....,
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-Never select R or P while driving, because
this increases the risk of an accident.
- Power is stil l 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 in all
selector lever positions (except P) when
the engine is runn ing . Otherwise, th is in
creases the risk of an accident.
- Do not inadvertently press the accele ra
tor pedal when the vehicle is stopped if a
gear is engaged . Otherwise the vehicle
will start to move immediately, even if
the parking brake is set. This could res ult
in a crash .
- Do not press the accelera tor pedal when
changing the selector leve r pos ition
whi le the vehicle is stationary and the
engine is running.
- Never leave your vehicle with the eng ine
running whi le in gear . If you must leave
your vehicle when the engine is running, set the parking brake and move these
lector lever to the P posit ion.
- Before opening the hood and working on
a running engine, select the P position
with the se lector lever and set the park
ing brake. Always read and follow the ap
plicable warnings q page 214, Working
in the engine compartment.
(D Note
Never let the veh icle roll downhill with en
gine off and the selector lever in the N po
sition, beca use this could damage the a u
tomatic transmission and cata lytic con
ver ter .
@ Tips
-Audi drive select: Sporty shifting cha rac
te ristics can be se lected using the
dy
namic driving mode.Swill appear in the
i nst rument cl uster display i nstead of D.
- If you accidentally sele ct N while driv ing,
take you r foot off the a cce le rator pedal
i mmedia tely and wai t fo r the engine to
slow down to idle be fore se lecting Do r S.
Au tom atic tr an sm iss ion 11 1
-If there is a power fai lure, the selector
lever will not move out of the P position .
The emergency re lease can be used if
this happens qpage 117.
Selector lever lock
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic transmiss ion
The selector lever lock prevents you from se
lecting a gear accidentally, causing the vehi
cle to roll.
Fig. 106 Se lector lever lock
To re lease the selector lever lock:
.. Switch the ignit ion on.
* 0 > a,
"'
.. Press the brake pedal while pressing the in-
terlock button .
Automatic sh ift lock (ASL)
The selector lever is locked in the P and N po
sitions when the ign it ion is switched on. You
must press the brake pedal to select another
pos ition . You must also press the interlock
button if you are mov ing from the P position .
T he following message appears in the display
whe n the selector lever is in the P or N posi
t ion to remind the driver :
When stationar y app ly footbrake while se
l e cting gear
The automatic sh ift lock only functions when
the vehicle is stationary or at speeds be low 1
mph (2 km/h) . At higher speeds, the lock is
automat ica lly deactivated in the N pos ition .
The selector lever is not locked when shifting
quick ly through N, for examp le from R to D .
T his makes it possible to free the vehicle when
it is stuck by "rocking" it. The selector lever
lock engages if the leve r stays in the N ..,_
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.
....,
N
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Shifting manually (tiptronic mode)
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic transmission I shift pad
dles
The tiptronic allow the driver to shift the
gears manually.
Fig. 108 Center console: manual shifting with these
lector lever
Fig . 109 Steering whee l: manua l sh ift ing with t he s hift
padd les*
Shifting with the selector lever
You can shift into tip tron ic mode while sta
tionary and while driving.
~ To shift into tip tronic mode, push the selec
tor lever from the D/S setting to the right in
t he tiptronic shift gate. Once the transmis
s ion h as switched modes, the selector lever
position
M is shown in the instrument clus
ter display
¢page 110, fig. 105 . For exam
ple
M4 , means the fourth gear is engaged.
~ To shift up a gear, tap the se lector lever for
ward
0 ¢fig. 108.
~ To shift down a gear, tap the selector lever
to back Q.
Shifting with the shift paddles*
You can operate the shift paddles in the D/S or
M (tiptron ic shift gate) selector leve r pos i-
:;, tions.
"' ,....,
"' ,....,
Autom atic transm ission 115
~ To shift up one gear, tap the shift paddle 0
¢fig. 109.
~ To shift down one gear, tap the shift paddle
0-
If the shift padd les are tapped while in the 0/
S selector lever position, automatic mode
switches off briefly. To switch from manually
shifting back to automatic sh ifting immedi
ate ly, tap the shift paddle
0 ¢ fig. 109 for 1
second .
To keep shifting using the shift paddles, move
the selector lever to the rig ht out of the D/
S position into the tiptronic shift gate.
The transmission automatically shifts up or down before critical engine speed is reached.
T he transmission only allows manual sh ifting
when the engine speed is within the permit
ted range .
(D Tips
-If you shift to the next lowest gear, the
transmission will only shift if the engine
wil l not be over-revved.
- With kick-down, the transmission shifts
to a lower gear, depending on vehicle
speed and engine speed.
- tiptronic does not work if the transmis
sion is running in emergency mode.
Kick-down
App lies to vehicles: wit h S tronic tran smi ssio n
Kick-down enables maximum accelera tion.
When you press the accelerator pedal down
beyond the resistance point, the automatic
transmission downshifts into a lower gear, de
pending on vehicle speed and engine RPM. It
shifts up into the next higher gear once the
maximum specified engine RPM is reached.
A WARNING
Please note that the wheels could spin on
slick or slippery roads when kick-down is
active.
116 Automatic tran smi ssio n
Launch Control-Program
Ap plies to vehicles: with launch co ntrol
The Launch Control Program enables maxi
mum acceleration .
Requirement: The engine must be at operat
ing temperature and the steering wheel must
not be turned .
• With the engine running, press the
l~ OFFI
button briefly one time ll .
• Pull the selector lever back out of the D/S
position briefly to select the S position, or
press it toward the rig ht into the tipt ronic
pos it ion or select the
dynami c driving mode
in drive select*
~ page 107.
• Press the brake peda l firmly with your left
f oot and hold it all the way down for at least
1 second .
.. At the same time, press the gas peda l all the
way down with your right foot unti l the en
gine reaches and stays at a high RPM level.
• Remove your left foot from the brake.
A WARNING
- Always adapt your driving to the traffic
flow.
- Only use Launch Contro l when road and
t raff ic conditions a llow it and othe r driv
ers w ill not be endangered or impacted
by you r driv ing and the veh icle's acceler
ation.
- Please note that the drive whee ls can
spin and the vehicle can brea k away
when sport mode is sw itched on, espe
cially when the road is slippery.
- Once the vehicle has s tarted moving,
press the
I ~ OFF ! button br iefly to turn
the sport mode off.
@ Tips
- The transm ission tempera ture may in
crease significantly after using the
l ) In vehicles with a drive r inform ation system, an ESC
l ig ht in t he in strume nt cl us te r stays on cont inuously
and the m essage
Stabili zatio n co ntrol (ESC): spo rt.
W arn ing! Restricted st ability
appears te mpo rarily.
Launch Control Program . If that hap
pens, the program may not be availab le
for a few minutes . It will be ava ilable
again after a cool-down period.
- When accelerating using the Launch
Contro l Program, all vehicle parts are
subject to heavy loads. Th is can lead to
increased wear.
Emergency mode
Applies to vehicles: wit h S tronic transm issio n
In the event of a system malfunction, there is
an emergency program.
If all of the selector lever positions are high
li ghted with a light background in the instru
ment cluster d isp lay, there is a system mal
funct ion and the S tronic transmission is run
ning in the emergency program . The vehicle
can still be driven in emergency mode, but on
ly w it h reduced speed and not in all gears. In
some cases, the ve hicl e
cann ot driv e in re
v e rs e .
d) Note
If the transmission runs in emergency
mode, drive to your author ized Audi dealer
or q ualified repa ir fa cility immed iate ly to
have the ma lf u nct ion corrected.
Transmission malfunction
• Tran smi ssion m alfu ncti on! Please st op
the vehicle and select P
T he re is a malfunction in the transmiss ion .
Park the ve hicle securely and do not continue
driv ing. See an authorized A udi dealer or au
thorized Audi Service Facility for assistance.
• Tran smi ssion o verheating! Plea se stop
the vehicle!
The transm iss ion is too hot and can become
damaged . Stop and let the t ransmission cool .,.
....,
N
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with the engine running (at id le) in the P se
l ecto r lever positio n. The n the indicator light
and the message turn off , d rive to an author
i z ed A udi dealer or qualified repair facility im
mediately to have the malfunct ion corrected.
If the i ndicator light and the drive r message
do not tur n off, do not cont inue dr iv ing. See
an author ized Audi dealer or authori zed A udi
S ervi ce Fa cility for assis tan ce.
DD Transmiss ion malfunction: you can con
tinue driving
Drive to an authori zed Aud i dea ler or a uthor
ized Audi Service Facility immed iate ly to have
the ma lfunction corrected .
DD Transmission malfunction: no reverse
gear (you can continue driving )
Drive to an aut ho rized Aud i dea le r o r a uthor
ized A udi Service Facility immed iate ly to have
the ma lfunction cor rected .
DD Transmi ssion malfunction: You can con
tinue dri ving in D until engine off
D rive t he ve hicle away from mov ing t raff ic and
par k. See an au thori zed A ud i d ealer or au tho r
iz ed A udi Service Faci lity for assis tance .
DD Transmi ssion overheating! Please adapt
driving style
Continue dr iving moderate ly . W hen t he indi
cator light tur ns off, you can continue dr iving
normally .
DD Transmiss ion : Please press brake pedal
and select gear again
I f the tra nsmission mal functions beca use the
temperature is too high , a message appears
when the transmission is cooled.
Autom atic transm ission 11 7
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. 110 Se lector leve r: remov ing t he cover
Fig . 1 11 Se lector lev er: Us ing t he e mergency re lea se
to move out of the Park pos it io n
The emergency release mechanism is located
in the right area under the selector lever sh ift
gate. Using the emergency release ca n be
complicated. We recommend contacting an
autho rized Aud i dea le r or a uthorized Audi
Se rv ice Facili ty for assistance, if necessa ry.
The screwdriver from the ve hicle too l kit locat
ed in the luggage compa rtment is needed to
fo r the em ergency re lease <=:>
page 261 . Use
the flat side of the reversible screwdriver
blade .
Removing the selector lever cover
... Set the park ing brake «e)) <=:> &. to secure
your veh icle from rolling .
... Insert t he flat side of the scr ewdrive r side
ways in the s lot near the s hift cover a nd p ry
t he shift cove r up
<=>fig. 11 0 .
... Pull u p the co rners of the s hift cove r ca reful
ly wi th yo ur hands and fold it over the s hift-
er knob
r::!) fig. 111 . ..,.
....,
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-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 1 31 Unb elt e d oc cupan ts in a ve hicle h ead ing for a
wall
Fig. 132 T he vehicle c ras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
veh icle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en
e rgy."
T he higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h), the ene rgy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of th is veh icle are not
using safety belts
c:::;, fig. 131, they will keep
mov ing at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just befo re the crash, unt il something
stops them - here, the wall ¢
fig. 132 .
Safety belts 139
The same principles apply to people s itting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal coll ision .
Even at c ity speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to
SO km/h), the forces acting on the body can
reach one ton (2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or
more . At greater speeds, these fo rces are even
highe r.
Peop le who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle . In a frontal colli
s ion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their veh icle was travel ling just before
the crash . Of co urse, the laws of physics don't
just app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens i n all k inds of a cc ident s and col
li s ions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed . Always wear your safety belts!
Fi g. 1 33 A drive r not wear ing a safety bel t is v io len tly
t hrown forward
Fig . 1 34 A rear pa sse nger not wearing a safety be lt
w ill fl y forw ar d a nd str ike t he dr ive r
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves . Without the benefit of
safety restra int systems, the unrestra ined ..,_