2015 AUDI A3 open hood

12 Instrum ent s and indicator ligh ts
bottom LED illuminates red and the indicator
light
ti appears ¢ page 24 . The bottom
LED blinks red when the fuel level is very low.
The poss ible range based on the current fue l
leve l is shown in the on-board computer
¢ page 2 7, On-board computer display .
The fuel tank capacity of your veh icle is in the
techn ica l data ¢
page 266.
(1) Note
Never drive with the tan k completely emp­
ty. An irregu la r fuel supp ly can ca use the
eng ine to misfire. This leads to uncom­
busted fuel in the exhaust system. This
can cause overheating and damage to the
catalyt ic converter.
Engine coolant temperature gauge
The engine coolant temperature gauge@
¢
page 10 , fig . 3 only functions when the ig­
n ition is switched on . To prevent engine dam ­
age, observe the follow ing important points
concerning the temperature ranges.
Cold r ange
If only the LEDs at the bottom of the gauge
turn on, the engine has not reached operat ing
temperature yet . Avoid high eng ine speed, full
throttle, and heavy eng ine load.
Norm al ra nge
The engine has reached its operating temper­
ature once the LEDs up to the center of the
gauge turn on under normal driving condi­
tions . The LEDs higher up may turn on when
the eng ine is under heavy load or the exter ior
temperature is high . Thi s is not a cause for
concern as long as the. indicator light in
the disp lay does not turn on .
Hot range
If the LEDs in the upper area of the display
and the. indicator light in the instrument
cluster display turn on, the coolant tempera­
ture is too h igh ¢
page 20.
A WARNING
-Always observe the warn ing in
¢
page 210 before opening the hood
a nd checking the engine coolant level.
- Never open the eng ine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dripping from the engine compartment .
You could bur n yourself. Let the engine
coo l off first u ntil yo u can no longer see
or hear steam or coolant escaping.
([) Note
-Add itional headlights and other compo­
nents in front of the a ir intake reduces
affect of the eff iciency of the coolant. At
hig h ou tside air temperat ures and wi th
heavy eng ine load, there is a ris k of the
eng ine overheating .
- T he front spoiler ensures the correct dis­
tribution of cooling air while driving . If
the spoi ler is damaged, the effect of the
coolant can be reduced and there is a risk
of the engine overheating. See your au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified repair
facility .
Shift indicator
Applies to veh icles: w ith shift indicator
This indicator can help conserve fuel.
Fig. 6 Inst rume nt cl uster: shift recommendat ions in
t ip tronic mode (a utomatic transmission)
N
"' s > o:> tD
When the selector lever is in D/S, the S tronic
transmission shifts up or down automat ica lly.
If you wish to shift the gears manually
¢ page 110, Shifting manually (tiptronic

-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 ..,. •

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 .

32 Opening and closing
Selective unlocking
The doors and rear lid lock when they close.
You can set in the MMI whether
only the driv­
er's door or the entire vehicle should lock
when closing
c::> page 36.
Automatic locking (Auto Lock)
The Auto Lock funct ion locks all doors and the
l uggage compartment lid once the speed has
exceeded approximately 9 mph (15 km/h) .
The car is un locked again once the ignition key
is removed. In addition, the vehicle can be un­
l ocked if the opening function in the power
locking system switch is used or one of the
door handles is pulled. The Auto Lock function
can be turned off or on in the MMI
c::>page36.
In the event of a crash with airbag dep loy ­
ment, the doors automatically unlock to allow
access to the vehicle.
Anti -theft alarm system*
If the anti-theft alarm system detects a vehi­
cle break-in, audio and visual warning signa ls
are triggered .
The anti-theft alarm system turns on auto­ mat ica lly when you lock the vehicle.
It deacti­
vates when un locking using the remote con­
trol key or by touching the sensor on the door
handle (convenience key).
To switch the alarm off, press them button on
the remote control key or convenience key or
switch the ignition on . The alarm also stops
automatically after a certain amount of time.
Turn signals
The turn signals flash twice when you unlock
the vehicle and once when yo u lock the vehi­
cle.
If they do not flash, one of the doors, the lug­
gage compartment lid or the hood is not
lock ed or the ignition is still sw itched on (the
latter applies to vehicles with a convenience
key) .
Unintentionally locking yourself out
The following situat ions prevent you from
locking your remote control key in the vehicle:
- The vehicle does not lock w ith the cent ral
lock ing switc h if the driver's door is open
c::>page3 5.
-On veh icles with a convenience key*, the lug­
gage compartment lid unlocks again after
clos ing if the most recent ly used key is in
the luggage compartment.
Do not lock your veh icle w ith the remote con­
trol key or convenience key* until all doors and
the luggage compartment lid are closed. This
helps to prevent from locking yourself out ac­
cidentally .
(D Tips
-Do not leave va luab les unattended in the
vehicle. A locked vehicle is not a safe!
- If the LED in the upper edge of the driv­
er's door turns on for about 30 seconds
after the vehicle is locked, there is a mal­
function in the power locking or the anti­
theft alarm system*. Have the problem
corrected by an authorized dealer or
qualif ied repair facility.
- The interior monitor ing of the anti-theft
alarm system* only operates correctly if
the windows and the sunroof* are closed.

48 Lig hts an d Vi sion
paint on the hood or th e windshield wip­
er motor.
- You should not drive your vehicle or
press the windshield wiper lever when
the wiper arms are folded away from the
windshield . The windshield wipers would
move back into their original position
and could damage the hood and w ind­
shield .
- To help preven t damage to the wiper sys­
tem , always loosen blades which are fro­
zen to the windsh ield before ope rat ing
wipers .
- To he lp prevent damage to w iper blades,
do not use gasoline, ke rosene, pa int
th inner, or other so lvents on or near the
wiper blades.
- To he lp prevent damage to the wiper
arms or other components , do not at­
tempt to move the wipers by hand .
(D Tips
-Commercial hot waxes applied by auto­
matic car washes affe ct the cleanability
of the wi ndshield .
- You can also use the servic e pos ition, for
example , if you want to pro tect the
winds hield from i cing by using a cover .
- You cannot activate the service posit ion
when the hood is open.
Mirrors
Adjusting the exterior mirrors
F ig. 38 Driver's door: knob for th e exteri or mirro rs (e x·
amp le )
Turn the knob to the desired position : Q/P
-In this pos ition, yo u can adjust the
driver 's and front passenger 's exter ior mi rrors
by turning the knob in the desi red d irection.
4ill -The m irrors a re heated* depending on the
outside temperature and driv ing speed.
8 -The exter io r mir rors a re fo lded in* .
Front passenger's exterior mirror tilt
function*
T o he lp you see the curb when backing into a
parking space, the surface of the mir ror can
be ti lted s light ly. The knob must be in the P
pos ition for this to happen.
You can adjust the tilted m irror surface by
tu rning the knob in the desired d irect ion.
When you move out of reverse and into anoth ­
er ge ar, the new m irror position is s tored and
assigned to the key you a re using.
T he m irror goes ba ck into its orig inal position
once you drive forward fas te r than 9 mph
(15 km/h) o r turn the ignition off .
Folding mirrors in and out
To fold the mir ro rs in with the knob, turn the
k nob in the 8 position .
To fold the m irrors ou t, turn the knob in the
Q or P or O pos ition .
Applies to vehicles with MMI: You can adjust if
t h e mirrors fold when locking the vehicle
c> page 36. When you lock the vehicle, the
mir rors fo ld in. When you start the ignition,
t h e mirrors fold out .
A WARNING
-Curved mirror surfaces (convex o r asph e-
r ic *) enlarge the field of v is ion. However,
they ma ke objec ts in the mirror appe ar
smaller and fart her away . Your may es ti­
mate incorrect ly when you use t hese mir ­
rors to gauge yo ur distance from the
vehicles beh ind yo u when changing lanes -
accident r isk!

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>

210 Check ing and F illin g
Only pull on the loop until you fee l resist ­
ance. You will not hear it release . Other­
w ise you could damage the emergency re­
lease mechanism .
Hood
Working in the engine compartment
Special care is required if you are working in
the engine compartment
F o r w ork in th e engine co mpartm ent such as
c h ec king an d filling fluids, there i s a ri sk of
inj ury, sca lding, a ccid ent s, and b urn s. For
t hi s re ason , fo llow all th e followin g lis te d
warn in gs a nd ge neral safe ty pr eca utions.
Th e e ngine compartment is a d ange rous
area .¢ .& .
&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury, before you
check anyth ing under the hood:
- Turn the engine off.
- Set the parking brake.
- Place the selector leve r in the P position.
- Remove the ignit io n key .
- Let the engine coo l down.
- To reduce the r isk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment . Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or hea rd before ca re­
fully opening the hood.
- Keep chi ldren away from the engine com­
partment .
- Never spill flu ids on a hot engine. These
fluids (such as the freeze protection con­
tained in the coolant) can catch fi re.
- Avoid short circuits in the electrical sys­
tem, especially the battery.
- When working in the engine compart­
ment, remembe r that the radiator fan
can switch on even if the ignition is
switched off, which increases the risk of
persona l injury . -
Never open the cap on the coolant ex­
pans ion tank when the eng ine is warm.
The coolant system is under pressure.
- To protect your face, hands, and arms
from hot steam or coolant, cover the cap
with a large cloth when opening.
- Do not remove the engine cover under
any circumstances . This increases the
risk of burns .
- If tests need to be performed with the
engine runn ing , there is add itional dan­
ger due to moving components (such as
the ribbed belt, generator and radiator
fan) and from the high voltage ignit ion
system.
- Never touch the rad iator fan . The auxili­
ary electric fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly.
- Pay attention to the fo llow ing warnings
listed when wo rk on the fuel system or
on the e lectr ica l equipment is req uired.
-A lways disconnect the vehicle battery
from the vehicle electr ical system
- Do not smoke
- Never work near open flames
- Always have a wo rk ing fire exting uisher
nearby
- To avo id e lectr ica l sho ck and pe rsonal in­
jury whi le the engine is running or being
started, never touch:
- Ign it ion cables
- Other components of the high voltage
electronic ignition system.
- If you must perform a check or repair
with the eng ine running:
- First, fully app ly the parking brake,
move selector lever to P (Park).
- Always use extreme caut io n to prevent
cl othing, jewelry, or long hair from get­
ting caught in the radiator fan, V-be lts
o r other moving parts, o r from contact­
ing hot parts. Tie back hair before
starting, and do not wear clothing that
will hang or droop into the engine.
- Minimize exposure to emission and
chemical hazards¢,& . ..,.

,&_ WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certain vehicle components contain
or emit chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and birth de­
fects and reproductive harm. In addition, certain fluids contained in vehicles and
certain products of component wear con­
tain or emit chemicals known to the
State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm .
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac­
cessories contain lead and lead com­
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc­
tive harms. Wash hands after handling.
(D Note
When filling fluids, be sure not to mix the
fluids up. Otherwise severe malfunctions and engine damage will occur.
@) For the sake of the environment
You should regularly check the ground un­ der your vehicle in order to detect leaks
quickly .
If there are visible spots from oil
or other fluids, bring your vehicle to an au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified repair fa­
cility to be checked.
Opening the hood
The hood is released from the interior.
Fig. 147 Sect ion of the driver's footwell: release lever
Checking and Filling 211
Fig. 148 Rocke r switch un der t he hood
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up
from the windshield. Otherwise the paint
could be damaged .
The hood can only be released with the driv­
er's door open .
.,. Pull the lever under the instrument panel in
the direction of the arrow¢
fig. 147 .
.,. Raise the hood slightly¢,&. .
.,. Press the rocker switch under the hood up ­
ward
c:> fig. 148. This releases the catch.
.,. Open the hood .
.&, WARNING
Never open the hood when you see that
steam or coolant drips from the engine
compartment- there is a danger of burns!
Wait until no steam or coolant flows out.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment. Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully opening the hood .
Closing the hood
.,. Push the hood down until the force of the
strut is overcome . -
.,. Then lower the hood and let it fall into the
engine hood latch -you do
not have to press
on the hood after it is locked. ¢ ,&. .
.&, WARNING -
A hood that is not completely latched
could fly up and block your view while driv­ ing.