110 Automatic Tran sm iss ion
multitronic transmission : Your vehicle is
equipped with
hill hold assist allowing you to
start while on an incline. The system is acti
vated when the brake pedal is pressed down
and held
f o r a few s econds . The brake pres
sure will hold for
a moment after the brake
pedal loosens to prevent the veh icle from roll
ing backwards whi le starting up .
A WARNING
- The veh icle can also roll when the engine
is stopped.
- Unintended veh icle movement can cause
serious injury .
- Never leave your vehicle with the eng ine
running wh ile in gea r. If you must leave
yo ur vehicle when the engine is running,
act ivate the park ing brake and move the
selector lever to P .
- Power is st ill transmitted to the whee ls
when the engine is running at idle . To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake when
the engine is running and the selector
lever is in D/S or R or "tiptronic" mode is
selected.
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever pos ition
wh ile the vehicle is stat io nary and the
engine is running .
- Never shift into R or P wh ile driving .
- Before driv ing 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 dr iving
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substant ially re
duces b raking performance, inc reases
braking distance or causes comp lete fail
ure of the brake system.
- T o prevent the veh icle from rolling back
when stoppi ng on incl ines, always hold it
in place with the brake peda l or parking
brake.
- Never hold the veh icle on an incl ine with
a slipping clutch. The clutch opens auto
matically when it becomes too hot from the overload. An indicato
r lamp
ml illu
minates and a driver message appears
¢ page 112 when the clutch is overload
ed.
- If the engine must remain running, never
have any driving posit io n engaged when
checking under the hood . Make sure the
selector lever has securely engaged and is locked in P w it h the park ing brake set
¢ page 222 . Otherwise, any increase in
eng ine speed may set the vehicle in mo
tion, even with the parking brake ap plied .
(D Note
-S tronic- and tiptronic transmission :
When stopping on an incl ine , do not try
t o hold the vehicle in place by pressing
the acce lerator pedal while a driving gear
is se lected. This can cause the transmis
sion to overheat and can damage it. Acti
vate the parking brake or press the brake
peda l to prevent the vehicle from roll ing.
- S tronic- and tiptronic transmission : A l
lowing the vehicle to ro ll when the en
gine is stopped and the selector lever is
in N will damage the transmission be
cause it is not l ubricated unde r those cir
cumstances.
{!) Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re
l eased automatically only when the d riv
er's safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Hill descent control
The hill descent control system assists the
driver when driving down declines.
Hill descent contro l is activated when these
lector lever is in D/S and you press the brake
pedal. The transmission automatically selects
a gear that is su itable fo r the incline. H ill de
scent contro l tries to ma inta in the speed ach
ieved at the time o f braking, within phys ica l
and technical limitations. If may sti ll be nec -
essary to adj ust the speed with the brakes . ..,..
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Hill descent control switches off once the de
cline levels out or you press the accelerator pedal.
On vehicles with the cruise control system*
¢ page 82, 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 .
Manual shift program
Using the manual shift program you can
manually select gears.
Fig. 117 Center console; shift ing the gears manually
Fig. 118 Steering wheel: Shift paddles•
Gear selection with selector lever
The tipt ron ic mode can be selected either with
the vehicle stationary or on the move.
.,. Push the selector lever to the right from 0/
5. An M appears in the instrument cluster
display as soon as the transmission has
shifted.
Automatic Transmission 111
.,. To upshift, push the se lector lever forwa rd
to the plus position
0 ¢ fig . 117.
.,. To downshift, push the lever to the minus
position
0 .
Gear selection with shift paddles*
The shift paddles are activated when these
lector lever is in 0/S or the tiptronic manual
shift program.
.,. To upshift, touch the shift paddle on the
right 0¢fig.118 .
.,. To downshift, touch the shift paddle on the
left
0 .
.,. If you do not press a shift paddle within a
short time while in the 0/S position, the
transm iss ion will return to automatic mode.
To keep shifting using the shift paddles,
move the selector lever to the r ight out of
the 0/S position.
The transmission automatically shifts up or
down before critical engine speed is reached.
The transm ission only allows manual sh ifting
when the engine speed is with in the permit
ted range.
@ Tips
- When you shift into the next lower gear,
the transmission will downshift only
when there is no possibility of over-rev
ving the engine.
- When the kick-down comes on, the
transmission will shift down to a lower
gear, depending on vehicle and engine
speeds.
- Tiptronic is inoperative when the trans
mission is in the fai l-safe mode.
, Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
Applies to vehicles with a multitronic
transmission
When you depress the accelerator pedal be
yond the resistance point, the transmission
downshifts into a lower gear ratio depend ing
on the vehicle speed and engine speed. As .,.
112 Automatic Tran sm iss ion
long as the accelerator peda l is depressed, the
engine speed is automatica lly regulated for
maximum acceleration.
Appli es to v ehicl es with a S tronic -/,
tip tronic t ransmis sion
When you depress the acce lerator pedal be
yond the resistance point, the automatic transmission downshifts into a lower gear, de
pending on vehicle speed and engine speed.
The upshift into the next higher gear takes
place once the maximum specified eng ine
speed is reached.
A WARNING
Please note that the d rive wheels can spin
if kick-down is used on a smooth slippery
road - there is a risk of skidding .
Launch Control Program
Applies to vehicles: with 5 tronic
The Launch Control Program provides the
best acceleration possible when starting from
a stop .
Requirement: The engine must be at operat
i ng temperature and the steering wheel must
not be tu rned.
,,. Press the
I" O FFI button ¢ page 195 while
the engine is running. The
II ind icator light
illuminates in the instrument cluster and
Sta bilizati on co ntrol (E SC): Off W arning!
Redu ced st a bilit y
appears in the driver in
f ormation system display.
,,. Move the selector lever to position D/S to
select sport mode (S) or select
Dynam ic
mode in Audi dr ive select ¢ page 101.
,,. Press the brake pedal strongly with your left
foot and hold it down for at least 1 second.
,,. At the same t ime, press the accelerator ped
al down complete ly w ith your r ight foot un
t il the engine reaches and maintains a h igh
RPM.
,,. Remove your foot from the brake pedal
within S seconds¢ .&_.
A WARNING
-Always adapt your driving to the traffic
flow .
- Only use the Launch Control Program
when road and traff ic conditions allow it
and other drivers w ill not be endangered
or annoyed by your driving and the vehi
cle's acceleration.
- Please note that the driving wheels can
spin and the vehicle can break away
when sport mode is switched on, espe
cially when the road is slippe ry.
- Once you have accelerated, you shou ld
sw itch sport mode off by pressing the
I J'J OFF I button.
(D Tips
'
-The tra nsmission temperature may in
crease significantly after using the
Launch Control P rogram. If that hap
pens, the p rogram may not be avai lab le
for a few minutes . It w ill be ava ilable
again after a cool-down period .
- When accelerating using the La unch
Contro l Program, a ll vehicle parts are
subject to heavy loads. This can result in
increased wear.
Transmission malfunction
ID T ransm ission: Pre ss bra ke pedal and se
l e ct ge ar a gai n
Press the brake peda l and select the desired
selector lever position again. You can then continue driving.
[O] Transmi ssion o verh eatin g: Plea se dri ve
con ser va tivel y
-
The transm iss ion temperat ure has inc reased
significantly due to the sporty driving manner .
Drive in a less sporty manner until the tem
perature returns to the normal range and the
indicator light switches of.
ID T ra nsmis sion malfun ction : Y o u can con-
tinue dri ving ..,
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There is a system malfunction in the transmis
sion. You may continue driving. Drive to your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified repair fa
cility soon to have the malfunction corrected.
rm Transmission malfunction: You can con
tinue driving with limited functionality
There is a system malfunction in the transmis
sion. The transmission is switching to emer
gency mode. This mode only shifts into cer
tain gears or will no longer shift at a ll. The en
g ine may stall. Drive to your authorized Audi
dealer or qualified repair facility immediately
to have the malfunction corrected .
rm ffl Transmission malfunction: No reverse
gear. You can continue driving
S tronic transmission: There is a system ma l
function in the transmission. The transmis
sion is switching to emergency mode. This mode on ly shifts into certain gears or will no
longer shift at all. The engine may sta ll. You
cannot engage the reverse gear. Drive to your
author ized Audi dealer or qualified repair fa
cility immed iately to have the malfunction
corrected .
rm Transmission malfunction: Stop vehicle
and shift to P
Do not cont inue driving. Select the P se lector
lever position and see your authorized Aud i
dealer or qualified repair facility for assis
tance.
(D Note
If the transmiss ion switches to emergency
mode, you should take the vehicle to an
author ized Audi dealersh ip as soon as pos
sible to have the cond ition corrected .
Automatic Transmission 113
Selector lever emergency release
If the vehicle 's power supply fails, the selec
tor lever can be released in an emergency.
F ig . 1 19 Front center co nsole: selector lever emerge n
cy rele ase
.,. To reach the emergency release mechanism,
remove the ashtray insert*.
.,. Loosen and remove the small cap in the ash
tray mount
q fig. 119 .
.,. You now have access to a bolt. Using a
screwd river or similar, press the bolt down
and hold it down .
.,. Now press the interlock and move the se lec-
tor lever to the N position .
T he selector lever can only be moved from the
P position if the ignit ion is turned on. If the
power supply fai ls (for example, the battery is
discharged) and the vehicle must be pushed
or towed, move the selector lever to the N po
s ition first using the emergency release.
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-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 147 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 148 The vehicle cras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en
ergy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
SO km/h), the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not
using safety belts¢
fig. 147, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
moving just before the crash, until something
stops them - here, the wall ¢
fig. 148.
Safety belts 13 7
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision.
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
reach one ton (2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or
more . At greater speeds, these forces are even
higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle . In a frontal colli
sion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was travelling just before
the crash . Of course, the laws of physics don't
just app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of accidents and col
lisions.
What happens to occupants not wearing safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 149 A driver not wea ring a safety be lt is vio lently
thrown forward
Fig. 150 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt
w ill fly forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained .,..
138 Safety belts
occupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what
ever else is in the way
c::> fig. 149. This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
t hey had just before the crash.
Never rely on a irbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver , must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them
selves but also the driver and othe r passen
gers ~
fig. 150. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas
senger .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It's simply
not true !
Fig. 151 Driver is co rr ect ly re strain ed in a sudd en brak
ing maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement tha t can
cause serious injuries . In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing " the kinetic energy over a longer
period of ti me, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less
likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron
tal collision, safety belts can also substantial
ly reduce the r isk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen
tal airbags to do their job in a collision . For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid
ed. Front airbags , for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is no t enough decelera tion
through impact to the front of the vehicle .
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi . So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
192 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and
vehicle control modules
E ve nt Dat a Recorder
This vehicle is equipped with an Event Data
Recorder (EDR) . The main purpose of an EDR
is to record, in certain crash or near crash-like
situations, such as an airbag deployment or h itting a road obstacle, data that will ass ist in
understand ing how a veh icle's systems per
formed. The EDR is designed to record data
re lated to vehicle dynamics and safety sys
tems for a short period of time, typically
30 seconds or less. The EDR in this vehicle is
designed to record such data as:
- How various systems in you r vehicle were
operating;
- Whether or not the d river a nd passenger
safety belts were buckled/fastened;
- How far ( if at all) the dr iver was dep ress ing
the accelerator and/or brake peda l; and,
- How fast the ve hicle was traveling.
These data can help provide a better under
stand ing of the c ircumstances in which crash
es and injuries occur . NOTE : EDR data a re re
corded by your veh icle only if a non-trivial
crash sit uat ion occ urs; no data are recorded by
the EDR under normal driving cond itions and
no personal data (e.g., name, gender, age,
and crash location) are recorded. However,
other parties, such as law enforcement, co uld
comb ine the EDR data with the type of per
sonally identify ing data routinely acquired
during a crash invest igation .
To read data recorded by an EDR, special
equ ipment is required, and access to the veh i
cle or the EDR is needed. In add ition to the ve
h icle manufacturer, other parties, such as law
e nfo rcement, that have the special equip
ment, can read the information if they have
access to the ve hicl e or the EDR. Some state
laws restrict the retrieval o r down
loading of data stored by ED Rs insta lled in a
vehicle for the express purpose of retrieving data after an accident or crash event w ithout
the owner's consent .
Audi will not access the EDR and/or simi lar
data or g ive it to others -
- un less the vehi cle owner (or lessee if the ve
hicle has been leased) agrees; or
- upon the officia l request by the police ; or
- upon the o rder of a court of law or a govern-
ment agency; or
- for the defense of a lawsuit through the ju
dicia l discovery p rocess.
- Aud i may also use the data for research
about vehicle ope rat ion and safety perform
ance or provide the da ta to a third party fo r
research purposes without iden tif ying the
specif ic vehicle or in formation about the
identity of its owner or lessee and only after
the recorded vehicle data has been ac
cessed .
Vehicle control modul es
Your vehicle is also equ ipped with a n umber of
electron ic control modules for various vehicle
systems, such as engine management, emis
sion contro l, airbags, and safety belts.
T hese electronic con trol mod ules record data
during norma l vehicle operation that may be
needed by trained technicians for diagnostic
and repair purposes. The recording capability
of these modu les is limited to data (no sound
is recorded). Only a small amount of data is
actually recorded over a very lim ited period of
t ime, or stored when a system fault is detect
ed by a contro l modu le. Some of the data
stored may re late to vehicle speed, direction,
o r braking, as well as restraint system use and
performance in the event of a crash. Stored
data can also only be read and dow nloaded
with special eq uipment that is directly con-
nected to the vehicle. .,..
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,...., ..,., ,....,
@ Tips
Your vehicle may be equipped with Audi
connect. Your use of certain Aud i connect
features req uires wireless serv ices that are
provided by a third party wireless telecom
municat ions provider. For details regard
ing how information obtained through
Aud i connect is collected, processed,
transmitted, used, and shared, please see
your contra ct w ith the wire less telecom
municat ions provider and the "About A udi
connect" tab in your vehicle's MMI:
!MENU !
button > Audi connect > About Audi con·
nect .
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects
certain difficult driv ing s ituations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw) out of cont ro l and helps you to get the vehicle
back under control by select ively brak ing the
wheels, and/or red ucing engine powe r and
p roviding steering assistance to help hold the
ve hicle on the driver's intended course . The in
dicator light
m in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations.
It is important to remem
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
phys ics. It will not a lways be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
h elp you master situat ions where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of fr iction of
the road surface. When there is a sect io n of
d ry road that is s udden ly cove red with water,
slush o r snow, ESC canno t perform the same
way it would on the dry su rface.
If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a c ush ion of wate r in
stead of the road surface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because con-
Int ellig ent technolog y 193
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast corner ing, particular ly on wind ing
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult dr iv ing s ituations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic and weather conditions . ESC can
not override the vehicle's physical lim its, in
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a veh icle
o n the road if road departu re is a result of
driver ina ttent io n. Instead , ESC imp roves the
poss ibility of keep ing the vehicle under con
trol and on the road during extreme maneu
vers by using the driver's steering i nputs to
help keep the vehicle go ing in the intended di
rect ion. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock brake system (ABS), brake ass ist sys
tem, ant i-slip regu lation (ASR), electron ic dif
ferential lock (EDL), dynam ic steer ing* and
El ectronic interax le differentia l lock* /selective
whee l to rque control*. ESC is switched on a ll
the time. In ce rtain sit uat io ns when yo u need
less traction, you can sw itch off ASR by press
ing the b utton
[fil ¢ page 195, fig. 178. Be
s u re to switch ASR on again when you no lon
ger need less traction .
Anti-lock braking system (ABS )
ABS prevents the whee ls from locki ng up
when b raking. The vehicle can st ill be stee red
even during hard braking . App ly steady pres
su re to the brake peda l. Do not pump the ped
al. A pulsing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is helping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake a ssis t sy ste m
The brake ass ist system can decrease braking
distance . It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake peda l quickly in emer
gency s ituations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal unti l the situation is over. In .,,.
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