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Transmission S tronic
Introduction
The automat ic transm iss ion is controlled elec
tronically. The transmiss ion upshifts or down
shifts automatically depend ing on which drive
p rogram is se lected.
When a
moderate driving sty le is used, the
transmission selects the most econom ica l
d riving mode.
It w ill then change up early and
de lay the downshifts to g ive better f uel econ
omy .
The transmis sion swi tches to a sporty mode
after a k ick-down or when the dr iver uses a
sporty driving sty le characterized by quick ac
celerator peda l movements, heavy accelera
tion, frequent changes in speed and traveling
at the maximum speed.
If desired, the drive r can a lso se lect the gears
manually ( tiptronic mode ) ~ page 87.
The S tronic is a dual-clut ch tra nsmission.
P ower is transfe rred using two clutches that
work independently from one another . They
rep lace the torq ue converter used in conven
tional automatic transmiss ions and allow the
vehicle to accelerate without a noticeable in
terruption in traction.
Selector lever positions
F ig. 96 Display in the instrument cluster: se lector lever
in pos itio n P
The selector lever position engaged appears
n ext to the selector leve r as well as in the in
strument cluster display.
Tran sm iss ion 83
P -Park
In this se lector lever posi tion the transm is
s ion is mechanica lly locked. Engage P on ly
when the vehicle is
completely stopped~&.
in Driving the automatic transmission on
page 85.
T o shift in or out of pos it ion P, yo u must first
press and ho ld the brake pedal and then press
the re lease button in the selector leve r hand le
whi le moving the selector lever to or from P.
You can shift out of this position only with the ignition o n.
R - Reverse
Se lect R on ly when the veh icle is at a full stop
and t he engine is running at idle speed~.&. in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 85.
Before you move the se lector lever to R, press
both the re lease button in the hand le o f the
selector lever
and the brake pedal at the same
time.
When the ignition is on, the backup lights illu
minate when the selector lever is moved into
R.
N -Neutral
The transmiss ion is in neu tral in this pos ition .
S hift to t his position fo r standing with the
brakes app lied
~ .&. in Driving the automatic
transmission on page 85.
When the vehicle is stat iona ry or a t speeds
below 1 mph (2 km/h), yo u must always app ly
the footbrake before and whi le mov ing the
l ever o ut of
N.
DIS -Normal posit ion for driving forward
In the D/S pos it ion, t he tr ansmission c an be
operated either in the norma l mode D or in
the sport mode S . To select the sport mode S,
pull the selector lever back briefly. P ulling the
l ever back again will se lect the norma l mode
D. The instr ument cluster disp lay shows the
selected driving mode. ..,_
84 Transmi ssion
In the no rm al m ode D, the transmission auto
matica lly selects the suitab le gear ratio. It de
pends on eng ine load, veh icle speed and driv
ing style.
Select the
s p or t mode S for spo rty driving.
The vehicle makes full use of the eng ine 's
power. Shifting may become noticeab le when
accelerating.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds
be low 1 mph (2 km/h), you must always apply
the foot brake before and while mov ing the
lever to D/S out of N.
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS c> .&. in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 85 .
(D Note
-
Coasting downh ill with the transmission in
N and the engine not running w ill result in
damage to the automatic transmiss ion
and possibly t he catalyt ic converter .
(D Tips
-On vehicles with drive select*, you can
adjust the sporty shift characteristics in
the
Dynamic d riving mode.Swill appear
i n the instrum ent cluster disp lay instead
ofD.
- If you accidentally 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/S.
- If there is a power failure, the se lector
l ever will not move out of t he P posi tion.
The eme rgency release can be used if
th is happens<=>
page 89.
Automatic Shift Lock {ASL)
The Automatic Shift Lock safeguards you
against accidentally shifting into a forward or
the reverse gear and causing the vehicle to
move unintentionally.
Fi g. 9 7 Shi ft ga te : se lecto r le ver lock pos itio ns and re
lease b utto n hig h lighted
The selector lever lock is released as follows:
.. Turn the ignition on .
.. Step on the brake pedal.
At the same time
press and hold the release button on the
side of the gear selector knob<=>
fig. 97 with
your thumb until you have moved the selec
to r lever to the desired position.
Automatic selector leve r lock
The selector lever is locked in the P and N po
s itions w hen the ign ition is turned on . You
must p ress the brake pedal and t he release
button to select anothe r position . As a re
minde r to the drive r, the following wa rni ng
appea rs in the in strumen t clus ter di splay
when the sele ctor is in P and N:
When stationar y apply brak e pedal while se
lecting gear
The Automatic Shift Lock only funct ions when
t h e veh icle is stationary or at speeds be low
1 mph (2 km/h) .
At speeds above about 1 mph (2 km/h) the
Automat ic Shift Lock is automatically deact i
vated in the N position .
A time delay element prevents the selector lever from locking when it is moved through
the N pos it ion (go ing from R to D/S) . The lock
ing element w ill lock the selecto r leve r if t he
Ill>
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lever is left in N (Neutral) for more t han ap
prox imately 2 seconds, without the b rake ped
a l being pressed .
Release button
The release b utton on the selec tor leve r pre
ve nts the leve r from bei ng accide ntally s hifte d
i n to ce rtain positions. Depen ding on the direc
tion of the shift, the se lector lever locks at d if
ferent positions. The positions are h ighlighted
in the ill ustration
c!> fig . 97.
Ignition key safety interlock
The key canno t be removed from the igni tion
un less the se lector lever is in the P park posi
tion . When the ignition key is remove d, the
se lecto r lever wi ll be locked in the P pos ition.
Driving the automatic transmission
F ig. 98 S hift gate o n th e ce nte r conso le: selector lever
wit h release bu tton
Starting the engine
.. The selector leve r must be in P or N.
Starting off
.. Press a nd ho ld t he brake ped al.
.. Press and ho ld the release bu tton in these
l ector lever handle, se lect the desi red se lec
tor leve r pos ition such as D/S and re lease
t h e b utton.
.. Wait br iefly u ntil t he transmission has shift
ed (you will feel a slight movement).
.. Remove your foot from the b rake pedal a nd
acce le rate.
Stopping temporarily
.. Keep the vehicle stationary us ing the brak
ing peda l, for e xamp le at traffic lights.
Transm ission 85
.. Do not press the accelerator peda l w hen do
ing this .
.. To preve nt t he vehicle from ro lling when yo u
start dr iv ing, set the parking b rake w hen
stopping on steep inclines
c!> _&. .
.. The parking brake will release automat ica lly
an d the vehicle will start mov ing o nce you
p ress th e acce lerator pedal.
Stopping/parking
If the selector lever is not in the P position
whe n you open the driver's door , the veh icle
could roll . The message
Transmission: Car
may roll! Shift to park! ap pears .
.. Press and hold the brake peda l until the ve-
hicle has come to a comp lete stop .
.. App ly t he park ing brake
co page 79 .
.. Select the P selec to r lever posit io n
co _&. .
Stopping on an incline
.. Always press the brake pedal to ho ld the ve
hicle in place and prevent it from "ro lling
back"
co _&. . Do not try to p revent the ve hi
cle from "rolling back" when a gear is en
gaged by increas ing t he engine spee d co (!).
Starting on an incline
.. Activate the parking brake .
.. With t he driving gear selected, p ress the ac
celerato r peda l carefully . The parking brake
w ill rel ease au toma tically if your sea t belt is
fast ene d .
U nder certa in circumstances, such as driving
in the mounta ins, i t may be usefu l to sw itch
t emporar ily to the man ual sh ift program in or
d er to adju st the gears to th e d riv in g con di
ti ons by ha nd
co page 87 .
On s lopes, activate the parki ng b rake first and
t hen move the s electo r leve r to the P posi tion .
T his pr eve nts t oo much st ress from be ing
p la ced o n the locking me chani sm .
&_ WARNING
- Th e vehicle c an als o roll whe n the engi ne
is s topped .
~
86 Transmission
-Unintended vehicle movement can cause
serious injury .
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running while in gear. If you must leave
your vehicle when the engine is running,
activate the parking brake and move the
selector lever to P .
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels
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 position
while the vehicle is stationary and the
engine is running.
- Never shift into
R or P while driving.
- 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
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substantially re
duces braking performance, increases
braking distance or causes complete fail
ure of the brake system.
- To prevent the vehicle from rolling back
when stopping on inclines, always hold it
in place with the brake pedal or parking
brake .
- Never hold the vehicle on an incline with
a slipping clutch . The clutch opens auto
matically when it becomes too hot from
the overload . An indicator lamp
l'§J illu
minates and a driver message appears
Q page 88 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 195. Otherwise, any increase in
engine speed may set the vehicle in mo- tion
, even with the parking brake ap
plied.
@ 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 transmis
sion to overheat and can damage it. Acti
vate 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 the selector lever is
in N will damage the transmission be
cause it is not lubricated under those cir
cumstances.
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re
leased automatically only when the driv
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 control is activated when these
lector lever is in D/S and you press the brake
pedal. The transmission automatically selects
a gear that is suitable for the incline. Hill de
scent control tries to maintain the speed ach
ieved at the time of braking, within physical
and technical limitations. It may st ill be nec
essary to adjust the speed with the brakes.
Hill descent control switches off once the de
cline levels out or you press the accelerator
pedal.
On vehicles with the cruise control system*
Q page 81 , 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
"' N
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gear. Drive to your autho rized A ud i dealer o r
q ua lified repair fac ility immediate ly to have
the ma lfunction corrected .
m] Transmission malfunction: Stop vehicle
and shift to park .
Do not cont inue driving. Select the P se lector
l eve r position and see yo ur autho rized Aud i
dealer or qualified repa ir facili ty for assis
tance.
(D Note
If the transmiss io n sw itches to emerge ncy
mo de, you sh ould take the vehicle to an
au thor ized Audi dealersh ip as soon as pos
sible to have the cond ition co rrected.
Selector lever emergency release
If th e vehicle's power supply fails, the s elec
tor lever can be released in an emergency.
Fi g. 10 1 Fro nt ce nter co nsole : Re movi ng t he ash tray
i nser t
Fig. 10 2 Select o r lever e mergency re lea se
.. To access the emerge ncy release mecha
nism, remove the ash tray insert @ using the
release swi tch @ r:!>
fig. 101.
.. Loosen and remove the cap in the ashtray
mount.
Transm ission 89
.. You now have access to a pin. Using a screw
driver or simi lar object, press the pin down
and hold it in that position
<=> fig. 102.
.. Now press the re lease button and move the
selec tor lever to the N posit ion.
The selector lever can only be moved from the P position i f the key is in the lock and the ign i
tion is switc hed on. If the power supply fails
(for example , the battery is discharged) and
the ve hicle must be pushed or towed , move
the selec to r lever to the
N posit ion first using
t h e emerge ncy release.
"' N
a: LL co
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Have your authorized Audi dealer or au
thorized Audi Service Facility check their
function.
@ Tips
- If the window glass in the driver's door
or front passenger's door has been tint
ed, the display in the exterior mirror may be misinterpreted .
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula
tions
¢ page 267.
Activating and deactivating
Applies to vehicles: with Audi side assist
Fig. 118 Drive r's d oor : Sid e ass ist bu tton
.. Press the button ¢.&. in General informa
tion on page 100
to switch the system on/
off . The LED in the button turns on when
side assist is switched on.
Adjusting the display brightness
Applies to vehicles: with Audi side assist
The signal brightness can be set in the radio
orMMI* .
.. Select : ICARI function button> Audi side as
sist.
.. Select : I CARI function button > Car systems*
control button > Driver assist > Audi side
assist.
The display brightness adjusts automatically
to the brightness of the surroundings, both in
the information and in the warning stage. In
very dark or very bright surroundings, the dis play is already set to the minimum or maxi
mum level by the automatic adjustment. In
Audi side assist 101
such cases, you may notice no change when
adjusting the br ightness, or the change may
only be noticeable once the surroundings
change.
Adjust the brightness to a level where the dis
play in the information stage will not disrupt
your view forward. If you change the bright
ness, the display in the exterior mirror will
briefly show the brightness level in the infor
mation stage. The brightness of the warning
stage is linked to the brightness in the infor
mation stage and is adjusted along with the
information stage adjustment.
(D Tips
- Side assist is not active while you are
making the adjustment.
- Your settings are automatically stored
and assigned to the remote control key
being used.
Driver messages
Applies to vehicles: wit h Aud i side ass ist
If side assist switches off by itself, the LED in
the button turns off and a message will ap
pear in the instrument cluster display:
Audi side assist unavailable: Sensors blocked
The radar sensors' vision is affected . Do not
cover the area in front of the sensors with bike
wheels, stickers, dirt or other objects. Clean
the area in front of the sensors, if necessary
¢ page 99, fig. 117 .
Audi side assist: Currently unavailable
Side assist cannot be switched on temporarily
because there is a malfunction (for example,
the battery charge level may be too low) .
Audi side assist: System fault!
The system cannot guarantee that it will de
tect vehicles correctly and it is switched off.
The sensors have been displaced or are faulty.
Have the system checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility
soon.
108 Park assis t
8_ WARNING
- The parking aid cannot replace the driv
er's attention . The driver a lone is respon
sible fo r parki ng a nd s imilar driving ma
neuvers.
- Always keep your eyes on the veh icle's
surround ings, using the rear view mirro r
as well.
- Do not allow yourse lf to be d istracted
from traffic by the rear view camera pic
tu res.
- If the pos it io n and the installat ion angle
of the came ra has changed, fo r example,
afte r a rea r end collision, do not continue
to use the sys tem for s afety reasons.
Have i t checked by a q ualified dealership .
0 Note
-Low obs tacles already sig na led by a
w arning can di sappea r from the system's
dete ction r ange as they are approached
and will not contin ue to be signaled. Ob
j ects s uch as barrier cha ins, trailer draw
bars, thin painted vertical po les or fen
ces may not be detected by the system, pos ing risk of damage.
- Never use warm or hot water to remove
snow or ice from the rear v iew camera
l ens -danger of crack formation on the
l ens!
- When cleaning the lens, never use prod
u cts that are abras ive.
Switching on/off
App lies to vehicles: with par king system p lus w it h rear
view ca mera
T he rear view camera switches on automati
cally together with the acoustic park assist
when you put the vehicle in reverse.
Switching on
.,. Swi tch the M MI on and s hift into reve rse o r
.,. press the
P1#.4. button in the cente r console
¢ page 105, fig. 1 21 . A short con firmation
tone sounds and the LED in the button turns
on .
Switching between the rear view camera
and optic al di splay
.,. Press the Graphic control button ®
¢ page 109, fig. 12 7 to see the optical d is
play .
.,. Press the
Rearview control button to see the
rear v iew camera image.
Switching off
.,. Drive faster than 6 mp h (10 km/h), or
.,. press the
P111A button, or
.,. sw itch off the ignition .
If you press a function button on the M MI
control console , the rear view camera p icture
disappears. The rear v iew camera picture reap
pears the next t ime yo u park.
8_ WARNING ,-
- The MMI d isplay cannot show, or ca nnot
a d equately show, certain objects (such as
sma ll posts or grating) , recesses in the
g round and p rot ruding pa rts on ano ther
c a r.
- Onl y use t he rearview ca mera to assist
you if it shows a goo d, clear pic ture. F or
examp le, the im age may be affec ted by
t he s un s hining into the lens, d irt on the
lens or if t here is a defect.
- U se t he rearv iew camera only with the
rea r lid com plete ly closed . Make s ure any
objects you may have mounted on the rea r lid do n ot b lock the rearview cam
era .
(D Tips
- The rear view came ra picture is available
as soon as the M MI Display or the M MI is
switched on, or the start- up phase is
completed.
- The sensors m ust be kept clean and free
o f snow and ice for the park assist to op
erate .
- Yo u can change the vo lume and pitch of
the s ignals as we ll as the disp lay
¢page 111.
- What appears in the display is time-de
layed .
114 Driving Safely
• Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
times.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
¢page 61.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast
bone and the steering wheel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the
outside of the steering wheel rim with
your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk of per
sonal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Hold
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag de
ploys.
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supple
mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision.
- Always sit in an upright position and nev
er lean against or place any part of your
body too close to the area where the air
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats and head restraints properly and
make sure that all passengers are prop
erly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving . Your seat may move unexpect
edly and you could lose control of the ve
hicle.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in- jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi
tion.
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats ¢
page 152. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenger seat¢
page 131.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position
is important for safe, relaxed driving .
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position :
• Move the front passenger seat back as far as
possible . There must be a minimum of
10 inches (25 cm) between the breastbone
and the instrument panel¢,&. .
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position and your back comes
in full contact with it whenever the vehicle is
moving.
• Applies to vehicles with adjustable head re
straints: Adjust the head restraint so the up
per edge is as even as possible with the top
of your head. If that is not possible, try to
adjust the head restraint so that it is as
close to this position as possible.
• Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat.
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
¢page 126.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
¢ page 60.
A WARNING
-
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air bag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury: