2015 AUDI S3 towing

M N
0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1
M 1.1'1 ,....,
"Full load" on the label located on the driver's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open).
Inflate trailer t ires to tra iler and t ire manufac­
turers' specifications.
Lights
Check to make sure both vehicle and trailer
lights are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure tra iler safety cha ins are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
hicle. Leave enough slack in the chains to per­
mit turning corners. When you install safety
chains, make su re they wi ll not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains should cross under the tra ile r
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration.
To obtain the best poss ible handling of vehicle
and traile r, p lease note the following:
~ Do not tow a loaded tra iler when your car it­
self is not loaded.
~ Be especia lly careful when passing other
vehicles.
~ Observe speed limits .
~ Do not drive at the maximum permissible
speed.
~ Always apply brakes early.
~ Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded trai ler with an empty car re­
sults in a highly unstable distribution of
weight. If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control.
A "balanced" rig is easier to operate and con ­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should be loaded to the extent poss ible and permiss i­
ble, wh ile keeping the trailer as light as poss i­
ble under the circumstances . Whenever possi-
Trailer towing 203
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com­
partment of the tow vehicle while observing
tongue load requirements and vehicle load ing
considerations.
Speed
T he higher the speed, the mo re difficult it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not
drive at the maximum permissib le speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -particularly
when going downhill.
Reduce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest sign of swaying .
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits . In some areas, speeds
for vehicles towing trai lers are lower than for
regular vehicles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving
downhi ll, shift into a lower gear to use the en ­
gine braking effect to s low the vehicle. Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperatu re gauge <=> page 12
must be observed carefu lly. The coolant tem ­
perature can increase if you drive on long in­
clines in a low gear at high engine speeds. Re­
duce your speed immediately if the LEDs in
the top part of the display turn on.
For more information about indicator lights,
refer to .<=>
page 20.
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident. Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not properly wearing the restraints
provided by Audi.
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle handles d ifferently when towing
a trailer because of the additional weight and ..,.
•
•
•

204 Trailer towing
different weight distribution. Safety, perform ­
ance and economy wi ll greatly depend on how
carefu lly you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in a n area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you
have become comp letely fam iliar with the way
your veh icle-trailer comb ination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is d iff icult and requires practice.
Backing up with a tra iler genera lly requires
steering action opposite to that when back ing
up your veh icle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your ve­
h icle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you will need a larger than normal
turning radius.
When passing, remember that yo u cannot ac ­
celerate as fast as you normally would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass. After passing, allow
p lenty of room for your tra iler before chang­
ing lanes aga in.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a tra iler dur ing the break-in
period of you r vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the ext ra load
¢ page 289.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer. If it can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol­
lowing:
Wh en park ing:
.. Apply the foot brake .
.. Have someone place chocks under both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels. ..
With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes unti l the whee l chocks absorb the
load.
.. Turn the whee ls towards the curb.
.. App ly the parking brake.
.. Select the P selector lever posit ion.
When re starting afte r park ing :
.. App ly the foot brake.
.. Start the engine.
.. Select the D/S se lector lever position.
.. Release the parking brake and s lowly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks .
.. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks .
@ Tips
If you move the selector leve r of the auto­
matic transmission to P befo re applying
the pa rking brake and before bloc king the
whee ls, you may h ave to use more force
la ter to move the lever out of the P posi­
tion .

M N
0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1
M 1.1'1 ,....,
KG OR XXX LBS" on your ve­
hicle's placard (tire inflation
pressure label)
c:> page 240,
fig. 168.
2. Determine the combined
weight of the driver and pas­ sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3 . Subtract the combined
weight of the driver and pas­ sengers from
"XXX" kilo ­
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
c:> page 240 , fig. 168.
4. The resulting figure equals
the available amount of car­
go and luggage load capaci­
ty. For example, if the "XXX"
amount equals 1400 lbs.
and there will be five 150 lbs. passengers in your vehi­
cle, the amount of available
cargo and luggage load ca­
pacity is 650 lbs. (1400-750 (5
X 150) = 650 lbs.)
5. Determine the combined weight of luggage and cargo being loaded on the vehicle.
That weight may not safely
exceed the available cargo
and luggage load capacity
calculated in Step 4.
Tires and wheels 251
6. If your vehicle will be towing a trailer, load from your trail­
er will be transferred to your
vehicle. Consult this manual
to determine how this re­
duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle.
~check the tire sidewall
(¢ page 254, fig . 172) to de­
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire.
' •
•
' •

....,
N
0 > co
rl I.O
"' ....,
"' rl
-Do not drive faster than 50 mph (80 km/
h). You r isk having an accident.
- Avoid full-throttle acceleratio n, heavy
braking, and fast cornering . You risk hav­
ing an acc ident.
- Never drive us ing more than one spare
wheel and tire. You risk having an acci­
dent.
- Normal summer or winter tires must not
be mounted on the compact spare whee l
rim.
- For technical reasons, the use of tire
chains on the spare tire is not permitted.
If it is necessary to dr ive with tire chains,
the spare wheel must be mounted on the
front axle in the event of a flat in a rear
t ir e. The newly ava ilable front wheel
must then be i nstalled in pla ce of the
re ar wheel with the f lat tir e. Ins tall ing
the tire chai n befo re mo unting the wheel
and tire is recommended .
- Loose items in the passenger compart­
ment can cause serio us personal inj ury
dur ing hard braking or in an accident.
Never store the inf latable spare tire or
jack and tools in the passenger compart­ ment.
- Norma l summer or winter tires m ust not
be mounted on the compact spare wheel
rim .
Removing the subwoofer
App lies to vehicles : with subwoofer
The subwoofer must be removed before the
spare wheel* can be removed .
Fig. 178 Spa re whee l w ell : subwoo fer
What do I do now ? 269
Removing the subwoofer
.,. Lift the cargo floor¢ page 268, fig . 176.
.,. Pull the latch (D ¢ fig. 178 toward the ca -
ble.
.,. Press the locking tab @down .
.,. Remove the connector ® and set the re-
moved cable as ide .
.,. Remove the bolt @ .
.,. Carefully remove the subwoofer .
Installing the subwoofer
.,. Carefully place the subwoof er n the rim
wel l. The word "FRONT" on the subwoofer
must face forward.
.,. Insert the connector that was removed.
.,. Secure the subwoofer with the bolt .
.,. Fold the cargo floo r cover back into place.
Changing a wheel
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger 's safety when chang ­
ing a wheel .
.,. Aft er you experience a tire failure, pull the
car we ll away from mov ing traffic and try to
reac h
level ground before you stop ¢ &_ .
.,. All passenge rs should
leave the car and
move to a safe location (for instance, behind
the guardrail)¢ &_ .
.,. Engage the
parking brake to prevent your
veh icle from rolling unintentionally¢&_ .
.,. Move
sel ector lever to po sition P ¢ ,&. .
.,. If you are towing a t ra iler, unhi tch the trailer
from your ve hicle .
.,. Take t he
jack ¢ page 268 and the sp a re tire
¢ page 268 out of the luggage com part ­
ment .
A WARNING
You or your passengers could be inj ured
while changing a w heel if you do not fo l­
l ow these safety p recaut io ns:
- If you have a flat tire, move a safe d is­
tance off the road. Turn off the engine,
turn the emergency flashers on and use

280 Emergency situations
Emergency situations
General
This chapter is intended for trained emer­
gency crews and working personnel who
have the necessary tools and equipment to
perform these ope rations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
Q;) Note
Vehicles w ith an automatic transmission
cannot be started by pus hing o r tow ing.
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary, the engine can be started by
connecting it to the battery of another vehi­
cle.
If the engine should fail to start because of a
discharged or weak battery, the battery can be
connected to the battery of
another vehicle,
using a
pair of jumpe r cables to start the en­
g ine .
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently large
cross section to carry the starter current safe­
ly. Refer to the manufacturer's specif ications.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated termi­
na l clamps which are distinctly marked:
plus(+) cable in most cases colored red
minu s(-) cable
in most cases colored black .
A WARNING
Batteries contain electricity, acid, and gas.
Any of these can cause very serious or fatal
inju ry. Follow the instructions below for
safe handling of your veh icle's battery.
- Always shield you r eyes and avoid lean­
ing over the battery whenever possible.
- A discharged battery can freeze at tem­
peratures just be low 32 °F (0 °C). Before connecting a
jumper cable, you must
thaw the frozen battery complete ly, oth­
erwise it could explode.
- Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes
or skin . Flush any contacted area with
water immediately .
- Improper use of a booster battery to start a vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batteries generate explosive gas­
es. Keep sparks, flame and lighted ciga­
rettes away from batteries.
- Do not try to jump start any vehicle with a low acid level in the battery.
- The vo ltage of the booster battery must
also have a 12-volt rating. The capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery should not be
lower than that of the discharged bat­
tery . Use of batteries of d ifferent voltage
or substantially different "Ah" rating
may cause an exp losion and personal in­
jury.
- Never charge a frozen batte ry. Gas trap­
ped in the ice may cause an explosion.
- Never charge or use a battery that has
been frozen. The battery case may have
be weakened.
- Use of batter ies of different voltage or
substantially different capacity (Ah) rat­
ing may cause an exp losion and injury.
The capacity (Ah) of the booster battery
should not be lower than that of the dis ­
charged battery.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS
¢page 217.
(D Note
-App lying a higher voltage booster bat­
tery will cause expensive damage to sen­
sitive electronic components, such as
contro l units, relays, radio, etc .
- Th ere must be no electrical contact be­
tween the vehicles as otherwise current cou ld already start to f low as soon as the
positive(+) terminals are connected. .,.

28 2 Em ergency sit uat ions
installed. Make sure the cables do not get
caught in moving engine components .
11. Sw itch the heater fan and rear window de-
froster
off.
12. Close the battery cover.
The battery is vented to the outside so that
not gases enter the passenger compartment.
Make sure that the connected positive termi­
nal clamps on the jump start cable have suffi­
cient contact with metal.
A WARNING
Follow the warn ings and instructions from
the jump start cable manufacturer to re­
duce the risk of ser ious injuries and vehicle
damage.
If you are uns ure about anyth ing,
call roadside assistance.
- T he jump start cables must be long
enough so that the vehicles do not
touch.
- Route the jump sta rt cab les so they can­
not get caught in the moving parts in the
engine compartment .
- Always read and follow the warn ings be­
fore checking anything in the engine compartment ¢
page 217.
([) Note
Correctly jump start cables incorrect ly can
destroy the a lternator .
- Always connect the positive terminal(+)
to the positive terminal( +) and the neg­
at ive termina l(- ) to the negative termi­
nal(-) on the body ground point, b ut not
the negative termina l on the battery.
- Make sure the screw plugs on the battery ce lls are insta lled securely.
If not, tig ht­
en the plugs before connecting the
clamps to the negat ive terminal on the
battery.
- Please note that the connecting process
described be low for the jump start ca­
bles is intended for when your vehicle is
being jump started . If you are jump
starting another vehicle, do not connect
the negat ive cab le to the negative termi­
nal (-) on the drained battery, but rathe r connect it to a
large metal component
that is bolted securely to the engine block, or to the engine block itsel f. If the
battery in the vehicle being jump started
is not vented to the outside, there is a
risk of explosion due to hydrogen gas .
- Make sure that the connected positive
terminal clamps have sufficient contact
w ith metal.
- Do not use the battery negative terminal
for jump start ing or a malfunct ion could
occur in the vehicle electrical system.
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow ­
ing .
The following information is to be used by
commerc ial tow truck operators who know
how to operate the ir equipm ent safely .
-Never tow your Aud i. Towing will cause
damage to the engine and transmission.
- Never wr ap the s afet y chains or winch ca ­
bles around the b rake lines.
- To p re v ent unnece ssary damage , your Aud i
must be transpo rted with a flat bed truck.
- To load the vehicle on to the fl at bed, u se
the towing loop found in the vehicle tools
and attach to the front or rea r ancho rage
c;,page 283 and c;,page 283.
A WARNING
A vehicle being towed is not safe for pas­
sengers . Never allow anyone to ride in a
vehicle be ing towed, fo r any reason.
-

....,
N
0 > co
rl I.O
"' ....,
"' rl
Front towing loop
Fig. 192 Right front bumpe r: remov ing the cover
Fig. 193 Right front bumper: towing loop installed
The threaded opening for the towing loop is
located behind a cover on the rig ht side of the
front bumper.
.. Remove the towing loop from the vehicle
tool kit¢
page 268 .
.. Press inward on the upper left side of the
cap to remove it from the bumper
¢fig. 192.
.. Insert the towing loop in the threaded open­
ing until it stops¢
fig. 193 and tighten it
with a whee l wrench.
.. After using, place the towing loop bac k in
the vehicle too l kit .
A WARNING
If the towing loop is not i nstalled sec urely,
it could loosen from the t hreads whi le
towing and cause damage to the veh icle or
injury to people.
Emergenc y situ ation s 283
Rear towing loop
Fig. 194 Right rea r tow ing loop : cover
F ig . 1 95 Right rea r tow ing loop: tow ing loop installed
The towing loop threaded opening is located
in the right of the rear bumper cover under a
cover .
.. Remove the towing loop from the vehicle
too l kit ¢
page 268.
.. Press inward on the upper area -arrow- and
lift it upward from the
lower area¢ fig. 194.
.. Insert the tow ing loop in the threaded open­
ing until it stops¢
fig. 195 and t ighten it
w ith a wheel wrench .
.. After using, p lace the tow ing loop back i n
t he vehicle tool kit.
Depend ing on the model, the shape of the
cove r ca n va ry.
A WARNING
If t h e tow ing loop is not insta lled securely,
it cou ld loose n from the threa ds while
tow ing and cause damage to the vehicle or
inj ury to people .

M N
0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1"1
M 1.1"1 ,....,
Consumer Information
Warranty coverages
Your Audi is covered by the following war­
ranties :
-New Vehicle Limited Warranty
- Limited Warranty Against Corrosion Perfo-
ration
- Emissions Control System Warranty
- Emissions Performance Warranty
- California Emissions Control Warranty (USA
vehicles only)
- California Emissions Performance Warranty
(USA vehicles only)
Detailed information regarding your warran ­
ties can be found in your
Warranty & Mainte­
nance booklet .
Operating your vehicle
outside the U.S.A. or
Canada
Government regulations in the United States
and Canada require that automobiles meet
specific emission regulations and safety
standards. Therefore, veh icles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada differ from vehicles sold in
other countries .
If you p lan to take your vehicle outside the
continental limits of the United States or Can­
ada, there is the possibility that:
- unleaded fuels for vehicles with catalytic
converter may not be available;
- fuel may have a considerably lower octane
rating . Improper fuel may cause engine
damage;
- service may be inadequate due to lack of
proper service facilities, tools or testing
equipment;
- replacement parts may not be readily availa­
ble.
- Navigation systems for vehicles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada will not necessari ly work
in Europe, and may not work in other coun­
tries outside North America .
Consumer Information 289
@ Note
Audi cannot be responsible for mechanical
damage that could result from inadequate
fuel, service or parts availab ility.
Audi Service Repair
Manuals and Literature
Audi Offic ial Factory Service Manuals and Lit ­
erature are published as soon as possible after
model introduction. Service manuals and lit­
erat ure are available to order from the Audi
T echnical Literature Ordering Center at:
www.audi.techliterature.com
Maintenance
' General
Your vehicle has been designed to help keep
maintenance requirements to a minimum.
However, a certain amount of regular mainte­
nance is still necessary to assure your vehicle's
safety, economy and reliability . For detailed
vehicle maintenance consult your Warranty &
Maintenance booklet.
Under difficult operating conditions , for ex­
ample at extremely low outside temperatures,
in very dusty regions, when towing a tra iler
very frequently, etc., some serv ice work
shou ld be pe rformed between the intervals
specified. This applies particularly to:
- oil changes, and
- cleaning or replacing the air filter.
® For the sake of the environment
By regularly maintaining your vehicle, you
help make sure that emission standards
are maintained, thus min imizi ng adverse
effects on the environment .
Important considerations for you and
your vehicle
The increasing use of electronics, sophisticat­
ed fuel injection and emission contro l sys-
tems, and the genera lly increasing technica l ..,_
•
•