2015 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET traction control

110 Automatic transmission
Automatic
transmission S tronic-transmission
Introduction
Appl ies to vehicles: with S tro nic tr ansmiss ion
Your vehicle is equipped with an electronical­
ly-controlled DSG transmission called S tronic.
Two independent clutches transfer the power
between the engine and transmission. It al­
lows the vehicle to accelerate without a no­
ticeable interruption in traction .
The transmission upshifts or downshifts auto­
matically. The driving style continuously influ­
ences the selection of the driving program.
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
transmission selects the most economica l
driving mode. The transmission upshifts at a
lower RPM and downshifts at a higher RPM to
improve fuel efficiency.
The transmission switches to a sporty mode
after a kick-down or when the driver uses a
sporty driving style characterized by quick ac­
celerator pedal movements, heavy accelera­
tion, frequent changes in speed and traveling
at the maximum speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode) o page 115,
Shifting manually (tiptronic mode).
Selector lever positions
A pp lies to vehicles: with S tro nic tr ansmiss ion
Fig. 105 Instrument cluste r: selector leve r positions
The instrument cluster display shows the cur­
rent selector lever position and current gear .
P -Park
The wheels are mechanically locked in this po­
s iti on. You can only shift into Park when the
vehicle is
stationary o &..
To shift in and out of the P selector lever posi­
tion, press the interlock button in the selector
lever
while pressing the brake peda l.
R- Reverse
Only shift into reverse gear when the vehicle is
stationary and the engine is running at idle
speed
o &. .
To select the R selector lever position, press
the interlock button
while pressing the brake
pedal. The back-up lights switch on in the R
pos ition if the ignition is switched on .
N -Neutral
The transmission is in idle in this position.
D/S - Normal position for driving forward
In the D/S selector lever position, the trans ­
mission can be operated either in the normal
D mode or in the S sport mode. To select the S
sport mode, pull the selector lever back brief­
ly. Pulling the lever back again will select the
normal D mode . The instrument cluster dis­
play shows the selected driving mode.
In the
normal mode D, the transmission auto­
matically selects the suitable gear ratio.
It de­
pends on engine load, vehicle speed and driv­
ing style .
Se lect the
sport mode S for sporty driving.
The vehicle makes full use of the engine's
power. Shift ing may become noticeable when
acce lerat ing .
To move from selector lever position N to D,
you must press the brake pedal and the vehi­
cle must be traveling less than 1 mph (2 km/
h) or be stationary
o &. .
,&. WARNING
Read and following all WARNINGS.
- The vehicle can roll even if the ignition is
switched
off. .__ _____________ __J~

M N ,....
> co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Winter tires
By using all wheel drive, yo ur vehicle has good
forward motion with standard tires in winter
conditions. However, in winter we recommend
using winter or all season tir es on
all four
wheels, because this will imp rove the broking
effec t.
Snow chains
If there are snow chain laws, snow chains
must also be used on vehicles with a ll whee l
drive ¢
page 256, Snow chains .
Replacing tires
For vehicles w ith all wheel dr ive, only wheels
with the same rolling circumference should be
used . Avoid wheels with different tread
depths ¢
page 248.
Offroad vehicle?
Your Audi is not an offroad veh icle -there is
not enough ground clearance. For t his reason,
avoid difficult terrain. Refer to ¢
page 280.
.&_ WARNING -
-Also , in vehicles with all whee l drive,
adapt your driving style to the current
road and traff ic conditions. Do not let
the increased safety provided tempt you
into taking risks.
- The brak ing ability of your vehicle is lim­
ited to the traction of the wheels . In this
way, it is not different from a two wheel dr ive vehicle. Do not be tempted to ac­
celerate to a h igh speed when the road is
slippery th is increases the risk of an acci­
dent.
- Note that on wet streets, the front
wheels can "hydroplane" if driving at
speeds that are too high. Unlike front
wheel drive vehicles, the engine does not
rev higher suddenly when the vehicle be­
gins hydroplaning. For this reason, pay
attention to the road conditions regard­
less of your speed .
Smart Technolog y 193
Energy management
The starting ability is optimized
The energy management system manages
the electrical energy distribution and optimiz ­
es the availability of electrical energy for
starting the engine.
When a vehicle with a conventional energy
system is not driven for a long time , the bat­
tery is drained by equipment (for example the
immobilizer). In certain circumstances, there
could may no t be enough energy to start the
engine .
Your vehicle is equipped with an intelligent
energy management system for distr ibut ing
electric ity. This significantly improves the
starting ability and increases the battery life.
The energy management system Is made up
of
battery diagnosis , idling current manage­
ment
and dynamic energy management.
Battery diagnosis
The battery diagnosis determines the battery
charge level. The sensors determine the bat­
tery voltage, the battery current, and the bat­
tery temperature. The current charge leve l
and t he performance of the battery are deter­
mined based on this.
Idling current management
The idling current management decreases the
energy used while parked. With the engine
switched off, it manages the energy distribu­
tion to the different elect rical components.
Date from battery diagnosis is taken into ac ­
count for this.
Depend ing on the battery charge leve l, elec­
trical equip ment is switched off one item after
the other, to prevent the battery from drain­
ing and to retain the starting ability.
Dynamic energy management
While driv ing , dynamic energy management
distributes the appropriate amount of energy
to the e lectr ica l equipment . It controls the
battery charge level so that more energy is .,. •
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252 Tires a nd whee ls
tires beca use they meet the
h ighest standards regarding
safety and driving characteris ­
t ics when used correctly. Your
autho rized Audi dealer w ill
g lad ly provide you with more
information.
Tire ply composition and materials used
T he number of plies indicates
the number of layers of rubber­
coated fabric in the tire. In gen­
eral, the greater the number of
plies , the more weight a tire
can support . Tire manufactur­
ers also must indicate the ma­
ter ia ls in the tire, wh ich include
steel, nylon, polyester, and oth­
ers .
Ma ximum Load Rating
This number indicates the max­
imum load in kilograms and
pounds that can be carried by
the tire.
Tire quality grading for
treadwear, traction , and
temperature resistance
Tread wear, traction and tem­
perature grades¢
page 254.
Maximum Permissible
Inflation Pressure
This number is the greatest
amount of air pressure that
should ever be put in the tire
under normal driving condi­
tions.
A WARN ING
-Using incorrect or unmatch­
ed tires and/or wheels or improper tire and wheel
combinations can lead to loss of control, collis ion and
serious personal injury.
-Always use tires, rims and
wheel bolts that meet the
specifications of original
factory-installed tires or
other combinations that
have been specifically ap ­
proved by the vehicle manu­
facturer.
- Tires age even if they are
not being used and can fail
suddenly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more
than 6 years old can only be
used in an emergency and
then with special care and
at lower speeds.
-Never mount used tires on
your vehicle if you are not

254 Tires and wheels
run flat tires. If run flat tires
are used, they must be in­
stalled on all four wheels. Mixing tire types is not per­
mitted.
@) Note
-For technical reasons, it is not generally possible to
use the wheel rims from
other vehicles. This can hold
true for wheels of the same
vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is different
from the tires that you have mounted on your vehicle
(for example winter tires or
wide prof ile tires), then use
the spare tire for a short pe­
riod of time only and drive
with extra care. Replace the
flat tire with the tire match­ ing the others on your vehi­
cle as soon as possible.
- Never drive without the
valve stem cap . The valves
could get damaged.
@) For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old tires in accord­
ance w ith the local require­
ments.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wea r
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality g rades can be foun d where applicab le
on the t ire s ide wall between t read sho ulder
and maximum section width
¢ page 248,
fig . 176 .
For example: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA,
Tempera ture A .
All passenge r ca r tir es must con fo rm to Feder ­
al Safety Req uirements in ad dition to these
grades.
Tread wear
T he tread we ar g rade is a c omparative r ati ng
b as ed on the wea r ra te of the tire when tes ted
u nder con tro lled cond itions o n a specifie d
government test course .
F o r ex am ple, a tire gr aded 1 S0 would wear
o n e and one h alf ( 11/ 2) times as well on the
government course as a tire gr aded 10 0 .
T he re lative per forman ce of tires depen ds
up on the actu al cond itions of the ir use, h ow­
ever, and m ay dep art s ignific antly from the
no rm due to va ria tions i n driving ha bits, se rv ­
ice p ractices and differe nces in road c haracter­
ist ics and climate.
Traction
The tr actio n gr ad es, fro m hig hest to lowest,
are AA, A, Ban d
C. Those grades represent t he
ti re 's ability to stop on wet pavement as
measured unde r cont rolled conditions on
specified g overnment test surfaces of aspha lt
and co ncrete. A t ire mar ked C may have poor
traction performance
¢ A .
Temperature
The temperature g rades are A (the highest),
B, an d C, represe nting the tire's resistance to
the generation of heat and its ab ility to dissi­
pate heat when tested unde r controlled condi­
t ions on a specif ied ind oor l abo rato ry test
whee l.

M N ,....
> co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bo lts from a different vehicle -
even if it
i s the same mode l
Qpage 284.
A WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose caus ing loss of
control, a collision and ser ious personal in­
jury .
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop­
erly t ightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose w hile d riving if greased or
o iled,
even if tightened to the spec ified
torq ue.
- Only use wheel bo lts that belong to the
rim being ins talled.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle .
- Always maintain the correct tightening
torque fo r the wheel bolts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss. If the tigh teni ng tor­
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi­
cle is moving . If the tightening torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel ca n be­
come loose .
(D Note
The specified torque for the wheel bo lts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) w ith a tolerance of
± 7,4 ft lb(± 10 Nm). Torque whee l bolts
diagonally. After changing a wheel, the
torque must be checked as soon as possi­
b le with a torque wrench -prefe rably by an
author ized Audi dealer or qualified wo rk­
shop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped with low aspect
ratio tires . These tires have been thorough ly
tested and been selected spec ifically for your
model for the ir superb performance, road feel
Tire s an d wheel s 257
and handling under a variety o f driving condi ­
tions. Ask your authorized A udi dealer for
more details .
T he low aspec t ratio of these tires is ind icate d
by a numera l of
55 or le ss in the tire's size
designation. The numera l represents the ratio
of the t ire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage.
Conven­
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth rat io of 60 or
more .
The performance of low-a spect-ratio tire s is
particularl y sens it iv e to improper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
a spect ratio tir es are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pr essure i s
regularly checked and ma intain ed . Tire pr es­
s ure s should be checked at lea st on ce a
month and alway s bef ore a long trip
~ page 240 , Checking tire pressure .
A Word about Low Aspect Ratio and High
Performance Ti res
Hig h pe rformance tires are des igned for bet­
ter performance and handling in warm cli­
mates. When driving in cold, snowy or icy
weather, you sho uld equ ip your vehicle w it h
four all-season or winter tires, which
offer
better traction under those condit ions. We
suggest you use the Audi recommended win­
te r or a ll-season tires specified for you r Audi.
High performance tires a lso have a lower as ­
pect ratio that aids performance and han­
dling . Driving over rough or damaged road
surfaces, as well as debr is, cu rbs and other
obstacles can cause serious damage to
whee ls, tires, vehicle body, and suspens ion
parts . B e carefu l to avo id road hazards and re­
du ce your speed , espec ia lly if your vehicle is
equipped wi th low prof ile tires .
Please a lso remember when making your se­
lection that, wh ile these tires deliver respon­
s ive handling, t hey m ay ride less comfo rtably
and make more noise than o thers . Finally,
these tires may wear more quickly than other
c h oices.
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