2015 AUDI A3 warning light

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 . •

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
•

24 Instruments and indicator lights
You may continue driving for the time being .
Check the oil level as soon as possible
¢ page 212.
-If the engine oil level is too low, add engine
oi l
¢ page 215.
-If the engine oil level is correct and the indi­
cator light still turns on, drive at low engine
speed to the nearest authorized Audi dea ler
or qualified repair facility.
_..,. Engine oil sensor
II Oil level sensor: system fault!
The sensor to check the engine oil level has
failed. Drive to an authorized Audi dealer or
qua lified repair faci lity immediately to have
the malfunction corrected.
Q;) Note
Pay attention to the description in the
Owner 's Manual
¢ page 215 and
¢ page 215, Adding engine oil "l::;1:.
Bil Tank system
RD Please refuel
When the indicator light turns first turns on
and this message appears, the tank contains
the following amount of fuel:
- Front wheel drive : approximately 1.8 gal­
lons (7 liters)
- All wheel drive: approximately 2.2 gallons
(8 .5 liters)
RD Fuel tank malfunction! Please contact
Service
If the indicator light turns on and this mes­
sage appears, there is a ma lfunction in the
tank system.
Drive to your authorized Aud i dealer or quali­
fied repair facility immediately to have the
malfunction corrected.
@) For the sake of the environment
Fuel should never enter the sewer system
or come into contact w ith the ground.
(D Tips
More information on refueling is available
on page ¢
page 207.
~ Washer fluid level
m Please add washer fluid
Fill the washer fluid with the ignition switched
off ¢
page 224.
• Windshield wipers
m Windshield wiper: system fault!
There is a malfunction with the windshie ld
wipers .
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer or quali­
fied repair facility immediate ly to have the
malfunction corrected.
~ Defective light bulb warning
Applies to vehicles: wit h drive r info rmatio n system
If the S:i indicator light turns on, a bulb has
failed. The message ind icates the location of
the bulb .
Replace the bulb immediately.
Vehicle lights: system fault!
There is a malfunction in the headlights or
light switch. Drive to an author ized Audi deal­
er or qualified repair facility immediately to
have the malfunction corrected.
_&. WARNING
- Light bulbs are under pressure and can
explode when bu lbs are replaced -risk of
inj ury.
- With gas-discharge lamps* (xenon head­
lights), the high -voltage component
must be hand led appropriate ly. Other­
wise, there is a risk of fatal injury.
-

~(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.
•

Other equipment
Applies to vehicles: with driver information system
Fig. 1 4 Instrument cluste r: other e quipmen t (e xam­
p le)
~ Turn the menu thumbwheel@¢page 27,
fig. 11 while in the efficiency program until
t h e other eq uipme nt affect ing consump tion
appears .
Other equipmen t that is curren tly affecting
fuel cons umption is listed in t he eff iciency
p rog ram. The display shows up to three other
items of equipment @. The equipment using
the most f uel is listed first . If more than thr ee
items us ing fue l are switched on, the equip­
ment that is cu rrently using the most fuel is
d isplayed .
A scale @ also shows the current total con ­
sumpt ion of all other equipment .
Fuel economy messages
Applies to vehicles: with driver information system
Fi g. 15 Instrum ent clus ter: e conomy m essa ge (e xam­
p le)
Fue l economy messages are displayed when
fuel consumption is increased by certain con ­
d itions .
If you follow these fuel economy mes­
sages, you can reduce your vehicle's cons ump­
tion of fuel. The messages appear automati-
Dr iver in formation system 29
ca lly and are only displayed in the efficiency
program . The fue l economy messages t urn off
automat ica lly after a certain per iod of t ime .
~ To turn an economy message off immed iate­
ly a fter it appears, press any button on the
mu ltifunction steer ing wheel.
(D Tips
- Once yo u have tur ned a fuel economy
message off, it will o nly appea r again af­
ter you turn the ignition on again.
- T he f ue l economy messages are not dis ­
played in every instance, but rather in in ­
tervals over a period of t ime.
On-Board Diagnostic
system (OBD)
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL )
The Ma lfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) ¢• in
the instr ument cluste r is part of the On-Board
Diagnost ic (O8D
II) system .
T he warning/i ndicator light ill uminates when
the ignit ion is switched on and goes out after
the engine starts and the id le has stabilized .
This indicates that the MIL i s working proper­
ly.
If the light does not go out after the engine
is started, or illuminates while you are driv­
ing, a malfunction may exist in the engi ne sys­
tem.
If t he light illuminates, the ca talytic con­
verter could be damaged .
Continue driving
with reduced power (avo id­
ing sustained high speeds and/or rapid accel­
erations) and have the cond ition corrected .
Contact your authorized Audi dea ler .
I f the light illuminates, the electronic speed
limiter may also be malfunct io ning . For more
informa tion
c> page 30 , Electronic speed
limiter* .
If the fuel filler cap is closed incorrectly, this
may also cause the MIL to turn on
c> page208.

(D Tips
If you vehicle is left standing for a long pe­
riod of t ime, note the following:
- The proximity sensor sw itches off afte r a
few days to save energy. You then have
to pull once on the door hand le to unlock
the vehicle and a second time to open it.
- To prevent the battery from draining and
to retain the start ing ability of your vehi­
cle as long as poss ible, the energy man­
agement system gradually tuns off un­ necessary convenience functions You
may not be able to unlock your vehicle
using the convenience key.
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions, see
r:o page 2 71.
Unlocking /locking with the key
In the event that the power locking system
fails, the driver's door can locked and un­
locked using the door lock .
Fig . 21 Driver's door: door lock
• To un lock the driver's door, t urn the key to
the open position @.
• To lock the driver's door, move the selector
lever to the P position (automatic transmis­
s ion) and turn the key once to the close posi­
t ion @.
The settings in the MMI specify if the entire
vehicle or one of the doors is unlocked
i:::o page36 .
Openin g an d clos ing 35
@ Tips
Additional remote control key or conven­
i ence key functions~
page 39, Conven-
ience opening/closing.
Central locking switch
Fig . 22 Driver's door: centra l locking switch
• To lock the vehicle, press the [§] button
q ,&..
• To unlock the vehicle, press the Im button
r=ofig.22.
When locking the vehicle with the centra l
locking switch, the following applies:
- Opening the doo r and the luggage compart­
ment lid from the
outside is not possib le
(for security such as when stopped at a
light).
- The LED in the central locking switch turns
on when all doors are closed and locked.
- Yo u can open the doo rs individually from the
inside by pulling the doo r handle.
- In the event of a crash w ith airbag deploy­
ment, the doo rs unlock automat ica lly to al ­
low access to the vehicle.
A WARNING
- The power lock ing switch works with the
ignit ion off and a utomatica lly locks the
entire veh icle when the [§] button is
pressed.
- The central locking switch is inoperative
when the vehicle is locked from the out­ side.
- Locked doors make it more difficult for
emergency workers to get into the veh i-
cle, which puts lives at risk. Do not leave ..,