshift into the next higher gear takes
place once the max imum specified engine
speed is reached .
_& 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 .
128 Automatic transmission
Transmission malfunction
[O] Transmission: Press brake pedal and se·
lect g ear again.
Press the brake pedal and se lect t he des ired
selecto r lever posit io n again . Yo u can then
continue dr iving .
[O] Transmission overheating: Please drive
conservatively.
The transmission temperature has increased
significantly d ue to the sporty driving ma nner.
Drive in a less sporty manne r unt il the tem
pe rat ure retu rns to the norma l range a nd the
i ndicator light switch es of.
[O] Transmission malfunct ion: You can con
tinue driving
There is a system ma lf u nct ion in the transmis
sion. You may continue driving. Drive to your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified repair fa
cility soon to have the malfunction corrected .
[O] Transmission malfunction: Limited driv
ing funct ionality
There is a sys tem ma lf u nction in t he transmis
sion. The transmission is sw itchi ng to emer
gency mode. Th is mode only sh ifts into cer
tain gea rs or will no lo nger shift at a ll. The en
g ine may stall . Drive to your auth orized A udi
deale r or qualified repair facility immed iately
to have the malf unction co rrec ted.
[O] T ransmission malfunction: Stop vehicle
and shift to park .
Do not continue d rivi ng . Select the P se lect or
l ever position and see yo ur authorized Aud i
dea ler or qualified repair facility for assis
tance .
(D Note
If the transmiss ion sw itches to emergency
mode, you sho uld take the vehicle to an
author ized Audi dealers hip as soon as p os
sibl e to have the cond ition co rrected.
Selector lever emergency release
If the vehicle 's power supply fails , th e selec
tor lever can be released in an emergency.
Fi g. 136 Fro nt center co nsole: Removing t he as htray
i nsert
Fig. 137 Selec tor lever e merg ency release
.. To access the emergency re lease mecha
nism, remove t he ashtray insert ® using the
release sw itch ®
c> fig. 136 .
.. Loosen and remove the cap in the asht ray
mou nt
¢ fig . 137 .
.. You n ow have access to a pin. U sing a s crew
d river or sim ilar obj ect , pre ss th e p in do wn
and hold i t in t hat p osition .
.. Now press t he re lease button and move the
selecto r lever to t he N posit io n.
T he sele ctor leve r ca n on ly be moved from the
P position i f the key is in the lock and the igni
t ion is switc hed on . If the power supply fails
(for example, the battery is discharged) and
the vehicle m ust be pushed or towed, move
t h e selecto r lever to the N posit ion first usi ng
t h e emerge ncy re lease.
Homelink
Universal remote
control
Description
Applies to vehicles: with Home link
The HomeLink universal remote control can
be programmed with the remote control for
devices that are already present.
With Home Link, you can control devices such
as the garage door, security systems, house
lights , etc. comfortably from the inside of you
vehicle.
Homelink makes it possible for you to rep lace
three different remote controls from dev ices
in your home with one universal remote. This
feature works for most garage door and exte
rior door motor signals. Programming the in
dividual remote control for your remote con
trol takes place near the center of the radiator
grille. There is a control module attached at
this location .
A one-time programming of the sensor must be performed before you are able to use sys
tems with Homelink. If the system does not activate after performing the one-time pro
gramming, check whether the system uses a rolling code¢
page 138 for vehicles without
the MMI*.
& WARNING
-
- Never use the Homelink transmitter
with any garage door opener that does
have not the safety stop and reverse fea
ture as requ ired by federa l safety stand
ards. This includes any garage door open
er model manufactured before April 1,
1982.
-A garage door opener which cannot de
tect an object, signaling the door to stop
and reverse does not meet current feder
al safety standards . Using a garage door
opener without these features increases
risk of serious injury or death.
Homelink 135
- For safety reasons never release the
parking brake or start the engine while
anyone is standing in front of the vehicle .
- A garage door or an estate gate may
sometimes be set in motion when the
Homelink remote control is being pro
grammed. If the device is repeatedly ac
tivated, th is can overstrain motor and
damage its electrical components - an
overheated mo to r i s a fire hazard!
- To avoid possib le injuries or property
damage, please always make abso lutely
certa in that no persons or objects are lo
cated in the range of motion of any
equipment being operated.
(0 Tips
- If you would like more information on
Homelink, where to purchase the Home
Link compat ible products, or would like
to purchase the Home Link Home Light
ing Package, please call toll-free :
1-800-355-3515.
-For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula
tions
¢ page 296.
-For security reasons, we recommend that
you clear the programmed buttons be
fore selling the vehicle.
Operation
App lies to vehicles : with Homeli nk
Fig. 148 Headl iner: controls
Req uirement: The buttons must be program-
med
<:!)page 136 or ¢page 137. ..,_
144 Driving Safely
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without
interference and that nothing prevents them
from returning to their original positions .
Only use floor mats that leave the peda l area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten
ers.
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake peda l
travel is required to bring the vehicle to a full
stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause
loss of vehicle control and increase the r isk
of serious injury.
- Never place any objects in the driver 's
footwell. An object could get into the
peda l area and interfere w ith pedal func
tion. In case of sudden braking or an ac
cident, you would not be ab le to bra ke or
accelerate!
- Always make su re that nothing can fall
or move into the driver's footwell.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor mat fasteners and do
not interfere with the free movement of the
pedals .
.,. Make su re that the floor mats are properly
secured and cannot move and interfere with
the pedals~ .&_.
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal a rea
unobstructed and that are firmly secured so
that they cannot s lip out of position. You can
obtain suitable floor mats from your author
ized Audi dealer.
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi . Floor mats used in your vehicle must be at
tached to these fasteners . Properly securing
the floor mats will prevent them from sliding
into positions that could interfere with the
pedals or impair safe operat ion of your vehicle
in other ways.
A WARNING ,-
Pedals that cannot move freely can result
i n a loss of vehicle control and increase the
r isk of ser ious persona l injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are
p roperly secured.
- Never place or install floor mats or other
f loor coverings in the vehicle that cannot
be prope rly secured in place to prevent
them from slipping and interfer ing wi th
the peda ls or the ability to contro l the
vehicle.
- Never pla ce or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already instal
led floor mats . Additiona l floor mats and
other coverings will reduce the size of
the pedal area and interfere with the
pedals.
- Always properly reinsta ll and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for clean
ing.
- Always make sure that objects cannot
fall into the dr iver footwell while the ve
hicle is moving . Objects can become
trapped under the brake pedal and accel
erator pedal causing a loss of vehicle
control.
Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, engine function, emis
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac
tually recorded over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
The Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC) rein
forces driver safety. It reduces the risk of slip
ping and improves driving stability. ESC de
tects critical s ituations such as the vehicle
Intelligent technology 197
oversteering and understeering or the whee ls
spinning . The vehicle is stabilized by applying
the brakes or reducing eng ine torque . Once
the ESC is active, the indicator light
G1 blinks
in the instrument cluster.
ESC includes the anti-lock brake system (ABS),
brake assist system, anti-slip regulation
(ASR), electronic differential lock (EDL), dy
namic steering*, hill descent assist and selec
tive wheel torque control.
Anti-lock brake system (ABS)
ABS prevents the whee ls from locking up
when braking . The vehicle can still be steered
even during hard braking. App ly steady pres
sure to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped
al. A pulsing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is helping you to brake the vehicle .
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease braking
distance. It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake pedal quickly in emer
gency situations . You must press and hold the
brake pedal until the situation is over . In
vehicles with adaptive cruise control*, the
brake assist system is more sensitive if the
distance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
small.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels beg in to sp in and adapts the force to
the road conditions. This makes it easier to
start, accelerate and drive up hill s.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the othe r whee ls .
T his function is available up to about 78 mph
(125 km/h) .
In extreme cases, EDL automatically switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked wheel
from overheat ing. EDL will switch on again au
tomatically when conditions have returned to
normal.
•
•
198 Intelligent technology
Dynamic ste ering *
On vehicles with dynamic stee ring* , ES C helps
stabilize the st eering in critical s ituations .
Selective wh eel torque c ontrol
The selective whee l torque control operates
when dr iv ing through curves . T he front wheel
on the inside of the curve or both wheels on
the inside of the curv e are braked selective ly
as needed. This m inimizes sliding in the front
wheels and allows for more pr ecise driving
through curves . T he system may not act ivate
when driving in wet or snowy cond itions .
A WARNING
-ESC, ABS, ASR, EDL dynamic steering"
and the se lective wheel torque control
cannot overcome the laws of physics .
Th is is especially important on slippery
or wet roads.
If the systems begin act ing
to stabilize yo ur vehicle , you sho uld im
med iately change your speed to ma tch
the road and traffic condit ions. Do not
let the increased safety provided by
these systems tempt you to take risks. Do ing so wi ll increase the risk of a loss of
vehicle control, collision and serious per
sonal injuries .
- Always adapt your speed to road, traff ic
and weather condit ions. The risk of Los-
ing cont ro l of the veh icle increases when
Switching on/off
-
driving too fast, espec ially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead . ESC, ABS, the brake ass ist sys
tem, ASR, ED L, dynam ic steering* and
the selective whe el torque cont ro l can
not p revent collisions.
- Always accelerate with special care on
even, smooth surfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheel s can spin eve n w ith
these assistance sys tems t hat can not al
ways he lp to red uce the risk of loss of ve
hicle control.
(0 Tips
- ABS and ASR only work correctly when
all four whee ls are equipped wi th identi
cal tires . Different tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine powe r.
- Yo u may hear noises when the systems
described are working .
-If the ind icator light&] or llB (USA
mode ls)/ [iJ (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction
c:::, page 15,
c:::, page 17.
-When installing a factory-supplied roof
rack system on the roof railing, the ESC
w ill adapt itse lf to a different center of
gravity.
ESC turn s on automa tically when you star t the engine .
Fig . 18 5 Ve rs io n A: L ower ce nte r conso le , fJ. O FF b ut·
to n Fig. 186 Ve rs io n B: Uppe r ce nte r co nso le, fJ. OF F bu t
t on
The following situations are exceptions where it may be useful to switch on offroad mode to
allow the whee ls to spin :
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Driv ing in deep snow or on loose ground
- Driving with snow cha ins
Offroad mode on
Intelligen t technolog y 199
- Driving downh ill wh ile braking on loose
ground
- Dr iving on roug h ter rain when much of the
car's weight is lifted
off the whee ls (axle ar
tic ulation)
Offroad mode off
Beha vior
The ESC and ASR stabilization funct ions The full stab ilizat ion function of the ESC
are limited ~,&. .
Operation Press the I~ OF FI button.
Ind icat or II tu rns on.
li g ht s
Dri ver me s- Stabilizat ion cont rol (ESC ): Offroad.
s age s War
nin g ! Rest ricted stab ility
A WARNING
You should only sw itch offroad mode on if
your dr iving abili ties and road cond itions
pe rmit .
- T he stabilization function is limited
when offroad mode is swi tched on. The
dr iv ing whee ls co uld spin and the vehicle
cou ld swe rve, especially on slick or slip
pery road surfaces.
- Yo u should o nly switch offroad mode o n
when driving offroad.
@ Tips
Offroad mode cannot be swit ched o n when
a dapt ive cr uise control* is sw itched o n.
Hill descent assist
The hill descent assist makes it possible to
drive down an incline at a constant speed.
F ig . 187 Top o f the ce nter conso le : hi ll d es cent ass ist
b utto n
and ASR is available again .
Press the
I ~ OFF I button again .
MJ tu rns off .
Stabil ization control (ESC ): On
Fi g. 18 8 Disp lay: hil l de sce nt ass is t
"' Press the~ button in the cen ter conso le
~ fig. 187 or on the sh ift ga te. Th e but ton
wi ll ill uminate.
"' Press the b utton again to sw itch it
off . The
diode in the button wi ll go out .
Hill descent assist brakes all four whee ls auto
matically in order to limit speed when driving
either forwa rd or reverse on hill s with a grade
up to approximate ly 50% .
When the hill descent assist is on, the current
driv ing speed, when your vehicle entered the
incline is maintained. It is on ly possible to
switch on the assist when driving slower than
37 mph (60 km/h). The assist works between
approximately 2 and 19 mp h (4 and 30 km/
h) . The driver can inc rease or decrease the ve
hicle speed within these limits by depress ing
the accelerator or brake pedal In addition, ve hicle steerab ility is increased due to the brak-
i ng distribution when driving i n reve rse . ..,.