2015 AUDI A3 tow

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
•
•
•

4 Table of contents
Eme rgency towing with comme rcial
tow truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Lift ing vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Technical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Vehicle ident ificat ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Dimensions. ... .. ..... ... .. .. .. .. 266
Capacit ies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Gasoline eng ines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Con sum er Inform ation . . . . . . . 2 68
Warranty coverages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Operating your vehicle outside the
U.S.A. o r Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Audi Service Repair Man uals and
L it erature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
M aintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Additional accessories, modifications
and parts replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Declaration of Compliance,
Telecommunication and E lectronic
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Inde x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

mode), then the shift indicator can assist you
when selecting the next gear.
I n order to become familiar with the gearshift
indicator, begin driving as usual.
If the current
gear is not the best one for conserving fuel,
the indicator wi ll display the recommended
gear.
If there is no gearshift recommendation, you
are already driving in the most suitable gear .
The display is only vis ible in tip tronic mode
c::> page 110.
The¢ fig. 6 symbol turns on in the d isplay:
- t Upshifting
(D Note
This indicator can he lp you conserve fuel.
It is not designed to recommend the cor­
rect gear in all driving situations. Only the
driver can decide which gear is correct in
certain driving situations, such as when
passing another vehicle, driving on hills or
towing a trailer .
(D Tips
We recommend placing the selector lever
in
D if you want your vehicle to use less
fue l.
Service interval display
The service interval display detects when your
vehicle is due for service .
Fig. 7 Instrument cluster: serv ice inte rval disp lay (ex ­
ample)
Instruments and indicator lights 13
Fig. 8 Display in t he MMI panel: service interva l disp lay
(example)
The service interval display works in two
stages:
- Inspection or oil change reminder: After a
specified number of miles, a message ap­
pears in the instrument cluster display when
switching the ign ition on or off ¢
fig. 7. The
remaining d ista nce or t ime is displayed
briefly .
-Inspection or oil change due : If your vehicle
is due for an inspect ion or oil change or
both, a message appears briefly in the in­
strument cluster display when sw itching the
ignition on or off:
Inspection due! or Oil
change due! or Oil change and inspection
due!.
Checking service intervals
The remaining distance or t ime to the next oil
change or to the next inspect ion can be
viewed in the MMI
c::>fig. 8. Selectthe ,...IM""" E~ N- u-1
button
> Systems or Car systems > Service &
control > Service intervals.
In new vehicles or after resetting the disp lay,
the display can be viewed after approximately
500 km.
Resetting the display
Your authorized Audi dealer or qualified facili­
ty will reset the service interval display after
the service is performed.
If you perform an oil change yourself to the
Audi specifications, you can reset you service
interval display.
To reset the display, select the !MENUI button
> Systems or Car systems > Service & control Iii-

20 Instruments and indicator lights
When this message a ppears, first press the
b rake peda l and then release the parking
b rake .
113 (USA models)/K@'A ing brake malfunction! Anti-towing alarm
blocked
Ill ( USA models) t6] (Canada model s) Park­
ing brake: not applied!
113 ( USA models) t6J (Canada models) Cau­
tion : Vehicle parked too steep
113 (USA models) t6] ( Canada models ) Park­
ing brake is applied
When th is message appears, first press the
b rake pedal and then release the parking
brake if necessary .
(D Tips
More information on the pa rking brake
c::;,page 76.
- l Cooling system
• Switch off engine and check coolant lev­
el!
The coolant leve l is too low or the coolant
temperature is t oo high .
D o not cont inue driving and turn off t he en­
g ine. Check the coolant leve l
c::;, page 216 .
-If the coolant leve l is too low, add coo lan t
c::;, page 217 . Only continue driv ing if the in­
dicato r light tur ns off .
- If the coolant leve l is co rrect, then the mal ­
function may be caused by fai lure of the
coolant fan. Do not continue dr iv ing. See
yo ur authorized Aud i dea le r or qualified re ­
pair fac ility .
• Coolant temperature too high! Let engine
run with vehicle stationary
L et the eng ine run at idl e for a few minu tes to
coo l down .
A WARNING
-Never open the eng ine hood if y ou see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coo la nt
d ripping from t he e ngine compartment .
You could bur n yourse lf . What until you
ca nno t see or hea r any coolant co min g
ou t.
- T he engi ne compa rtment o f eve ry ve hicl e
is a dange rou s ar ea . B efo re perfo rmin g
wo rk in t he eng ine com par tmen t, tur n
t he eng ine off and let i t co ol d own. A l­
ways follow t he i nfo rmat ion foun d in
c::;, page 210 , Working in the engine
compartment .
(D Note
Do n ot con tinue dr iv ing whe n the . indi­
cator light turns on . There is a ris k of dam ­
a g ing t he engine .
• Switch off engine! Oil pressure too low
Turn off the en gine and do not co nti nu e dr iv­
ing. Check the eng ine oil level
c::;, page 21 5.
- If the en gin e o il level is too low, ad d eng in e
oil
c::;, page 212 . Only cont inue drivin g if the
in di cator light tu rns off.
- If the en gine oil level is co rrec t and the in d i­
ca to r lig ht still turns on, tu rn t he engine off
an d do not cont inue driv ing . See your au ­
thorized A udi deale r or qualifie d repair fa ­
cility.
(D Tips
The oi l press ure warn ing is not an oil level
i ndicato r. For this reas on, chec k th e o il lev­
e l reg ularly .
D Alternator/battery
• Alternator fault: The battery is not being
charged
There is a malfunction in the al ternator or the
vehicle e lectr ica l system .

Drive to yo ur authorized Aud i dea ler or quali ­
fied repair facility immediately. Because the
ve hicle battery is dra ining, turn off all unnec ­
essary electrical eq uipment such as the MMI.
See your authorized Audi dealer or a qualified
repair facility if the battery charge level is too
low.
(•) Low battery charge : Battery will be
charged while dri ving
There may be limited starting ab ility.
If th is message tu rns off after a litt le w hile,
the battery has charged eno ugh whi le dr iving .
I f the message does not turn off, have your
author ized Audi dealer or qua lified workshop
cor rect the malfunc tion.
ii!.(' Safety systems
The fl (USA models)/ EI (Canada mode ls) in ­
dicator light monitors the safety systems .
Safety system
If the fl ( U SA mode ls)/ E,I (Canada models)
i ndicator light t urns on or b links, the re is a
mal func tion in the sa fety system.
D rive to you r autho rized Aud i deale r o r quali­
fied repair fac ility immediately to have t he
mal funct ion cor rected.
_& WARNING
Have the safe ty system checked, othe rwise
there is a risk that the system may act ivate
during an acci dent, which puts lives at r is k!
,{f. Front safety belt
The . indicator light turns on until the safe­
ty belts on the driver's and passenger's side
are buckled. There is a lso a warn ing tone
above a certai n speed.
For addit iona l information on safety be lts,
refer to
<=:> page 131.
Instrument s and indicator ligh ts 21
~ - Electronic steering column lock
• Do not drive vehicle: steering defe ctive
There is an electron ic steering column lock
malfu nction. You cannot turn the ignition on.
Do
not tow yo ur vehicle because it cannot be
steered. See your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified repair facility .
Im Steering lock: system fault! Please con ·
tact Service
T here is an electronic steering column lock
malfunction.
Drive to an au thor ized A udi dealer or qu alifie d
repair fac ility immedia tely to have t he mal­
f unction corrected .
A WARNING
Your vehicle must not be towed in the
event of a malfunction in the electronic
steering column lock. There is a risk of an
accident.
© -I =e Engine start system
-
• Engine start system malfunction! P lease
contact S erv ice
Do not sw itch the ignition off because yo u
may not be able to switch it on again.
Drive to your authorized A udi dealer or quali ­
fied repai r facility immediate ly to have the
malfunction corrected.
Ill/ l3 Engine start system malfunction!
Plea se contact Service
T he re is a malfunction in the eng ine start sys ­
tem .
- Ve hicles w ith an ignition
<=:> page 71, Auto­
matic start malfunction
- Ve hicles a with co nvenience key
<=:> page 73, Automatic start malfunction
Drive to an authorized A udi dealer or qualified
repair fac ility immediately to have the mal ·
funct io n corrected . •

~(D Dynamic headlight range control
system
App lies to vehicles: with Xe non lig hts
II Headlight range control system: system
fault!
There is a malfunct ion i n the dynam ic head ­
light range con trol system, wh ich may cause
g la re for other drivers.
D rive to you r autho rized Aud i dea le r o r quali­
fied repair faci lity immediately to have the
mal funct ion cor rected.
l§O Audi adaptive light
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive light
rDI Audi adaptive light: system fault!
There is a malfunct io n in the adaptive lights.
The headlights still function.
Drive to an authorized Aud i dealer or qualified
repair facility immediately to have the mal­
function corrected .
@) Light/rain sensor
Applies to vehicles: with light/ra in se nsor
El Automatic headlights: system fault!
El Automatic wipers: system fault!
The light/rain sensor is not working.
F or safety reasons , the low beams are turned
on permanent ly with the switch in
AUTO. You
can continue to turn the lights on and off us­
ing the light switch. You can still control all
wiper functions that are independent of the
rain sensor.
Drive to an authorized Audi dea ler or qualified
repair facility immediately to have the mal­
function corrected .
Q Adaptive dampers
Applies to vehicles: with Audi drive select
II Suspension: system fault!
There is an adaptive damper malfunction.
Instruments and indicator lights 25
Drive to an authorized A udi dealer or qualified
repair facility immediately to have the mal­
function corrected .
¢i Q Turn signals
If the B or 1B in dicator light blinks, a turn
s ignal is turned on. If both indicator lights are
blinking, the emergency flashers are on.
In an indicator light blinks twice as fast as
usual then a blinker bulb has failed. Carefully
drive to your author ized Audi dealer or quali­
fied repa ir facility immed iately to have the
malfu nction corrected . T he indicator light
does not indicate a malfunction if a turn sig­
nal on the trailer or on the vehicle fails when
towing a trailer.
(D Tips
For more information on the turn signals,
see
~ page 44.
{d i~ Rear safety belt
App lies to vehicles: with rear safety belt detection
The IJ ;ffl i ndicator light turns on briefly
when you swi tch the ignition on.
An indica tor light turns on briefly when the
safety belt in the rear seat is buckled or un­
buckled.
l!I -if the ind icator light turns on briefly, the
r ear seat is not occupied or the safety belt is
not buckled . Th ere is also an audio warning
signal if the be lt is unbuckled whi le driving.
II -if the ind icator light turns on briefly, the
r ear safety belt is buckled.
{D Tips
For additional information on safety belts,
refer to~
page 131.
•

deactivate adaptive light in the MMI
¢ pag e 44.
When swi tched on, adapt ive light adjusts to
curves depend ing on the vehicle speed and
steering whee l ang le . This provides b etter
lighting through the curve. The system oper­
ates in a speed range from approx imately 6
mph (10 km/h) to 68 mph (110 km/h) .
Static corner ing light * (vehicles with adaptive
light) -the cornering light switch es on auto­
mat ica lly when the steer ing whee l is turned at
a certa in angle at speeds up to approximately
44 mph (70 km/h) and when the tu rn signal is
activated at speeds up to approximately 25
mph (40 km/h) . The area to the s ide of the ve­
h icle is illuminated bette r when turning .
Speed dependent ligh t dis tributi on* -The
speed dependent light distribution adapts the
light in towns and on h ighways o r express­
ways . Inte rsect io ns can also be illuminated on
veh icles w ith a navigation system* .
Highway light function*
(Vehicles wi th adap tive light or LED head­
lights) -T his function adapts the light ing for
h ighway driving based on vehicle speed .
A WARNING
-Automatic headlights* are only intended
to assist the dr iver. They do not relieve
the driver of responsib ility to check the
headlights and to turn them on ma nually
according to the current light and visibili­
ty conditions . For examp le, fog cannot
be detected by the light sensors. So al­
ways switch on the low beam under
these weather conditions and when driv­
ing in the dark
io .
-Crashes can happen when you cannot see
the road a head and when you cannot be
seen by other motorists . Always turn on
the headlights so that you can see ahead
and so that others can see your car from beh ind.
- Please obse rve lega l regulations when
using the light ing systems descr ibed . Ligh
ts and Visi on 4 3
(D Note
The rear fog lights shou ld only be turned
on in accordance with traffic regu lations,
to prevent glare for traffic behind your ve­
hicle.
{!) Tips
- The light sensor for the automatic head­
lights* is in the rearview mirror mount.
Therefore , do not place any stickers in
this area o n the windshield .
- Some funct ions of the exterior lighting
can be adjusted
c:> page 44.
- If you turn off the ignition while the ex­
terior lights are on and open the door,
you will hear a warning to ne.
- In some countries, the tail lights do not
switch on when the daytime runn ing
lamps switch on.
- In cool or damp weather, the inside of
the headlights, turn signals and tail
lights can fog over due to the tempera ­
t u re difference between the inside a nd
outside. They w ill clear shortly after
switching them on . This does no t affect
the serv ice life of the lighting.
- In the event of a light senso r malfu nc­
ti on, the dr iver is notified in the instru­
ment cl uste r display ¢
page 25.
Emergency flasher
Fig. 30 Ins trume nt panel : emer gency flash er butt on
The emergency flashers makes other dr ivers
aware of your veh icle in dangerous situat ions .
.,. Press the~ but ton to swi tch the emergency
flashe rs on or off.
Ill-

44 Lights and Vision
You can indicate a lane change or a turn when
the emergency flashers are switched on by us­
i ng the turn signa l lever. The emergency f lash ­
ers stop temporarily.
The eme rgency f lashers also work when the
ignition is tu rned off .
(D Tips
You shou ld tu rn on the emergen cy fl ashe rs
when:
- you are the last vehicle st anding in a tr af­
fic jam so that any o ther veh icles coming
ca n see you, or when
- you r vehicle has broken down or yo u are
i n an emergency si tua tion, or when
- you r vehicle is bei ng towe d by a tow
tru ck or if yo u are towi ng anothe r vehicle
b ehin d you.
Turn signal and high beam lever
The lever operates the turn signals, the high
beams and the headlight flasher .
Fig. 31 Turn s ig na l an d high beam leve r
Turn signals ¢¢
The turn signals activate when you move the lever into a turn s ignal pos ition when the ign i­
tion is switched on.
(D -Turn signal
@-Turn signal
The turn s ignal b links three times if you tap
the lever (conven ience turn s ignal).
High beam s and headlight flasher
~D
M ove the lever to the correspond ing position:
@ -high beams on
@-high beams off or headlight flasher
T he
II in di cator light in t he inst rument cl us­
te r tu rns on.
A WARNING
H igh be ams ca n cause glare for othe r driv­
e rs, which inc reases the r is k of an acci ­
dent . For this reason, on ly use the h igh
beams or the headlight flasher when they
will not create g lare for other drivers.
· Adjusting the exterior lighting
The settings ore adjusted in the MMI.
.,. Select: iME NUI button> Systems control
bu tton or Car system s > Vehicle settings >
Exterior lighting.
Automatic headlights
You can adjust the following sett ings in the
Automatic headlights menu:
Activation time: - You can adjust if the head ­
ligh ts sw itch on early, medium or late accord­
i ng to the sens it iv ity of the light sensor .
Audi adapt ive light * -you can switch adaptive
li ght on and off.
Coming home, Leaving home*
T he coming home f unction ill uminates the
area o utside the vehicle when you turn t he ig­
nition off and open the driver's door. To turn
the function on, se lect Lights when leaving
car > on .
The leaving home illum inates the area outside
the vehicle when yo u unlock the vehicle . To
turn the function on, se lect Lights when un­
locking car > on .
The coming home and leaving home functions
only operate when it is dark and the light
switch is in the AUTO position.
Daytim e running lights*
USA models: The day time running lights can
be switched on or off using the MMI. Se lect
on or off.
1111>