2015 AUDI A3 parking brake

& WARNING
-Do not press the accelerator pedal inad­
vertently when the vehicle is stationary and the engine is running and a gear is
selected. Otherwise the vehicle will start
to move immediately and could result in
a crash.
- If the power supply fails, the released
parking brake can no longer engage. In
this case, park the vehicle on level ground and secure it by placing these­
lector lever in the P position (automatic
transmission). See your authorized Audi dealer or qualified repair facility.
(D Note
If the symbol . in the display or the indi­
cator light. (USA models)/ . (Canada
models) in the instrument cluster flashes,
there is a malfunction in the brake system.
Please refer to the detailed description of
the indicator lights¢
page 18.
-If the indicator light . (USA models)/
• (Canada models) or
Ill turns on,
there may be a malfunction in the park­
ing brake ¢
page 19.
(D Tips
-You can set the parking brake at any time
-even with the ignition turned
off. To re-
lease the parking brake, the ignition
must be turned on and the brake pedal
must be pressed.
- If driver 's door is opened while the igni­
tion is switched on, the parking brake
sets automatically. This prevents unin­
tended rolling of the vehicle .
- Occasional noises when the parking
brake is set and released are normal and
are not a cause for concern.
- When the vehicle is parked, the parking
brake goes through a self -test cycle at
regular intervals. Any noises associated
with this are normal.
- If there is a power failure, the parking
brake will not set if it is released, and it
will not release if it is set ¢,&. . See your
Driving 77
authorized Audi dealer or qualified repair
facility.
· Parking
.. Press the brake ped al to stop the vehicle .
.. Pull the switch @ ¢
page 76 , fig . 68 to set
the parking brake.
.. Place the selector lever in the P position .
.. Turn the engine off¢.&_ .
.,. Turn the steering wheel when parking on in­
clines so that the wheels will roll into the
curb if the vehicle starts moving.
& WARNING ~ -
-Always take the vehicle key with you
when leaving the vehicle, even for a short period of time. This applies partic­
ularly when children remain in the vehi­
cle. Otherwise children could start the
engine, release the parking brake or op ­
erate electrical equipment such as power
windows, which increases the risk of an
accident .
- No one should remain in the vehicle
when it is locked, especially children.
Locked doors make it more difficult for
emergency workers to get into the vehi­
cle, which puts lives at risk.
Starting from a stop
The start assist function ensures that the
parking brake is released automatically upon starting.
Stopping and applying the parking brake
.. Pull the switch@¢ page 76, fig . 68 to set
the parking brake.
Starting and automatically releasing the
parking brake
Requirement: The driver's door must be
locked and the driver's safety belt must be
fastened.
.. When you press the accelerator pedal , the
parking brake is automatically released and
your vehicle begins to move.
•

78 Driving
When stopping at a traffic signal or stopping in city traffic, the parking brake can be ap­
plied. The vehicle does not have to be held
with the brake pedal. The parking brake elimi­ nates the tendency to creep when a selector
lever position is engaged . As soon as you
press the accelerator pedal, the parking brake
releases automatically and the vehicle starts
to move.
Starting on slopes
When starting on inclines, the hill start assist
prevents the vehicle from unintentionally roll­
ing back. The braking force of the parking
brake is not released until sufficient driving
force has been built up at the wheels.
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the park ing brake is re­
leased automatically only when the driv­
er 's safety belt is fastened and the driver 's
door is locked.
Emergency braking function
This is used if the convention brake system
fails or locks up.
~ To brake your vehicle in an emergency, pull
the @switch
¢ page 76, fig. 68 and hold it
pulled.
~ As soon as you release the@ switch or ac-
celerate, the braking process stops.
Pulling and holding the @switch while driv­
ing at a speed of about 2 mph (3 km/h) or
higher initiates the emergency braking func­
tion. The vehicle is braked at all four wheels by activating the braking hydraulics. The brake
performance is similar to heavy braking.¢.&
To help prevent activating the emergency braking by mistake, an audible warning tone
(buzzer) sounds when the @switch is pulled.
E mergency braking stops as soon as the@
switch is released or the accelerator pedal is pressed.
A WARNING
Emergency braking should only be used in
an emergency, when the normal brake
pedal has failed or the brake pedal is ob­
structed . During emergency braking, your
vehicle will brake similar to heavy braking .
ESC and the associated components (ABS,
ASR, EDL) cannot overcome the laws of
physics. In corners and when road or
weather conditions are bad, a full brake
application can cause the vehicle to skid or
the rear end to break away, which increas­
es the risk of an accident.
Hill hold
Applies to vehicles: wit h Hill Hold
Hill hold makes it easier to start on hills.
Requirement: The driver door must be closed
and the engine must be running.
The system is activated when the brake pedal
is pressed while the vehicle is stationary.
To prevent the vehicle from rolling back when
starting, the brake power is held for a brief
moment after releasing the brake pedal. Dur­
ing this time, you can easily begin to move
your vehicle.
A WARNING ......_
- The intelligent technology of Hill Hold
cannot overcome the limitations im­
posed by natural physical laws. The in­
creased comfort offered by Hill Hold
should not cause you to take safety risks .
- Hill Hold cannot hold the vehicle in all
hill start situations (for example, if the
ground is slippery or icy).
- If you do not begin moving immediately
after releasing the brake pedal, the vehi­
cle could begin to roll backward under
certain circumstances. Press the brake
pedal or set the parking brake immedi­
ately.
- If the engine "stalls", press the brake
pedal or set the parking brake immedi­
ately.
-

88 Audi adaptive cruise control
you can have the adaptive cruise control
me nu extende d I enabled from an autho r­
ized re pair faci lity.
Setting the driving program
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
A adaptive cru ise control driving program is
adjustab le on vehicles without Aud i drive se­
lect* .
.. Se lect in the MMI:
!MENUI button> Systems
or Car systems > Driver assistance > Adap·
tive cru ise control
> Driving program >
comfort /standard /dynamic .
Selecting the driving mode
App lies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
The adaptive c ruise co ntro l dr iv ing prog ram is
ad justa ble for ve hicles w ith Au di drive se lect
usi ng the dr iv ing mode.
.. Se lect t he des ired driv ing mod e
comfort ,
auto , dynamic
or individual* with the knob
¢ page 10 2.
Request for driver intervention
App lies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
Fig . 7 9 In st rum ent clus ter : d river interve ntio n re qu est
In some s ituations, the braki ng from the
adapt ive cr uise control system is not enoug h
to maintain enoug h distance to the object
a head . In these situations, the system will re­
q ues t yo u to take action .
The . indicator light and the graphic in the
d isplay w ill wa rn you about the danger
¢
fig. 79. You will a lso hear a n aud io signa l.
P ress the br ake pedal to s low y our veh icle
do wn .
Driver messages
Applies to vehicles: wit h Aud i adapt ive c ru ise control
IIJ ACC : unavailable
The system cannot gu arantee that it will de­
tect o bject s cor rectly and i s switched off. The
sens or was m ove d or is fa ulty. Drive to your
autho rize d Audi dea le r or a uth ori zed Audi
service facility immediately to have the ma l­
f unct ion corrected .
Ill ACC: currently unavailable . No sensor vi·
sion
fl ACC and Audi pre sense : currently un ­
available. No sen sor vision
T h is message appears if the senso r view is ob·
structe d, for examp le by l eaves, snow, heavy
s pr ay or d irt . C lean t he sensor ¢
page 82,
fig. 70 .
ill ACC: currently unavailable. Gradient too
steep
The road exceeds t he max imum possible an­
gle fo r safe adaptive cruise control operation.
T he adapt ive cr uise control cannot be switch­
ed o n.
ill ACC: only available in D, Sor M
Se lect the D/S or M selector leve r position .
ill ACC: parking brake applied
The adapt ive cr uise control system switch es
off automa tically if th e parki ng br ake is set.
T he adapt ive cru ise con tro l is ava ilable again
aft er re leas ing t he pa rking br ake.
ill ACC: currently unavailable. Stabilization
control input
This message appears if the Electronic Stabili ­
zation Control (ESC) is taking action to stab i·
l ize the veh icle. I n this case, adapt ive cr uise
control switches off automat ica lly .
ill ACC off: manual control!
This message a ppears if t he vehicle ro lls back
whe n start ing on a s light incline, even though
ACC is active. Press the b rake pedal to prevent
the vehicle from rolling or starting to move. .,.

106 Autom atic tr an smi ssion
-Never select R or P while driving, beca use
this increases the risk of an accident.
- Power is sti ll transmitted to the whee ls
when the eng ine 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 accelera­
tor pedal when the vehicle is stopped if a
gea r is engaged. Otherwise the vehicle
will star t to move immediately, even if
the parking bra ke is set . This could result
in a crash .
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever position
whi le the vehicle is stationary and the
engine is running.
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running whi le in gear . If you must leave
yo ur vehicle when the engine is running,
set the park ing 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
r::.> page 210, Working
in the engine compartment.
Q) Note
Coast ing downh ill with the transmission in
N and the e ngine not running w ill result in
damage to the automatic transmiss ion
and possibly the catalytic converter.
(D Tips
-Audi drive select: Sporty shift ing charac­
terist ics can be se lected using the
dy­
namic d riving mode.Swill app ear in the
i nstrument cluste r display instead of D.
- If you accidenta lly select N whil e driv ing,
take your foot off the acce le rator pedal
i mmedia tely and wait fo r the engine to
s low down to idle be fore se lecting D or S. -
If there is a power failu re, the selector
lever wi ll not move out of the P position.
The emergency re lease can be used i f
this happens ¢ page 112.
Selector lever lock '
App lies to vehicles: wi th S t ronic tra nsmi ssio n
The selector lever lock prevents you from se­
lecting a gear occidentally, causing the vehi­
cle to roll.
Fig . 92 Selecto r lever lock
To release the selector lever lock:
.. Switch th e ignition on .
8 0 :,l. CX) .,
.. Press the brake pedal while pressing the in-
terlock button .
Automat ic shift loc k (AS L)
The selector lever is locked in the P and N po­
sitions when the ign ition is switched on. You
must press the brake pedal to select another
pos ition. You must a lso press the interlock
button if you a re mov ing from the P position .
T he following message appears in the display
when the selector lever is in the P or N pos i­
t ion to remind the drive r:
When stationar y apply footbrake while se­
l e cting gear
The automatic shift 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 it ion.
The selector lever is not locked when shifting
quick ly through N, for example from R to D.
T his makes it possible to free the vehicle when
it is stuck by "rocking" it. The se lector lever
Ill>

lock engages if the lever stays in the N posi­
tion longer than approximately 2 seconds
when the brake pedal is not pressed.
Interlock button
The interlock button in the selector lever han­
d le prevents you from moving the selector
l ever inadvertently while in some selector lev­
er positions. The positions that require the in­
ter lock button to be pressed are marked in
color in the illustration
c;, fig. 92.
Ignition key safety interlock*
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 ignition .
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS c> .&. in Se­
lector lever positions on page 105 .
@ 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 . To allow the selector
le ver to engage again, proceed as fol­
l ows: Press the brake pedal b riefly.
- If the vehicle does not move forward or
i n reverse even though a drive position is
se lected, proceed as follows:
- >If the veh icle does not move in the de­
s ire d direction, the system may not have
engaged the dr ive position correctly.
Press the brake pedal and select the
drive position again.
- > If the vehicle still does not move in the
desired direction, there is a system mal­
function. See your authorized Aud i dea l­
er or qualified repair facility for assis­
tance to have the system checked.
Autom atic transm ission 107
Driving tips
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic transmission
The transmission shifts up and down auto­
matically when in the driving gears.
Fig. 93 Section of the center co nsole: selector leve r
w ith inte rlock b utto n
The engine 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 position.
Starting 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 105
and release the lock button.
.,. Wait a moment until the transmission
shifts . Yo u will notice a slight movement
when the gear engages.
... Release the brake peda l and press the acce l­
erator pedal
c;, .&_ .
Stopping temporarily
.,. Keep the vehicle stationary using the brak­
ing pedal, for example at traffic lights.
.,. Do not press the accelerator peda l when do­
ing this .
.,. To prevent the vehicle from ro lling when you
start driving, set the parking brake when
stopping on steep inclines
c;, .&. -
.,. The parking brake will release automat ically
and the vehicle will start moving once you
press the acce lerator pedal. Requ irements :
The driver's safety belt must fastened and
the driver's door must be closed.
IJll,-

108 Automatic transmi ssion
Stopp ing /p ar kin g
If the selec tor 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 message:
Shift to P , other wise vehi cle
c a n roll away . Doo rs do not lo ck if le ver not
in
P appears. You will also hear a warning
tone .
"' Press and ho ld the brake pedal¢.&_ .
"' Set the parking brake.
"'Se lect the P selector lever pos ition.
St opp ing on an incline
• Always press the brake pedal to hold the ve ­
hicle in p lace and prevent it from "rolling
back" ¢ .&_ . Do
n ot try to prevent the vehi­
cle from "roll ing back" when a gear is en­
gaged by increasing the eng ine speed ¢(D.
Starting on an inclin e in vehicl es wi th out
Hill Hold*
"' Set the parking brake.
"' With the driving gear selected, press the ac­
celerator pedal carefully . The parking brake
will release automat ically if your safety belt
is fastened.
St arting on an incl ine i n vehicle s with Hill
Hold*
"' With the driving gear selected, remove your
foot from the brake pedal and press the ac­ cele rato r pedal ¢
page 78, Hill hold.
Under certain circumstances, (such as driving
in the mountains or towing a tra iler), it may
be usefu l to sw itch temporarily to the manual
shift p rogram in o rder to adjust the gears to
the dr iving condit ions by ha nd
¢ page 110.
When parking on a level surface, simply place
the selector lever in the P pos ition. On in­
clines , activate the parking bra ke first and
then move the selector lever to the P pos it ion
¢ page 76 . This prevents the locking mecha­
nism from being loaded too heavi ly and will
make it easier to move the selector lever out
of the P position.
A WARNING
- The vehicle can also roll when the engine
is stopped.
- Unintended vehicle movement can cause
serious injury.
- 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 runn ing at idle. To
p revent the vehicle from "c reeping", you
must keep you r foot on the brake when
the engine is running and the selector lever is in the D, So r R position or "tip­
tronic" mode is selected .
- Do not inadvertently press the ac celera­
tor peda l when the vehicle is stationary.
Otherwise the vehicle wi ll start to move
immediate ly, even if the parking brake is
set. Th is could result in a crash.
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the se lector lever position
while the veh icle is stationary and the
engine is running.
- Never engage the se lector level positions
R or P 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 rak ing distan ce or c auses complete fa il­
ure of the brake system.
- I f you must stop on an in cl ine, always
hold the vehicle i n place with the foot
brake or park ing brake to p revent it from
rolling back .
- Never hold the vehicle on an incline with
a slipping clutch . The clutch opens auto ­
matica lly when it becomes too hot from

the overload. The ml indicator light
turns on and a message appears
Q page 111 when the clutch is overload­
ed .
-If the engine must remain running, never
have any driving position engaged when
checking under the hood . Make sure the
selector lever has securely engaged and
is locked in P with the parking brake set
Q page 210. Otherwise, any increase in
engine speed may set the vehicle in mo­
tion, even with the parking brake set.
(y Note
- When stopping on an incline, do not try
to hold the vehicle in place by pressing
the accelerator pedal while a driving gear
is selected. This can cause the automatic
transmission to overheat and can dam­
age it. Set the parking brake or press the
brake pedal to prevent the vehicle from
rolling.
- Allowing the vehicle to roll when the en­
gine is stopped and th@ selector lever is
in the N position will damage the auto­
matic transmission because it is not lu­
bricated under those circumstances .
- The transmission can overheat and be
damaged under certain driving and traf­
fic conditions such as frequent starts,
creeping for a long time , or stop-and-go
traffic. When the
ml or . indicator
light turns on, stop the vehicle at the
next opportunity and let the transmis­
sion cool
r::!> page 111.
-Allowing the vehicle to roll when the en­
gine is stopped will damage the S tronic
transmission because it is not lubricated
<=> page 261, Emergency towing with
commercial tow truck .
For safety reasons, the parking brake re­
leases automatically only when the driver's
door is closed and driver's safety belt is
fastened.
Automatic transmission 109
Hill descent control
App lies to vehicles : wi th S tronic tra nsmi ssio n
Hill descent control assists the driver when
driving down inclines .
Hill descent control is activated when these­
lector lever is in the D or S position and you
press the brake pedal. The transmission auto ­
matically selects a gear that is suitable for the
incline. Hill descent control tries to maintain
the speed achieved at the time of braking,
within physical and technical limitations. If
may still be necessary to adjust the speed
with the brakes . Because hill descent control
cannot sh ift down farther than 3rd gear, it
may be necessary to shift into tiptronic mode
in very steep areas. In this case, shift into 1st
or 2nd gear in tiptronic mode to use the en­ gine's braking force to relieve the brakes .
Hill descent control switches off once the in­
cline levels out or you press the accelerator
pedal.
On vehicles with a cruise control system*
Q page 79, hill descent control is also activat­
ed when the speed is set.
A WARNING
-
-
Hill descent control cannot overcome
physical limitations, so it may not be able
to maintain a constant speed under all
conditions. Always be ready to apply the brakes .
•

Selector lever emergency release
"'Press and hold the yellow release button
with the screwdriver ¢
fig. 97.
"' Press the release button in the selector lever
@ and move the lever into the N position.
"' Clip the shift cover back into the shift gate
after using the emergency release.
If the ve hicle must be pushed or towed due to
a power failure (for example, the battery is
dead), the selector lever must f irst be moved
to the N position using the emergency release
mechanism.
A WARNING
Only move the selector lever out of the P
position when the parking brake is set. If
that does not work, secure the vehicle with
the brake pedal. Otherwise, the vehicle
could start to move unintentiona lly when
the selector lever is moved out of the P po­
sition .
Automatic transmission 113
•