2015 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET brake pads

or
or
or
or
or Engine o
il p ress ure
¢ page 20
Alternator ¢page 20
Front safety be lt
¢page20
Steering./
¢page 192
Stee ring lock
¢ page 21
Engine start system
¢page 21
Engine stops w hile driving
¢page 21
Transmission malfunction ¢page 116
Instruments and indicator lamps 15
Ad aptive cr uise c on tro l*./
¢page89
USA models : Speed wa rn ing
sys tem
¢ page84
Canada models: Spee d war ning
sys tem
¢page84
Yellow indicator lights
"O~ I I ~ 'I
-------------
Centra l indicator light ( pay at-
tention to t he addit ional info r­
mat ion in the instrument cluster
d isp lay) @ ¢ page 13, fig . 8
E lectron ic Stabilization Control
( E SC) ./
¢ page 21
Electro nic Stabilization Control
(ESC) ./
¢page 21
El ect ro nic Sta bili zat ion Control
(E SC )
¢page 188
USA models:
Anti-loc k bra king system (ABS)
fau lty ./
¢ page 21
Canada models:
Anti-lock braking sys tem (ABS)
fau lty./
¢page 21
USA model s: Sa fety systems ./
¢ page 20
Canada models: Safety systems
./
¢page2 0
Brake pads
¢ page22
E lectromechanical par king brake
¢page 19
lill-
M a N
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,...., ..,., ,....,

18 Instruments and indicator lamps
Active lane assist*
¢ page 100
Audi side assist*
¢page 105
Transmission
¢ page 116
USA model s:
Electromechanical parking brake
¢ page 19
Canada model s:
Electromechanical parking bra ke
¢page 19
BRAKE/((i)) Brake system
If this indicator light tu rns on, there is a mal­
function in the brake system.
• (USA models) , • (Canada models)
Please stop vehicle and check brake fluid lev­
el!
Stop the vehicle and check the brake fluid lev­
e l. See an a uthorized Audi dea le r or author ­
ized Audi Service Facility for assistance if nec­
essary.
• (USA models) , • (Canada models)
Warning! Brake servo inoperative!
If the b rake assist (bra ke booste r) is not wo rk­
in g, you must use press the brake pedal hard­
e r to brake. See an authorized Aud i dealer or
authorized Audi Serv ice Facility fo r ass istance.
• (USA models) , • (Canada models )
Warning! Fault in brake sy stem . Please con­
tact Service
If the ABS indicator light (;I (USA models) /
KO) (Canada models), the ESC ind icator
light
Jil and the brake system indicator
light . (USA models)/ . (Canada models)
turn on and this message appears, the ABS,
ESC and braking distrib ution are ma lf u nction­
ing ¢.&. .
Drive to your authorized Aud i dealer o r au­
thorized Audi Service Facility immediately to
have the ma lfunction corrected ¢.&. .
• (USA models) , • (Canada models)
Parking brake system fault! See owner's
manual
- If the ind icator light and the message ap­
pear
when the vehicle is stationary or after
switching the ignition on ,
check if you can
re lease the parking brake. If you cannot re­
lease the parking brake, see your authorized
Aud i dealer or authorized Audi Service Facili­
ty . If you can release the parking brake and
the message still appears, see an author ized
Aud i dea ler or a uthorized Audi Service Facili­
ty immediately to have the ma lfunction cor­
rected.
- If the ind icator lig ht and message appear
while driving , the hill start assist or emer­
gency braking function may be malf uncti on­
ing . It may not be possib le to set the park­
ing brake or release it once it has been set.
Do not park your vehicle on hills and see an
author ized Audi dealer or authorized A udi
Service Facility for assistance.
(USA mode ls) : I f the . and
liJ indicator
lights turn on together, take your vehicle to an
authorized Aud i dea ler or a uthorized Audi
Serv ice Facility immed iately to have the brake
pads inspected ¢
page 22.
There is also a warning tone when the lights
turn on.
A WARNING
-- Follow the warn ings on¢ page 214,
Working in the engine compartment
be­
fore opening the hood and check ing the
brake fluid level.
- If the brake system indicator light does
not turn off or it turns on while dr iving,
the brake fluid leve l in the reservo ir is
too low, and this increases the risk of an
accident. Stop the vehicle and do not
continue driving. See an authorized Aud i
dealer or authorized Aud i Service Facility
for assistance. ..,.

22 Instruments and indicator lamps
OFF also appears. You can turn the ESC on
again by press the
I~ O FF I button again.
The system switches on when the ignition is
switched on. The
fl indicator light turns off
when the system is functioning fully.
Stabilization control (ESC) malfunction! See
owner's manual
Stabilization control (ESC/ABS) malfunc­
tion! See owner's manual
ABS malfunction! See owner's manual
If the J..fd indicator light and the ABS indicator
light
ml (USA models)/ ii] (Canada models)
turn on and this message appears, there is a malfunction in the ABS system or electron ic
d ifferential lock. This also causes the ESC to
malfunction. The brakes still function with
their norma l power , but ABS is not active .
Drive to an authorized Aud i dea ler or author­
ized Audi Service Facility immediate ly to have
the malfunction corrected .
A WARNING
If the . (USA models) I. (Canada mod­
els) brake system indicato r light turns on
together with the ABS and ESC indicator
lights, the ABS/ESC regulating function
may have failed . Functions that stabilize
the vehicle are no longer avai lab le . This
could cause the vehicle to swerve, which
increases the risk that the vehicle will
slide. Drive carefully to the nearest author­
ized Aud i dealer or authorized Aud i Service
Facility and have the ma lfunction correct­
ed .
(D Tips
For addit ional information on ESC and
ABS, refer to<=:> page 188.
BRAKE/ {01 Brake pads
1111 (USA models ) / llJ (Canada models)
Brake pads!
l) - : USA mod els onl y
If the warning light illuminates, immediate ly
contact your authori zed Audi dealer or quali ­
fied workshop to have all brake pads inspect­
ed. Both sets of brake pads on an axle must
always be replaced at the same t ime.
A WARNING Co....- -
Driving with bad brakes can cause a colli­
sion and ser ious personal injury.
- If the warn ing light
llJ or the warning
light
llll1l with the message Brake
pads!
comes on in the instrument cluster
disp lay, immediately contact you r au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop to have all brake pads checked or
replaced if necessary.
' ·~ Hill hold
Hill hold assist: unavailable
If
the 111 ind icator light tu rns o n and this
message appears, hill hold is not available.
111 Manual control!
If this message appears, press the brake ped­
al.
Continue driving with the help of the parking
brake.
<=:> page 82
EPC Engine control (gasoline engine)
App lies to vehicles : wit h gasoli ne e ngi ne
If the (3i indicator light turns on there is a
malfunction in the engine control.
Drive slowly to your authorized Audi dea ler or
qualified repair facility to have the engine
checked.
If the (3i indicator light turns on when you
start the engine, there is an automatic start
malfunction . To start the engine, follow these
steps:
- Vehicles with a mechanical ignition
<=:> page 77, Automatic start malfunction

190 Smart Technology
Sport mode on ESC/ASR off Sport mode off or
ESC/ASR on
Beha vior
The ESC and ASR stabiliza- The stabilization funct ion The full stab ilization f unc-
tion funct ions are lim ited is not ava ilable
c> .&. . ESC tion of the ESC and ASR is
¢ _&. . and ASR are sw itched off. available agai n.
Operation Press the l.i; OFF ! button P ress and hold the 1.i; OFFI Press the l.i; OFF ! button
briefly. button lo
nger than 3 sec-
again.
onds.
Indicator II turns on. II and jf'ill•lH * tu rn on. II turns off or fl and
light s jf 'ill•li~* t ur n off.
Dr iver mes- Stabilization control Stab ilizat ion control Stabilization control
sages (ESC ): sport. Warning! (ESC ): off . Warning! Re- (ESC ): on
R estricted stability stricted stability
_& WARNING
You should only switch spor t mode on o r
switch ESC/ASR o ff if your driving abiliti es
an d road condi tions perm it.
- T he s tabilization func tio n i s limite d
whe n spor t mode is sw itche d on. T he
dr iv ing whee ls co ul d spin an d the vehicle
cou ld swe rve , especia lly on slick or slip­
pery road surfaces.
- The re is no vehicle stabilization w hen
ESC/ASR a re switched off .
@ Tips
- ESC/ASR c ann ot b e swi tc h ed off o r spor t
mode canno t be sw itche d on i f the cr uise
control system * or the a dapt ive cr uise
control * is switc hed on .
- Mal func tions in the Audi magne tic ride
may make it impossib le to sw itch t he
ESC/ASR off or to switch sport mo de on.
Brakes
New brake pads
-
N ew brake pads do not achieve their fu ll brak­
ing effect d urin g the first
400 km. They must
be "broken i n" first. However, yo u can com­
pensate for the slightly reduced braking force
by pressing fi rmly on t he brake pedal. Avo id
heavy brak ing dur ing the break- in period.
Wear
Brake pad
wear is largely dependent on the
way the vehicle is dr iven and on operati ng
condit io ns. This is especially true if you are
driv ing frequent ly in t he ci ty and o n curves or
with a spor ty d rivi ng s tyle.
Operating noise
Noises may occur when bra king depending on
the speed , braking force and outside condi­
t ions such as tempe rature and hum id ity.
Effect of water and road salt
In certa in situations, for examp le after dr iv ing
t hr ough water, in heavy rain, after overnight
condensation or after was hing your car, the
braking effect can be reduced by moisture or
ice on the brake rotors and brake pads. The
brakes must be "d rie d" first with a few carefu l
brake applicat ions .
At highe r speeds and with the winds hield wip­
ers tu rned on, the brake pads press against
the b rake ro to rs fo r a short a mount of t ime .
T h is act ion which is not felt by the d river hap­
pen s at reg ular i nte rvals an d facilit ates a bet­
te r rea ction t ime for the br akes in we t we ath­
er.
T he bra king effect can a lso be redu ced if you
are dr iv ing o n sal ted roads a nd you do not a p­
ply the br akes fo r long periods of time. The
l aye r of sa lt on the b rake roto rs and pads
must be wo rn off first when t he b rakes are ap -
plied. ..,..

M N ,....
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Corrosion
Leaving the vehicle parked for long periods of
time, low mi leage and avoiding heavy braking
can contribute to corrosion on the brake ro­
tors and dirty brake pads.
If you usually avoid heavy braking or if there is
corrosion present, occasiona l heavy braking at
high speeds is recommended to clean the
brake rotors and pads~,& .
Brake system malfunction
if you notice that the brake pedal t ravel has
suddenly gotten larger, then a brake circuit
may have failed . Drive to you r authorized Audi
dealer or qualified repair facility immediately
to have the problem corrected. On the way
there, drive with reduced speed and keep in
mind that a long braking distance and in­
creased pressure on the brake pedal will be
necessary .
Low brake fluid level
When the brake fluid level is low, ma lfunc­
tions in the brake system may occur . The
brake fluid level is electronically monitored.
Brake booster
The brake booster amplifies the pressure you
apply to the brake pedal. It only works when
the eng ine is running.
A WARNING
-You should on ly perform braking maneu­
vers to clean the brakes when the road condit ions perm it . Never put others on
the road at risk -never forget the risk of
acc idents!
- On steep slopes, reduce the speed and
select a lower gear or lower selector lev­
er posi tion. Drive as little as possible
wh ile pressing the bra ke peda l and avoid
putt ing your left foot on the brake pedal
whi le driving. This could ca use the brakes
to overheat and impair the efficiency of
the brakes.
- Do not let the brakes "grind" by always
keeping yo ur foot on the brake peda l.
Smart Technolog y 191
This can cause the brakes to overheat in-,
crease wear and increase braking dis­
tance unnecessar ily.
- Certain weather and operating condi­
tions such as driving through water, driv­
ing in heavy rain or driving after washing
your veh icle can impa ir the effectiveness
of the brakes. In the winter, ice may
bui ld up on the brake pads, rotors and
drums . Check these components by brak­
ing caref ully. App lying the brakes care­
fu lly several times dries the brakes and
removes ice build-up .
- The effic iency of the brakes can also be
impaired by driving for long stretches on
roads covered with salt without using the
brakes. You can remove salt deposits
from the brake rotors and pads by care­
fully applying the brakes several times.
- If the front spoiler is damaged or you in­
stall another spoiler, make sure the front
wheel brakes are ventilated properly.
Otherwise, the brake system could over­ heat, wh ich reduces their effectiveness .
- Failure of a brake circuit impa irs braking
performance, wh ich increases braking
d istance . Avoid driving the vehicle and
have it towed it to the nearest author­
i z ed Audi dealer or authorized Audi Serv­
ice Facility.
- Do not let your veh icle roll w ith the en­
gine switched off under any circumstan­
ces .
- If the brak e booster is not working, you
wi ll have to press much harder on the
brake peda l to compensate for the lack
of the booster.
(D Note
-Never let the brakes "rub" by pressing
the pedal lightly when braking is not
really necessary. This causes the brakes
to overheat and increases braking dis­
tance and causes wear.
- Before driving on a long stretch with
steep s lopes, reduce your speed and shift
to the next lower gear This makes use of
the engine brak ing effect and relieves ..,.
•
•
•

196 Driving and the environment
Driving and the
environment
The first 1,000 miles
(1,500 km) and
afterwards
New engine
The engine needs to be run-in during the first
1,000 miles (1,500 km).
For the fir st 600 miles
( 1,000 kilometers):
.,. Do not use full throttle.
... Do not d rive at engine speeds that are more
than 2/3 of the max imum permitted RPM.
... Avoid high engine speeds.
From 600 to 1,000 mile s (1 ,000 to
1,500 kilometers):
... Speeds can gradually be increased to the
max imum pe rm iss ible road or eng ine speed .
During and after break-in period
.,. Do not rev the eng ine up to high speeds
when it is cold. Th is app lies whether the
transm ission is i n N (Neutra l) or in gear.
After the break-in period
... Do not exceed maximum engine speed un­
der any circumstances.
.,. Upshift into the next higher gear
before
reaching the red area at the end of the tach­
ome ter scale
c:> page 10.
During the first few hours of driving, the en­
g ine's interna l friction is higher tha n later
when all the movi ng pa rts have been broke n
in . How w ell this break- in process is do ne de­
pends to a conside rable extent on the way the
ve hicl e is driven during the first 1,0 00 miles
(1, 500 k ilome ters).
0 Note
E xtremely high engi ne speeds are auto­
mat ic all y reduced. However, these RPM
lim its are progr amme d for an eng ine t hat
is broken in, no t a new engine .
{® For the sake of the environment
Do not drive with unnecessarily hi gh en­
g ine speeds - upshifting ear ly saves fuel,
r educes no ise and protects the environ­
ment.
, New tires
If your vehicle is runni ng on new tires, drive
part icu larly caref ul for the first 350 miles
(500 kilomete rs) afte r fitt ing.
A WARNING
N ew tires tend to be slipp ery and mus t al­
so be "b roken -in" . Be s ure to remember
this dur ing the fi rst 350 mi les ( 500 kilo ­
meters) . Brake gently . Avoid fo llow ing
closely behind other vehicles or other sit­
uations that m ight require sudden, hard
braking .
New brake pads
Remember that new brake pads do not have a
full bra king effect dur ing the fi rst 250 m iles
(400 kilomete rs) afte r they a re insta lle d.
New brake pads have to be "burnished in" be­
f o re t hey have optima l grab
c:> A .
During the break- in period, you should avoid
putting severe loads on the brakes. Severe
l oads include , for example, sudden hard b rak­
i ng, in particular at very high speeds or, for
example, on mounta in passes .
A WARNING
New b ra ke pa ds don't have t he bes t stop­
pi ng power and m us t be "broke n-in " dur­
i ng the in itial 1 00 to 150 mi les (15 0 to
2 00 k ilometers) of no rma l city driving . You
can compensate for this by pressing t he
br ake pe da l mo re f irm ly . This also applies
l ater when new pads are installed.

M N ,....
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Driving through water
on roads
Note the following to avoid vehicle damage
when driving through water, for example on
flooded roads:
- The water must not be any higher than the bottom of the vehicle body.
- Do not drive faster than wa lking speed.
A WARNING
After driving through water or mud, the
braking effect can be reduced due to mois­
ture on the brake discs and brake pads. A
few careful brake applications should dry off the brakes.
([) Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmission, suspension or electrical sys­
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through water.
- Determ ine the depth before driving
through water.
- Do not stop the vehicle, drive in reverse
or switch the engine off when driving
through water .
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles may create waves that raise the water
level and make it too deep for your vehi­
cle to drive through safely.
- Avoid dr iving through salt water (corro­
s ion).
Catalytic converter
App lies to vehicles: with gasoline engine
It is very important that your emission con­
trol system (catalytic converter) is function­
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run­
ning in an environmentally sound manner.
.,. Always use lead-free gaso line¢ page 210,
Fuel supply .
.,. Never run the tank down all the way to emp-
ty .
Dri ving and the en vironm ent 197
.,. Never put too much motor oi l in your engine
¢ page 218, Adding engine oil 't:::r..
.,. Never try to push- or tow -start your vehicle.
T he catalytic converter is an efficient "clean ­
up" device bui lt into the exhaust system of
the vehicle . The cata lytic converter burns
many of the pollutants in the exhaust gas be­
fore they are released into the atmosphere .
The exclusive use of unleaded fuel is critically important for the life of the catalytic convert­
er and proper functioning of the engine.
A WARNING
The temperature of the exhaust system is h igh, both when driv ing and after stopping
the eng ine.
- Never touch the exhaust tail pipes once
they have become hot. This could result
in burns.
- Do not park or operate the vehicle in
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in contact with dry grass, brush,
fue l spill or other material wh ich can
cause a fire.
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustp roofing o n or nea r the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, catalyti c con­
verter or heat shields . Dur ing driving, the
substance used for undercoating could
overheat and cause a fire.
([) Note
-Be aware that just one tank filling with
leaded fuel w ill already ser iously de ­
grade the performance of the catalytic
converter .
- Do not exceed the cor rect engine oil level
~page 218.
-Do not drive until the fue l tank becomes
completely empty . The engine cou ld mis ­
fire . Unburned fuel could also get into
the exhaust system and th is cou ld cause
the catalytic converter to overheat.
- Do not switch off the ignition while the
vehicle is moving.
- Do not continue to operate your vehicle
under these conditions, as otherwise fuel ..,_ •
•
•

222 Checking and Filling
After you switch the engine off, the auxiliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself
c:> .&. , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up beca use
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
- To reduce the risk of personal injury
nev­
er touch the radiator fan.
- The auxiliary electr ic fan is temperature
contro lled and can switch on sudden ly
even when the engine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on au­ tomatically when the engine coolant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper­
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
N
N
;;;
" 00 co
Fig . 169 Engine compartment : cove r on the brake flu id
r eservoir
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN ·
INGS c:> page 214.
.. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir
c:> fig.169, c:>poge216 ,
fig. 165.
The brake f luid level must be be­
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The location of the brake fluid reservoir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
c:> page 216 .
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads . This is not cause for a larm.
If the brake f luid level falls
considerably be ­
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indi­
cator light . (U.S. models)
I. (Canad ian
models) will come on
c:> page 18 . Do not con ­
tinue to operate the vehicle. The complete brake system should be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or other quali ­
fied facility and the cause corrected. If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warning/
indicator ligh t will illuminate. Contact an au­
thorized Audi dea ler
immediately.
Changing brake fluid
Have the broke fluid changed by an experi­
enced technician.
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. If
the water content in the brake f luid is too
high, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a period of time. The boiling point of the
brake fluid will also decrease considerably and
decrease braking performance.
T he refo re, the brake fluid must be changed
every two years. Always use new brake fluid
wh ich conforms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 116 DOT 4".
T he brake fluid reservoir can be difficult to
reach, therefore, we recommend that you
have the b rake fluid changed by your author­
ized
Audi dealer. Your dealer has the correct
tools, the right brake fluid and the know-how
to do this for you .
A WARNING
---Brake flu id is poisonous. It must be stor­
ed only in the closed or iginal container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inap·
propriate brake flu id. Observe these pre·
cautions:
- Us e only brake fluid that meets SAE
specification
J 1703 and conforms to
Federa l Motor Vehicle Standard 116.