82 Transmi ssion
Transmission
S tronic transmission
Introduction
App lies to vehicles : wit h S tro nic
Your veh icle is equipped with a S tronic trans
miss ion, a lso called a double-clutch system/
tra nsmission.
Power is transfe rred between the engine and
the transm ission by means of two i ndepend
ent cl utches. They replace the to rque conve rt
e r of conventional a utomat ic transm iss io ns
and a llow the vehicle to acce le rate w it h out a
noticeab le break in the power flow .
W ith the aid oftiptroni c, the gea rs can op
tionally be sh ifted
manually ¢ page 85.
Selector lever positions
App lies to vehicles: wit h S tro nic
All the selector lever positions are explained
in this section.
l-- -·· -----,,1
+55°F
~ 340mi
D
F ig. 90 Display: Selector lever posit ion
The instrument cluster display shows these
l ector lever posit ion.
P - Park lock
I n th is posi tion the ge ars are mechan ically
l ocked .
The park lock must on ly be engaged with t he
ve hicl e
stationary ¢&, .
To engage P and to remove the lever from th is
position, you must depress the release button
(button in the selector leve r hand le)
and si
multaneous ly yo u m ust s tep on the brake
pedal.
R -reverse
In this pos ition, reverse is eng aged .
Reve rse gear m ust only be e ngaged w ith the
vehicle
stationary and the engine ru nning at
idle speed ¢ &, .
T o engage R, you have to depress the release
button
and simultaneously step on the b rake
peda l. In the R pos ition, the bac k-up lights il
l u minate w ith the igni tion o n.
N - Neutral
The transm iss ion is in neut ral i n this pos ition.
D -No rmal position fo r driving forward
In this position, the forward gears are auto
matically shifted up and down, depending on
engine load and vehicle speed.
T o engage D from
N, the brake pedal m ust be
depressed at s peeds below 5 km/h or when
the ve hicle is stationary ¢& .
In cert ain circ umstan ces (driving in the moun
ta ins for examp le) it can be beneficia l to
switch temporari ly to the man ual shift pro
gram ¢
page 85 in order to ad just the gear
ratios to driving conditions
manually .
S -Sport setting
T he S setting sho uld be se lec ted for sporty
driving. The power reserves of the engine can
be fully explo ited through later upshifts.
T o engage S from N, t he brake peda l m ust be
depressed at speeds below 5 km/h o r when
t h e vehi cle is stationary ¢& .
A. WARNING
- Never p lace the se lector lever i n the R or
P posit ion while the veh icle is moving -
risk of an accident!
- W ith the engine r unning, it is necessary
to hold the vehicle with the foot brake in
all se lector lever positions (except P and
N), because even at idle speed the trans
fe r of power is never completely inter
r u pted - t he vehicle "creeps". If t he vehi-
cle is stat io nary and the t rans missio n is
~
engaged, the engine should never be
speeded up unintentionally (e.g. manual ly from under the hood). Otherwise the
vehicle will immediately start to move -
sometimes even if the parking brake is
firmly applied - risk of an accident!
- Before you or other persons open the
hood and work on a running engine, the
selector lever must be moved to P and
the parking brake applied firmly - risk of
an accident! Follow the warning stickers.
@ Tips
If you have inadvertently sh ifted into N
while the veh icle is moving, you should re
move your foo t from the accelerator and
wait until the engi ne speed has dropped to
id le before shifting back to Dor S.
Selector lever lock
Applies to vehicles: with S tro nic
The selector lever lock prevents a gear from
being engaged occidentally and unintention
ally setting the vehicle in motion .
Fig. 91 Selector lever locks
The selector lever lock is released as follows:
.,. Switch the ignition on.
.,. Step on the brake pedal
and simultaneously
hold down the re lease button.
Automatic selector lever lock
The selector lever is locked in the P and N po
sitions when the ignition is on. To move the
l ever from these positions the driver must de
press the brake pedal. As a reminder to the
driver, the following warning appears in the
Transmission 83
instrument cluster display when the se lector
is in P and N:
To start engine or select gear apply foot
brake when stationary
The selector lever lock is effective only when
the vehi cle is stationary and a t speeds below
S km/h . At higher speeds, the lock in the N
pos ition is automat ically switched off.
The selector lever is not locked when rapid
shifts are made through the N position (e.g.
from R to D) . This allows you to "rock " the ve
hicle if it becomes stuck. If the lever is in the
N position for more than 1 second with the
brake pedal not depressed, the selector lock
engages automatically .
Release button
The release butto n in the selector lever han
dle prevents accidental shifts into certain se
lector lever positions . When you press the re
lease button , the selector lever lock is cancel
led. In the illustration, the positions in which
the release button has to be pressed are high
lighted in color
¢ fig . 91.
Ignition key removal lock
The ignition key can only be removed after the
ignition is switched off if the selector lever is
in P. As long as the ignition key is removed,
the selector lever is locked in P.
(y Tips
If the se lector lever does not engage,
there is a malfunction . The engine is disa
bled to prevent th e vehicle from driving off
unintentionally. To allow the selector lever
to engage again, proceed as follows: Press
and release the brake pedal.
84 Transmi ssion
Driving Notes
Appl ies to vehicles: with S tron ic
The forward gears are shifted up or down au
tomatically.
--
-
-
-
-
-
--Fig. 92 Section from ce nter console: Se lector leve r
wit h release b utto n
Starting the engin e
• The selector lever must be in the P or the N
posit ion. At low temperatures (be low -10
0
(), the engine can only be started when the
selector lever is in the P position .
Starting f rom sto p
.. Step on and hold the brake pedal.
• Hold the re lease button (button in se lector
lever) down, move the selector lever to the
desired position, for example Do
page 82,
and release the button.
• Re lease the brake pedal and acce lerate
o .&_ .
Stopp ing tem pora rily
• Bring the vehicle to a full stop with the
brake, e.g . at traffic signals .
• Do not accelerate .
Pa rkin g
.. Step on and hold the brake peda l o A .
• Apply the parking brake firmly .
• Hold the release button down, move these
lector lever to P and release the button .
Stopping on an incline
• Always hold the vehicle with the footbrake
or parking brake in order to prevent "roll
back" o
,&. Do not try to prevent the vehi
cle from rolling back by revving the engine
while it is in gear .
Starting on a hill
• Apply the hand brake firmly .
• With the engine in gear, gradually acceler-
ate and release the hand brake.
T he eng ine can only be
s tar ted w ith the selec
tor leve r in P or No
page 74 . At low amb ient
temperatures (14
° F /-10 °C), it is only possi
ble to start the engine with the selector lever
in P.
When parking o n level ground, it is s ufficient
to place the selector lever in P . On a steeply
s loping road, you shou ld first apply the park
ing brake f irmly and then place the selector
lever in P. Th is way, you do not overload the
pawl mechanism and it is easier to move the
selector lever out of P .
A WARNING
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running while in gear . If you must leave
your veh icle w ith the engine r unning, set
the park ing brake and engage the park
lock .
- When the engine is running and the transmiss ion is in gear (D, Sor R) or in
"t iptronic" mode, it is essential that you
stop the vehicle with the footbrake.
When idling, the transmission of power does not stop comp letely -the vehicle
"creeps".
- Do not accelerate when you change the
selector lever position w it h the vehicle
stationary and the engine runn ing -risk
of an acc ident!
- Never p lace the selector lever in the R or
N pos ition wh ile the vehicle is mov ing -
risk of an acc ident!
- If you have to bring your vehicle to a stop
while on an incline, keep the foot brake depressed all the way down so that the
veh icle does not start to rol l backward.
You shou ld never ho ld the vehicle using
the clutch if you are going to be s topped
on an incline. If you do, the cl utch w ill
start to slip when it overheats ca used by
the constant overload. This is dangerous
~
94 Driving Safely
• Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
times.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
c::> page 61.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it deploys. To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast
bone and the steering wheel.
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and
the lower part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the
outside of the steering wheel rim with
your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk of per
sonal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Hold
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag in
flates
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supple
mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision.
- Always sit in an upright position and nev
er lean against or place any part of your
body too close to the area where the air
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats and head restraints properly and
make sure that all passengers are prop
erly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving. Your seat may move unexpect- edly and you could lose control of the ve
hicle.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in
jury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper seating posi
tion .
- Children must always ride in child seats
c::> page 130. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front passenger seat¢
page 109.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position
is important for safe, relaxed driving .
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position :
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position and your back comes in full contact with it whenever the vehicle is
moving.
• Adjust the head restraint so that the upper
edge is as even with the top of your head as
possible but not lower than eye level and so
that it is as close to the back of your head as
possible
c::> page 95.
• Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat.
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
c::> page 104.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
c::> page 60 .
A WARNING
-
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air
bag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury:
98 Driving Safely
• Distribute the load evenly in the luggage
compartment.
• Always place and properly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as far
forward as possible.
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle causing serious
personal injury in the event of hard brak
ing or an accident. To help reduce the risk
of serious personal injury:
- Always put objects, for example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com
partment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compartment using the tie-down eyelets
and suitable straps.
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your ve
hicle handles. To help reduce the risk of a
loss of control leading to serious personal
injury:
-Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
vehicle handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat
ing or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per
missible weight standards can cause the
vehicle to slide and handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driv
ing
!:? page 92 .
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always
keep the rear lid closed while driving.
- Never transport objects larger than
-
those fitting completely into the luggage area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the convertible top,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
-Always make sure that the doors, all win-
dows, the convertible top and the rear lid
are securely closed and locked to reduce
the risk of injury when the vehicle is not
being used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es pecially with the rear lid left open . A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
@ Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce window
fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel , on the
left side of the luggage compartment.
Be sure to keep these slots free and
open.
- The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar .
The tire pressure label lists the ..,
104 Safety belts
-Never strap more than one person, in
cluding small children, into any single
safety belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit
t ing on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being driv
en.
- Never let any person ride with feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve
hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of being injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
may cause injury.
- Never wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi
tion.
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in
terfere with correct positioning of belts
and reduce their effectiveness.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latch
ing securely.
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt. Howev
er, special clips may be required for the
correct use of some child restraint sys
tems.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam
aged by being caught in door or seat hardware.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly.
If web
bing, bindings, buckles, or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop . Replacement may be necessa- ry even if damage cannot be clearly seen.
Anchorages that were loaded must also
be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety belts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inertia reel¢
ta
ble Cleaning interior on page 157.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 108 Belt buckle and tongue on the driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint
properly ¢
page 60, General recommenda
tions.
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even
ly across the chest and pelvis ¢
.&_.
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢fig . 108.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat
ic belt retractor on the shoulder belt . This fea
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and in an accident .
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hi ll or through a sharp curve.
During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt p re
tensione r that helps to t igh ten the safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensione r is ac
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is monitored by a warning light
q page 15.
Switchable lo cking feature
Every safe ty belt excep t the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped w ith a switchab le locking fea
ture that
mu st be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat . Be s ure to read the
important informat ion about th is feature
q page 138.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 105, Safety belt position .
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly positioned on the
body .
-
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck
le for another seat . Attach ing the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
effect iveness and ca n cause serious per
sonal in jury.
- A passenger who is no t properly rest rain
ed can be serio usly inju red by the safety
belt itself when it moves from the stron-
ger parts of the body into critical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always lock the convert ible locking re
tractor when yo u are secur ing a chi ld
seat in the vehicle
¢ page 140.
Safety belts 105
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig . 1 09 Safety belt po sit ion
;;;
9 r ., a,
Standard fea tures on your veh icle he lp you ad
just the position o f the safety bel t to matc h
your body size .
- he ight-adjustable fron t seats.
A WARNING
Improperly posit ioned s afety be lts c an
cause serious persona l injury in an acci
dent .
-
-The s hou lder belt should lie as close to
the center o f the collar bone as possible
a nd should fit well on the body. Hold the
be lt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possib le on the pelv is and there is
no pressure on the abdomen . The belt
should always fit snugly¢
fig. 109 . Pull
on the belt to t ighten if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt
must be posit ioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo
men . Make sure the belt lies flat and
snug
q fig. 109. Pu ll on the be lt to tight
e n if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri
ous injuries by shifting its pos it ion on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerable, soft tissue and cause ser ious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 103.
described in the child restraint manufactur
er 's instructions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea
ture on the safety be lt for the front passen
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight. The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the seat can do its job<=>
page 138 .
-make sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the child and child safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen
sor is not blocked . Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenger seat back and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is being used to tie the
ch ild safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure t hat it is not so tight that it
ca uses the we ight-sensing mat to meas ure
more weight than is actua lly on the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
d oes no t com e on and does not stay on con
tinuously (when the igni tion is sw itched on),
- take the ch ild restraint off the front passen·
ger seat and have the airbag system inspect
ed by your Aud i dealer immediately .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NO T come on when the ign ition is on and a n
adu lt is sitt ing in a p roper seat ing pos ition on
the front passenger seat.
If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
li gh t comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds while driving, un
de r these circ umstances, make s ure that:
- the ad ult o n the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat
cus hion with his or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
<=> page 93, Proper occupant seating posi
tions,
- the ad ult is not taking weight off the seat by
ho lding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door,
A irbag system 12 1
- the safety belt is being properly wo rn and
that there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webb ing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
In addition to the
PASSEN GER A IR BAG O FF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PAS SENG ER AIR BAG ON will briefly appear
i n the instrument cluster d isplay. This is to in
fo rm the dr iver of the current front passenger
airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
-
An airbag system that is not functioning
p roperly cannot provide supplemental pro
tection in a frontal c rash.
- If the airbag ind icator light comes on, it
means that there may be something
wrong with the Advanced Airbag Sys tem.
It is poss ible that the ai rbag w ill inflate
when it is not supposed to, or will not in
f late when it sho uld .
- Have the airbag system inspe cted imme
diate ly by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child withou t
a child restraint, in a rea rward-facing child
safety seat or in a forwa rd-facing child re
straint that has not been properly installed
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed.
- Even tho ugh your vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced A irbag System, make
certain that all children, espec ially 12
yea rs and younger, always ride properly
restrained fo r their age and size. •
•