
112 Autom atic tr an smi ssion
position longer than approximately 2 seconds
when th e brake pedal is not pressed.
Inter lock butt on
The interlock button in the selector lever han
d le prevents you from moving the selector
lever inadvertently while in some se lecto r lev
er positions. The positions that require the in
terlock button to be pressed are marked in
color in the illustration
c::> fig. 106 .
Ignition k ey s afe ty inte rloc k*
You can only remove the key from the ignition
after switching the ignition off if the se lector
lever is in the P position. The selector lever
will be locked in the P position as long as the
key is not in the ign ition.
_&. WARNING
Read and following all WARNINGS. c::> .& in
Selector lever positions on page 110.
(D Tips
- If the se lector lever does not engage,
there is a malfunction. The engine is dis
abled to prevent the vehicle from driving
off unintentionally. Press the brake pedal briefly to allow the selector lever lock to
engage aga in .
- If the vehicle does not move forward or
in reverse even though a drive position is
se lected, proceed as follows:
- >If the veh icle does not move in the de
s ired direction, the system may not have
engaged the dr ive position co rrectly.
Press the brake pedal and select the
drive position again.
- >If the veh icle st ill does not move in the
desired direction, there is a system mal
f u nct ion . See an a uthorized Aud i dea ler
or authorized Audi Service Facility for as
sistance to have the system checked.
Driving tips
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic transmission
The transmission shifts up and down auto
matically when in the driving gears .
Fig . 107 Sect io n of the cente r co nsole: se lector leve r
w ith interlock b utto n
The eng ine will only be able start when these
lector lever is in the P or N positions. At low
temperatures (below 14 °F ( -10 °C)), the en
gine can only be started when the selector
lever is in the P pos it ion.
St arting from a stop
.,. Press and hold the brake pedal.
.,. Press and hold the interlock button in the
selector lever handle, select the desired se
lector lever pos ition such as D
c::> page 11 0
and release the lock button.
.,. Wa it a moment until the transmission
shifts . You will notice a slight movement
when the gear engages .
.. Release the b rake peda l and press the acce l
erator pedal
c::> _A .
Stopping t emporarily
.,. Keep the veh icle stat iona ry using the brak
ing pedal, fo r example at traffic lig hts.
.,. Do not press the accelerator peda l when do
ing this.
.,. To prevent the vehicle from ro lling when you
start driv ing, set the parking brake when
stopping on steep inclines
c::> _A .
.,. The parking brake will release automat ically
and the vehicle will start mov ing once you
press the acce lerator pedal. Requ irement:
The driver's safety belt must fastened and
the dr iver's door must be closed . .,._

Stopping /p ar kin g
If the se lector lever is not in the P position
when you open the driver's door, the vehicle
could ro ll. In vehicles with a convenience key* ,
the following message appears:
S hift to P,
othe rwise veh icle c an roll away. Door s do not
lock if leve r is not in P .
You will also hear a
warn ing tone.
~ Press and ho ld the brake pedal c:> _& .
~ Set the parking brake.
~ Select the P selector lever pos ition.
Stopp ing on an inclin e
~ Always press the brake pedal to hold the ve
hicle in p lace and prevent it from "rolling
back"
c:> _& . Do not try to prevent the vehi
cle from "rolling back" when a gear is en
gaged by increasing the eng ine speed
c:> Q).
Starting on an incline in vehicle s wi thout
Hill Hold*
~ Set the parking brake.
~ With the driving gear se lected, press the ac
celerator pedal carefully. The parking brake
will release automat ically if your safety belt
is fastened .
Starting on an incline i n vehicle s with Hill
Hold*
~ With the driving gear selected, remove your
foot from the brake pedal and press the ac
celerato r pedal
c:> page 84, Hill hold.
Under certain circumstances, (such as driving
in the mountains or towing a tra iler), it may
be usefu l to switch temporarily to the manual
shift p rogram in order to adjust the gears to
the dr iving condit ions by hand
c:> page 115.
When parking on a level surface, simply place
the selector leve r in the P pos ition. On in
clines, activate the parking bra ke first and
then move the selector lever to the P posit ion
q page 82. This prevents the loc king mecha
nism from being loaded too heavily and wi ll
~ make it easier to move the selector lever out
" iii of the P position.
,...., \!) 1.1"1 ,...., 1.1"1 ,....,
Automa tic tran sm iss ion 113
A WARNING
- The vehicle can roll even when the en
gine is sw itched off.
- Unintended vehicle movement can lead
to serious injuries.
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine running while in gear. If you must leave
your veh icle when the engine is running,
set the parking brake and move these
lector lever to the P position.
- Power is still transferred to the wheels
when the engine is running at idle . To
prevent the vehicle from "c reeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake when
the engine is running and the se lector
lever is in the D, Sor R position or "tip
tronic" mode is selected .
- Do not inadvertently press the accelera
tor peda l when the vehicle is stationary.
Otherwise the vehicle wi ll start to move
immed iate ly, even if the parking brake is
set. Th is could resu lt in a crash.
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever position
while the vehicle is stationary and the engine is running.
- Never engage the R or P selector leve l
positions while dr iv ing. It could cause a
crash.
- 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
downhill . Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substantially re
duces braking pe rformance, increases
b ra ki ng distance or causes complete fa il
ure of the brake system.
- I f you must stop on an in cl ine, always
hold the vehicle in place with the foot
bra ke or parking brake to p reven t it from
rolling back .
- Neve r hold the vehicle on an incline with
a slipping clutch . The clutch opens a uto -
matica lly when it becomes too hot from
~
•

114 Automatic tran smi ssion
the overload. The ml indicator light
turns on and a message appears
¢ page 116 when the clutch is overload
ed .
- If the engine must run while you are
working in the eng ine compartment with
the hood open, make sure a gear is not
engaged. The selector lever must be
firmly in the
P pos it ion and locked in
place and the pa rking brake must be set
¢ page 214. Otherwise, the veh icle
cou ld beg in moving when the eng ine
speed is high, even with the parking
brake set.
@ Note
- When stopping on an incline, do not try
to hold the vehicle in place by pressing
the accelerator peda l while a driving gear
i s selected. This can cause the automatic
transmission to overheat and can dam
age it. Set the park ing brake or press the
brake pedal to prevent t he veh icle from
r o lli ng .
- Allow ing the vehicle to roll when the en
gine is stopped and the selector lever is
i n the N pos ition will damage the auto
matic transmission beca use it is not lu
bricated unde r those circu mstances.
- The transm ission can ove rheat and be
damaged under certa in driving and traf
fic conditions such as frequent starts,
creeping for a long time, or s top-and -go
traff ic. W hen the
ml or . indicator
li ght turns on, stop the vehicle at the
next oppo rtunity and let the transmis
s ion coo l
¢ page 116 .
- Allow ing the ve hicle to roll when the en
gine is stopped w ill damage the 5 tron ic
transmission because it is not lubricated
¢ page 2 75, Emergency towing with
commercial tow truck.
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the park ing brake re
leases automatically only when the driver's
door is closed and dr iver's safety be lt is
fastened.
Hill descent control
Applies to veh icles: w ith S tronic transm iss io n
Hill descent control assists the driver when
driving down hills .
Hill descent contro l is activated when these
lector lever is in the Dor 5 position and you
press the brake pedal. The transm ission auto
matically selects a gear that is su itab le for the
incl ine. Hill descent cont ro l tries to ma inta in
t h e speed ac hieved at the t ime of b raking,
within physica l and tec hni cal limitations. If
may sti ll be necessary to ad just the speed
with the brakes . Because hill descent control
cannot shift down farther than 3rd gea r, it
may be necessary to sh ift into t iptronic mode
i n very steep areas . In this case, shift into 1st
or 2nd gear in t iptron ic mode to use the en
gine's brak ing force to relieve the brakes .
Hill descent contro l sw itches off once the h ill
levels out or you press the accelerator pedal.
On vehicles with a cruise contro l system*
¢ page 85, hill descent control is also activat
ed when the speed is set.
A WARNING
--
H ill descent control cannot overcome
physical lim itations, so it may not be ab le
to maintain a constant speed unde r a ll
conditions. A lways be ready to apply the
b rakes.

M N
" > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
A WARNING ,~
Heavy loads will influence the way your ve
hicle handles. To help reduce the r isk of a
loss of control leading to ser ious personal
injury:
-Always keep in m ind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
vehicle handling:
- Always distr ibute the load as even ly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as poss ible.
- Never exceed the Gross Ax le Weight Rat
ing or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick
er on the left do or jamb. Exceeding per
missib le we ight standards can cause the
vehicle to s lide and handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driv
ing co
page 126.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from be ing drawn into the veh icle, always
keep the rea r lid closed while dr iving.
- Never transport objects larger than those fitting completely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
cl osed.
- If you absolutely must drive w ith the rear
l id ope n, observe the follow ing notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power top,
- Open all air ou tlets in the instrument
panel,
- Sw itch off the air recircu lation,
- Set the fresh ai r fan to the h ighest
speed.
A WARNING
Alw ays m ake s ure th at the doors, all win
dows, the power top an d the re ar lid are
securely closed and locked to reduce th e
Dri ving s afe ty 133
risk of injury when the vehicle is not being
used .
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and loc ked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es
pecially with the rear lid left open. A
child cou ld craw l into the vehicle thro ugh
the luggage compartment and close the
rea r lid becoming t rapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious pe rsonal inj ury.
- Never let ch ildren play in or around the
veh icle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compa rtment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restra ined in one of
the vehicle's seating pos it ions.
(D Tips
- Air circulati on helps to reduce window
fogging . S tale a ir escapes to the outside
through ven ts in the t rim panel. Be sure
t o keep these slots free an d ope n.
- T he tire pressure m ust correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
t ire pressure label. T he tire pressure la
bel is located on the driver's side B-pilla r.
T he tire pressure label lists the recom
mended co ld tire inflation pressures fo r
the vehicle at its maxim um capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured.
For recommended tire pressures f or nor
ma l load cond itions, p lease see chapter
co
page 235.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items .
Use the t ie-downs to secure your cargo prop
erly co
page 132, Loading the luggage com
partment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean th at
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi-
cle w ill become heavy m issiles that can cause .,.. •
•

M N
" > co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are ex tremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in
fants and small children .
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental protection .
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve
hicle is properly restrained .
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering
wheel rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00
o'clock positions to help reduce the risk
of personal injury if the driver's airbag in
flates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of severe injury to the arms, hands, and
head if the driver airbag deploys .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
and/or by being pushed into you as the air
bag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front
airbag deployment zone that could be
struck by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag
deploys and cause serious personal in
jury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use .
-
Airbag system 151
-Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the
doors; never attach then to the doors or
the windshield; never place them over or
near or attach them to the area marked
,,AIRBAG " on the steering wheel, instru
ment panel or the seat backrests; never
place them between these areas and you
or any other person in the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such
as accessory GPS navigation units or mu
sic players. Such objects could cause seri
ous injury in a collision, especially when
the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to transport objects. Items can also move
into the deployment area of the side air
bags or the front airbag during breaking
or in a sudden maneuver . Objects near
the airbags can fly dangerously through
the passenger compartment and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re
clined and the airbags inflate.
A WARNING
-=
A person on the front passenger seat , es-
pecially infants and small children, will re
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is designed to turn
off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special conditions is impossible in all conceiva
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the ,,low risk" option
for 3-and 6-year-old children under the
•
•
•

160 Airbag sys te m
- and i f th e e lec trica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is equal to or
l ess than t he combined capacitance of a ty p
ical 1 year-old infant and one of the rear
ward-facing o r forward-facing child re
stra ints listed in Federal Motor Ve hicle Safe
ty Standard 208 w ith whic h the Adva nce d
Airbag System in your vehicle was ce rtified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght w ill stay on . Nev
e r i nsta ll a rearwa rd-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place fo r
a child in any kind of child restraint is at o ne
of the seat ing positions on the rear seat
¢ page 148, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 169, Child Safety .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on when one of the cond itions listed above is
met , be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on cont inuous ly whenever the
ignit io n is on . If t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
l ight does not appear on and does not
stay o n all the time, s top as soon as it is safe
to do so a nd
- react ivate the system by turning the ignition
off for more than 4 seconds and then tu rn
i ng it on agai n;
- remove and re install the chi ld restraint.
Make su re that the child res traint is properly
insta lled and that the safety be lt fo r the
fron t passenger seat has been correct ly
ro uted throug h the child restraint as descri
bed in t he chi ld restraint man ufact urer 's in
structions;
- make sure that the convertible locking re
t ractor on the safety belt for the front pas
senger seat has been act ivated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight.
- ma ke sure that no e lectrica l device (such as
a laptop, CD playe r, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child seats)
is p laced or used on the front passenger seat
if the dev ice is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter soc ket;
- ma ke s ure that no seat heater has been ret
rofitted or otherwise added to the front pas
senger seat;
- ma ke s ure that no thing can interfere with
the safety belt buck les an d that they are not
obstructed ;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such as a wet towe l) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still
does not c ome on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on and does not stay on con
t in uous ly (when the ignition is switched on),
- t ake the child restraint off the front passen -
ge r seat and install it proper ly at o ne of the
rear seat positions. Have the airbag system
inspected by yo ur Audi dealer immed iately.
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure t hat the c hil d is properly restra in
ed in a c hild restra int that is appropriate for
its size and age .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG light should
NOT come on . ..
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignit ion is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat. If t he
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes o n and s tays on o r
flashes fo r about S seconds w hile d riving, un
der these circumstances, make sure tha t:
- t he adult on the front passenge r sea t is
prope rly seated on the cente r of the seat
cushion wi th his o r her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is no t re cli ned,
- t he adult is not tak ing we ight o ff the sea t by
holding on to the passenger assis t handle
above the front passenger door or s upport
ing their weight on the armrest ,
- t he sa fe ty belt is be ing properly wo rn and
t ha t the re is not a lot o f slack in the safety
be lt webbing,
- t here are no aftermar ket sea t covers or
cushions or other things (such as blankets) .,..

1 76 Child Safety
& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stalling a child restraint increases the risk of serious personal injury and death in a
crash .
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas
senger seat - even with an Advanced Air
bag System. A child will be seriously in
jured and can be killed when the inflat
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in
fant carrier with great force and smashes
the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, door or roof¢
page 148,
Child restraints on the front seat -some
important things to know.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint
in the forward-facing direction . Such re
straints are designed for the special
needs of infants and very small children
and cannot protect them properly if the
seat is forward-facing.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CO player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas
senger seat if the device is connected to
the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light
er socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CO player, electronic games de
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats). These may influence the
electrical capacitance measured by the
capacitive passenger detection system
and can also fly around in an accident
and cause serious personal injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
~page 138, Safety
belts,
~ page 146, Airbag system and
¢ page 169, Important things to know.
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
Fig . 150 Sc hema tic overview: installat ion of the at
tachments applicab le to a LATCH seat
Fig. 151 Schemat ic overv iew: inst allation of the seat
u sing the vehicl e's safety belt system
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat ..,_

180 Child Safety
-Always remember that a child leaning
forward, sitting sideways or out of posi
tion in any way during an accident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re
sult in serious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described¢
page 158, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in
ave
hicle is being used¢ page 138, Safety
belts,¢ page 146, Airbag system
and
¢page 169, Important things to know .
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger can be locked with the convertible
locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safe ty belts and for the
front passenger's seat safety belt have a con
vertible locking retractor for child restraints.
The safety belt must be locked so that belt
webbing cannot unreel. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during normal driving. A child safety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
is locked so that the child and child safety
seat will stay in place. Always
remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young
er , should always ride in the back seat proper
ly restrained for their age and si ze.
A WARNING
=
Improperly installed child safety seats in -
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision .
- Always make sure that the safety belt re
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
- If the backrest is not securely latched,
the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward together with the back
rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be seriously in
jured or killed .
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas
senger seat. A child will be seriously in
jured and can be killed when the passen
ger airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats or in
fant carriers installed on the front pas senger's seat may interfere with the de
ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave-
hicle is being used
¢ page 169. Special ..,.