2015 AUDI A3 brakes

Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 1
Driving safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Proper occupant seating posit ions . . . 122
Driver and passenger side footwell . . . 126
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Stowing luggage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
R eport ing Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Safety belts ... .. ...... .. .. .. . .
General notes ............... .. .. .
Why safety bel ts? ........ .... .. . .
Safety belts ............. .. .. .. . . 131
13
1
13 2
134
Safety belt p re tens ioners . . . . . . . . . . 13 7
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
I mpor tan t th ings to know . . . . . . . . . . 1 40
Fr ont airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 4
M onitoring the Advanced Airbag
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Knee airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Side curta in a irbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Ch ild Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . 166
C hi ld safety seats ............ .... . 172
Install ing a chi ld safety seat . . . . . . . . 177
L A TC H L ower ancho rages and tethe rs
fo r ch ild ren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
A ddit io nal Informa tion 184
Driver messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Smart Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
N ot ice about da ta recorded by vehi cle
control mod ules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Electron ic stabilization control (ESC) 185
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Electromechanical steering . . . . . . . . . 189
All whee l drive (quatt ro) . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Driving and the environment 193
The first 1,000 miles (1,500 km) and
afterwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
D riving through water on roads . . . . . 194
Cata lytic conve rter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Table of contents 3
P lac ing you r vehicle out of service. . . . 195
Operate yo ur vehicle economically an d
min imize poll ution. .. .. ... .... ... . 195
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Driving with a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Trai ler tow ing tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Operating instructions ..... .. .
Caring and cleaning .......... .
General information ........... .. .
Car was hes .. .. .. ............... .
Cleaning and care information 201
201
201
201
202
Checking and Filling
. . . . . . . . . . 206
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Refueling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
E ngine o il . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
c oolant system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Br ake fluid . ... .. .. .. .. .. .... ... . 219
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Windshie ld washer fluid container . . . 224
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Tire pressure monitoring system 243
Do-it-yourself service . . . . . . . . . 246
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Luggage compartment lid emergency
release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Equ ipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Spare ti re .... ... .. ..... ......... 247
Chang ing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Fuses and bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
El ectr ica l fus es . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
B ulbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Emergency situations . . . . . . . . . 259
Genera l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Star ting by p ushing o r towing . . . . . . . 259
Star ting with jumpe r cables . . . . . . . . 259
U se o f jumpe r cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
•
•
•

-If the indicator light and the message ap­
pear
when stationar y or after swit ching the
ign it ion on ,
check if you can release the
parking brake. If you cannot re lease the
parking brake, see your authorized Aud i
dealer or qualified repair facility . If the park­
i ng brake can be released and the message
appears again, drive to your author ized Audi
dealer or qualified repair facility to have the
ma lfu nction corrected.
- If the indicator light and the message ap­
pear
whi le driving , hill start ass ist or the
eme rgency braking function may not be
available. It may not be possible to set the
parking b rake or release it once it has been
set . Do not park you vehicle on slopes and
see your authorized Audi dealer or qua lified
repair fac ility for assistance.
(USA models): If the warning light . and the
warning light
El appear together, immedi­
ately contact your authorized Audi dealer or
qua lified workshop to have all brake pads in­
spected
c:> page 22.
A WARNING
-Follow the warnings on c:> page 210,
Working in the engine compartment
be­
fore opening the hood and checking the brake flu id leve l.
- If the brake system warn ing light does
not turn off or turns on wh ile driving, the
brake fl uid in the reservoir is too low and
this could cause an accident. Stop the ve­
hicle and do not continue driving. See
yo ur autho rized Aud i dealer or qualified
repa ir facility.
- If the brake system indicator light t urns
on together with the ABS and ESC indica­
tor lights, the ABS/ESC regulating func­
t ion may have fa iled. Functions that sta­
bilize the vehicle are no longer availab le .
Th is co uld cause the rear of the veh icle to
swerve, wh ich increases the risk that the
vehicle will slide. Dr ive carefully to the
nearest authorize d Aud i dealer o r othe r
qualified repair facility and have the mal­
f unction corrected .
Instruments and indicator ligh ts 19
PARK/( ®)/~ Electromechanical parking
brake
If the indicator light . (U SA mode ls) •
(Canada models) turns on, the pa rking brake
was set .
If the parking brake is set when the
ignition is sw itched off, the indicator light
turns off after about 20 seconds.
• (USA model s)/. (Can ada model s) Cau­
tion: Vehicle parked too steep
When the indica tor l igh t bli nks and this mes­
sage appears, there is not enough braking
power to keep the vehicle from ro llin g . T he
brakes have overheated. The vehicle could roll
away even on a sma ll incline.
• (USA model s)/. (Canada model s)
Plea se pre ss brake pedal to release the pa rk­
ing brake
T o re lease the par king brake, press the brake
pedal and press the~ button at the same
time, or start driving w ith hi ll start assist
¢ page 77, Starting from a stop.
ml Parking brake !
There is a parki ng b rake ma lfunction . Drive to
you r aut ho rized Aud i dea le r or qualified repa ir
facility immed iate ly to have the malfunction
correc ted.
liJ Parking bra ke: limited functionality
There is a parking brake ma lfunction. Drive to
an authorized Audi dea le r or qualified repa ir
facility immed iate ly to have the malfunction
corrected .
Parking bra ke: not applied !
When this message appea rs, set the pa rking
brake if necessary.
fll ( USA model s) 1mE (Can ada mod els)
Pl ea se relea se parking brake .
When this message appea rs, re lease the par k­
i ng brake.
fll (USA models ) /K@» ( Canada mod els ) Park-
ing brake auto release una va ilable ..,. •

22 Instruments and indicator lights ~Engine
• Engin e stopped: brake servo and power
steering not possible
There is a malfunct io n in the eng ine or in the
f u e l supp ly system .
A large amou nt of steering and braking force
i s required when driving a ro lli ng vehicle w it h
the eng ine stopped. Try to stop a ro lling veh i­
cle ca refully on the s ide of th e road . See your
author ized Audi dealer or qua lified repai r fa­
cili ty.
_&. WARNING
If the eng ine stops whi le driving, a la rge
amount of braking force is required . This
increases the risk of an accident. As long
as the ve hicle rolls wit h the ignition
sw itched on and there is e nough battery
charge, the power steering wi ll still work.
If not, a large amoun t of steeri ng force is
re quir ed.
-
;;IC, Electronic stabilization control
(ESC) and
(8) anti-lock braking system
(ABS)
If t h e J;,J indicator light b links w hile d riving,
the ESP or ASR (anti-s lip regulat ion) is actively
regulat ing.
I f th e
J;,J indicator light turns on, t he system
h as sw itche d the ESC
off . In th is case, you can
switch the ignition
off and then on to switch
the ESC on again. The indicator light turns
off
when th e system is functioning fully .
Stabilization control (ESC ): sport. Warning!
Rest ricted stability
When the II indica to r li gh t turns on, the ES C
sport mo de was switc hed on w it h the
!1' O FF I
button ¢ page 187. You can turn the ESC
bac k on by press ing the
!1' O FF i button again.
Stabilization control (ESC ): off. Warning!
Restricted stability
Wh en the II indicato r ligh t tur ns on, ESC i s
restri cte d or was sw itche d
off wi th the I~ O FF I
but ton ¢ page 187 . The mess age ESC OFF al- so appears
. You can t urn the ESC bac k on by
pressing the
1 -P. O FF I butto n again .
When the igni tion is sw itche d on t he sys tem
is tur ned o n. The
fl indica tor ligh t turns off
when the system is functioning f ully.
Stabilization control (ESC) malfunction! See
owner's manual
Stabilization control (ESC/ABS) malfunc­
tion! See owner's manual
ABS malfunct ion! See owner's manual
If the DJ in di cator light and the ABS indicator
li ght
i;l (U SA mode ls) ;tiJ (Canada mode ls)
turn on and this message appears, there is a
malfuncti on in the ABS system or electronic
differentia l lock . T hi s also causes the ESC to
malfu nction . The brakes st il l function wi th
t h eir normal power, but A BS is not
active.
Drive to y our auth orized A udi dealer or quali­
fied repa ir facility immed iate ly to have the
malfu nction corrected .
_&. WARNING
-If the. (U SA mode ls) • (Cana da mod-
e ls) brake sys tem indi ca tor ligh t turns on
to ge ther wi th the A BS an d ESC ind icat or
li g hts, the A BS/ ES C r egu la t ing func tion
may have fa iled . Fu nctions that s tabili ze
the veh icle are no longe r available . This
could ca use the vehicle to
swerve, wh ich
in creases the r is k th at the vehicle will
slide . Dr ive carefully to the nearest aut hor­
i z e d A udi dealer or ot her qualified repair
fac ility an d have t he malfu nction cor rect­
e d .
@ Tips
Fo r additional informat io n o n ESC an d
A BS, refer to
Q pag e 185.
(0} Worn brake pads
£t3 Brake pads!
If the warning light illuminates, immed iate ly
co ntact your author ized Audi dea ler or qua li-
fi ed wor kshop to have all b rake pads ..,_

inspected. On USA models the warning light
[IJ comes on together with the warning light
• . Both sets of brake pads on an axle must
always be rep laced at the same time.
_& WARNING
Dr iv ing with bad brakes can cause a coll i­
sion and serious personal injury.
- If the warning light
[IJ and the warning
light
. l) with the message Brake pads!
comes o n in the instrument cluste r dis­
play, immed iately contact your au thor­
i z ed Audi dea le r or q ualified wor kshop to
have all bra ke p ad s ch ecked or rep laced if
necessary.
· ~ Hill hold
Hill hold a ssis t: un available
If th e> #j •ndicato r light turns on and this
message appea rs, hill ho ld is not available.
II Manual control!
If this message appears, press the b rake ped·
al.
Continue driving w ith the help of the parking
brake ¢
page 76.
EPC Engine control (gasoline engine)
Applies to vehicles: with gasoline engine
If the ~ indicator light turns on there is a
malfunct ion in the engine control.
D rive s low ly to your authorized Audi dealer or
q ua lified repair faci lity to have the engine
checked .
I f the ~ indica to r li ght turns on when you
start the engine, there is a malfunction in the
l aunch contro l. To start the engine, follow
these steps:
- Vehicles wi th a mechanical ignition
¢ page 71 ,
-vehicles wi th a compor t igni tion
c:> page 73.
1) . : USA mode ls onl y
Instrument s and indicator ligh ts 23
o Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL)
The Ma lfun ction Indi cato r Lamp ( MIL) is pa rt
of the On-Board Diagnos tic (OBD II) sys tem.
T he sym bo l
('4 lights up when the ignition is
switched on and will tur n off after the engine
has started and has settled at a constant idle
speed . This indicates that the MIL is work ing
properly.
T he wa rning lig ht ill uminates when the re is a
malfunction in the engine electronic system .
Contact your a uthorized Aud i dea ler and have
the malfunction corrected.
If the fuel fille r cap is closed incor rect ly, this
may also cause the MIL to turn on
c:> poge 208.
For more information ¢ page 29 .
!7, Engine speed limitation
Applies to vehicles: wi th engine speed lim itatio n
(m Max. engine speed: XXXX rpm
T he eng ine speed is automatically limi ted to
the speed displayed in the driver info rm ation
system . This pro te cts the engine from over ­
heating.
T he eng ine speed l imi ta tion dea ctivates on ce
the engine is no longer in the cri tical tempera ­
tu re range and yo u have re lease d the acce lera ­
tor pedal.
If t he engine speed limi tat ion was act iva ted
b y an engine cont rol m alfunc tio n, the ~ indi­
cator light also turns on. Make sure the en ­
gine speed does not go above the speed dis­
played, fo r example when downshifting . Drive
to yo ur authorized Aud i dea le r or qualified re ­
pair facility immediately to have the malfunc­
tion corrected .
~. Engine oil level (min.)
El Check oil level
•

58 Seats and storage
Glove compartment
Fig. 52 Glove compa rt m en t
Open ing /closing
,,. To open the glove compartment, pull the
handle in the direct ion of the arrow.
,,. To close the glove compartment, swing the
lid upward until it clicks into place .
The glove compartment can be locked using
the vehicle key.
A WARNING
Always leave the lid on the glove compart­ ment cover closed while driving to reduce
the risk of in ju ry .
Additional storage compartments
There are add itiona l storage compartments,
compartments and holders at other locations
in the vehicle :
- In the upper part of the glove compart­
ment .
- In the center console under the center arm­ rest* .
- On the back of the right front seat. The com­
partment can hold a max i mum weight of 2
lbs (1 kg) .
- Garment hooks on the B -pillar
c:> A .
A WARNING
-Always remove objects from the instru­
me nt pane l. Any items not stored could
s li de aro und inside the vehicle while driv­
ing or when accelerating or when apply­
ing the brakes or when driving a round a
corner .
-
-When you are dr iving make sure that
anyth ing you may have placed in the cen­
ter conso le or other storage locations
cannot fall out into the footwells . In case
of sudden braking you would not be able
to b rake or accele rate .
- A ny articles of clothing that you have
hung up m ust not interfere with the dr iv­
e r's vi ew. The coat hooks are des igned
only for lightweight cloth ing. Neve r hang
a ny cloth ing wi th hard, pointed o r heavy
objects in the pockets on the coat hooks.
During s udden braking or in an accident -
especia lly if the airbag is deployed -
these objects cou ld injure any passen­
gers inside the vehicle.
- To reduce the risk of persona l in ju ry in an
accident or s udden stop, always keep the
g love compartment closed wh ile driving.
- Read and follow all WARNINGS
<=> page 161, Important safety instruc­
tions on the side airbag system.
- Hang clothes in such a way that they do
not impair the driver's vision.
- The coat hooks must on ly be used for
lightweight clothing. Do not leave any heavy or sharp edged objects in the pock­
ets which may interfere w ith the s ide cur­
tain airbag deployment and can cause
pe rsonal injury in a crash .
- Do not use coat hange rs fo r hanging
cloth ing o n the coat hooks as th is can in­
terfere w ith prope r deployment of the
side curt ain air bags in an a cciden t.
- Do not hang heavy objects on the coat
hooks, as they could cause pe rsonal in­
jury in a sud den stop.
- For strength-re lated reasons, the mount­
i n g hooks ca n only be used to secure ob­
jects weigh ing up to 10 lb . (5 kg) . Heavi­
er objects will not be adequate ly sec ured
- there is a risk of injury.

76 Driving
removed from the vehicle when the engine
was running.
If the convenience key is no lon­
ger in the veh icle, you cannot switch the igni­
tion on or start the engine once you stop it.
You also cannot lock the vehicle from the out­
side .
Press brake pedal
This message appears if you do not press t he
brake peda l to start the engine in a vehicle
with an automatic transmission .
Please engage N or P
This message appears whe n starting or stop­
p ing the engine if t he selecto r lever is not in
the Nor P pos ition. The eng ine will not star t/
stop.
Shift to P, otherwis e vehicle can roll away.
Door s do not lock if lev er i s not in P
This message appears for safety reasons
along w ith a warning tone . It appears if the
selecto r lever for the automat ic transm iss io n
is not in the P position when switch ing the ig­
ni tion off with the
!S TAR T ENGINE STOPI*
button . Sh ift the sele ctor leve r to t he P posi­
tion. Otherwise, the vehicle could ro ll. You al­
so cannot lock the vehicle using the locking
sensor on the door handle o r using the con­
venience key .
Electromechanical
parking brake
Operation
The electromechanical parking brake replaces
the hand brake .
Fig. 68 Center conso le: Park ing brake
.,. Pull the switch @¢ fig. 68 to set the pa rk­
ing brake. The. (USA models) . (Cana­
da mode ls) indicator light in the button and
in the instrument cluster display turns on .
.,. To release the parking brake, press the brake
pedal or the acce lerator pedal and press the
button @. The . (USA models) /. (Cana­
da mode ls) indicato r light in th e button and
ins trument clus ter tur ns off.
Your vehicle is equipped with an electrome ­
chanical pa rking brak e. The parking bra ke is
designed to p revent the veh icle from rolling
u ninte ntionally and repla ce s the hand b rake.
In add ition to the normal functions of a tradi ­
tio na l ha nd b rake, the electromechanical
parki ng b rake provides va rious conven ien ce
and safe ty f unct ions .
When starting
-The integral hill start assist helps you when
d riving by au tomatical ly re leasi ng the park­
ing bra ke ¢
page 77, Starting from a
stop.
- W hen start ing on i nclines, t he h ill sta rt as­
si st preven ts the v ehicl e from unintentiona l­
ly ro lling back . T he b raking force of the
p ar king br ake is no t released unt il su ffi cien t
driving force has been bui lt up at the
wheels .
Emergency brake function
An emergency b rak ing functions ensu res that
t h e vehi cle can be s lowed down even if the
n ormal brakes f ail¢ page 78, Emergen cy
braking fun ction.
Indicator lights
- I f the pa rk ing brake is set when the ignition
is
switched on , the. (USA models) /.
(Canad a models) indica to r li ght turns on in
t he display and b utton .
- If the pa rk ing brake is se t when the ignition
is
switched off , the. (USA models) /.
(Canada mo dels) indica tor ligh t turns on in
the display and button for about 20 sec­
onds.

80 Driving
@ Tips
-The cruise control system is idea l for
stretches with speed limits . The driver is
responsible for adhering to the correct
speed.
- The cruise control remains active when
shifting gears.
- The brake lights turn on when the brakes
are activated.
Switching on
Applies to vehicles: with c ruise cont ro l syste m
0
f
~
0
Fig. 69 Operating lever: cruise control system
., To switch the cruise control on, pull the lev­
er into position
CD ¢ fig . 69.
... Drive at the speed to be maintained .
., To store the speed, press the button @. The
II (US models) !Bl (Canadian models)
turns on in the instrument cluster.
Changing speed
Applies to vehicles: with cruise contro l syste m
., To increase or decrease the speed in incre­
ments,
tap the lever in the 010 direction
¢ page 80, fig. 69 .
., To increase or decrease the speed quickly,
hold the lever in the 010 direction until
the desired speed is reached.
Overriding the speed
You can press the acce lerator pedal down to
increase your speed, for example if you want
to pass someone. The speed you saved earlier
will resume as soon as you release the acceler­
ator pedal. If, however, you exceed your saved speed by
5
mph (10 km/h) for longer than 6 minutes, the
cruise control turns off temporarily. The
II
(US models) 1 81 (Canada models) indicator
light in the instrument cluster turns off and
the stored speed is retained .
Preselecting the speed
Applies to vehic les: wit h cruise co ntrol system
You can preselect your desired speed when
the vehicle is stationary.
., Switch the ignit ion on .
., Move the lever into position
CD ¢ page 80,
fig . 69.
., To increase or decrease the speed, tap the
lever in the
010 direction .
This function makes it possible, for example,
to save the speed you want before driving on
the highway . Once on the h ighway, act ivate
the cru ise control by pulling the lever toward
CD -
Switching off
App lies to vehicles: wi th cruise co n trol system
Temporary deactivation
., Press the brake pedal, or
., Press the lever into position @(not clicked
into place)
¢ page 80, fig. 69, or
Switching off completely
., Press the lever into position@(clicked into
p lace), or
., Switch the igni tion off.
The speed you stored w ill be retained if the
c ruise control has been switched off tempora­
rily . To resume the stored speed, re lease the
brake pedal and pull the lever into position
CD.
The stored speed is erased when the cruise
control is switched off complete ly or the igni-
t ion is switched off. ..,

A WARNING ,~
You should only resume the stored speed if
it is not too high for existing traffic condi­
tions . Otherw ise you risk an accident.
- If the brakes become too heated while
driving, the cruise control switches off. If
th is happens while dr iving downh ill, you
can relieve the brakes by shifting into a
lower gear.
- When the cruise control is act ivated, ESC
sport mode cannot be switched on . Driving 81
•