2015 AUDI S3 ECO mode

M N
ci > co ,...., \!) ..,.,
M ..,., ,....,
Launch Control-Program
App lies to vehicles: with launch control
The Launch Control Program enables maxi­
mum acceleration.
Requirement : The engine must be at operat­
ing temperature and the steering wheel must
not be turned .
.. With the engine running, press the
!.$OFFI
button briefly one time 1) .
.. Pull the selector lever back out of the 0/S
position briefly to select the S position, or
press it toward the right into the t ipt ronic
pos ition or select the
d ynamic driv ing mode
i n drive select*
~ page 106.
.. Press the brake peda l firmly with your left
foot and hold it all the way down for at least
1 second.
.. At the same time, press the gas peda l all the
way down with your right foot unti l the en­
gine reaches and stays at a high RPM level.
.. Remove your left foot from the brake.
A WARNING
- Always adapt your driving to the traffic
flow.
- Only use Launch Control when road and
t raff ic conditions a llow it and other driv­
ers wi ll not be endangered or impacted
by yo ur driving and the veh icle's acceler­
a tion.
- Please note tha t the dr ive whee ls can
spin and the vehicle can brea k away
when sport mode is switched on, espe­
c ially when the road is sl ippery.
- Once the vehicle has started moving,
press the
I.$ OFF I button br iefly to turn
the sport mode off.
(j) Tips
- The transm ission tempe rat ure may in­
crease significantly after using the
l ) In vehicles with a dr iver info rmat ion system, an ESC
light in the in stru m ent cl us ter stays on contin uo usly
and the m essage
Stabilizatio n cont rol (ESC): spor t.
W arning! Restricted stability
appears temporarily.
Automa tic tran sm iss ion 115
Launch Control Program . If that hap­
pens, the program may not be availab le
for a few m inutes. It will be ava ilable
again after a cool-down per iod.
- When accelerating using the Launch
Contro l Program, all vehicle parts are
subject to heavy loads. Th is can lead to
increased wear .
Emergency mode
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic transm ission
In the event of a system malfunction, there is
an emergency program.
If all of the selector lever positions are high ­
li ghted with a light backgro und in the instru­
ment cluster d isplay, there is a system mal­
funct ion and the S tronic transmission is run­
ning in the emergency program . The vehicle
can still be driven in emergency mode, but on­
ly w ith reduced speed and not in all gears. In
some cases, the veh icle
c ann ot driv e in re ­
v e rs e .
(D Note
If the transmission runs in emergency
mode, drive to your author ized Audi dealer
or q ua lified repa ir facil ity immed iate ly to
have the ma lf u nction corrected.
Transmission malfunction
• Tran smiss ion malfuncti on! Please stop
the vehicle and select P
T here is a malfunction in the transmiss ion .
Park the vehicle securely and do not continue
driv ing. See an authorized Audi dealer or au ­
thorized Audi Service Facility for assistance.
• Tran smi ssion overh eatin g! Plea se stop
the vehicle!
The transm iss io n is too hot and can become
damaged . Stop and let the transmission cool .,.
•

116 Automatic transmission
with the eng ine runn ing (a t id le) in the P se ­
lector lever position . Then the indicator light
and the message turn off, drive to an author ­
ized A udi dealer or qualified repair facility im­
mediately to have the malfunct ion corrected.
If the indicator lig ht and the dr ive r message
do not tur n off, do not cont inue dr iv ing. See
a n author ized Audi d eal er or author ized A udi
S ervi ce Fa cili ty for a ssis tance.
Di] Transmiss ion malfunction: you can con­
tinue driving
Drive to an autho rized Aud i dea le r or a uthor­
ized A udi Service Facility immed iate ly to have
the ma lf u nction corrected .
Di] Transmission malfunction: no reverse
gear (you can continue driving)
D rive to an authorized Aud i dea le r or a uthor ­
ized A udi Service Facility immediate ly to have
the ma lf u nct ion co rrected .
Di] Transmi ssion malfunction: You can con­
tinue dri ving in D until engine off
Drive the ve hicle away from mov ing traff ic and
p ar k. See an au thori zed A udi d ealer or author­
iz ed A udi Service F acility for assis tance .
Di] Transmi ssion overheating! Please adapt
driving style
Continue driving moderate ly. When t he in di­
cato r ligh t turns off, you can continue dr iving
normally .
Di] Transmission : Please press brake pedal
and select gear again
If t h e tra nsmission mal functions beca use the
temperature is too h igh , a message appears
when t he transmission is coo led.
Selector lever emergency release
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic transmission
If the vehicle 's power supply fails, the selec­
tor lever can b e released in an emergency.
Fig. 101 Se lector leve r: remov ing t he cover
Fig. 10 2 Selector leve r: Us ing the emergency re lease
to move out of t he Park pos itio n
The emergency release mechanism is located
in the right a rea under the selector lever sh ift
gate. Using the eme rgency release ca n be
complicated. We recommend contacting an
au tho rize d Audi d eale r o r a uth o rized Aud i
Se rv ice Facility for assistance, if necessary.
The sc rewd river from t he ve hicle too l kit locat­
ed in the luggage compartmen t is needed to
fo r the emergency release ¢ page
268 . Use
the f lat s ide of the reve rsible screwdriver
blade .
Removing the selector lever cover
"'Set the park ing brake «el)¢&. to secure
your veh icle from rolling .
"' Insert the flat side o f the scr ewdr ive r side­
ways in the s lot near the s hift cove r and pry
t he shi ft cove r up <=> fig.
101 .
.,. Pull up the co rner s of the shift c over car eful­
ly wi th yo ur hands and fold it over the s hift-
er knob ¢fig.
10 2. ..,.

160 Airbag system
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi. Installing,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­ lute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploying when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup
holders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc .) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop. -
Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can deploy only once.
After an airbag has been deployed, it must be replaced with new replacement
parts designed and approved especially
for your Audi model version. Replace­
ment of complete airbag systems or air­
bag components must be performed by
qualified workshops only . Make sure that
any airbag service action is entered in
your Audi Warranty
& Maintenance book­
let under
AIRBAG REPLACEMENT RE­
CORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separated
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech­ nic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inter­
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified technicians who have the ex­ perience, information and special tools
necessary to perform the work safely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see

172 Child Saf ety
c::> page 144, Airbag system and
c::> page 170 , Important things to
know.
Always rep lace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash . Dam ­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your veh icle is eq uipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard ( FMVSS) 208 as applicab le at the
time your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has been certified to meet the " low -risk" re­
quirements for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on
the passenger side and small adults on the
driver side. The low risk deployment criter ia
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the a irbag that can
occur, for example, by be ing too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates. In addi tion, the system
h as been certified to comply w ith the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Sa fety Stand­
ard, to turn
off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who a re restrained on the front
passenger seat in chi ld restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though yo ur vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all chi ldren, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, shou ld al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for the ir age and s ize . The a irbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a child to ride. The front
seat is not the safest place fo r a ch ild in a fo r­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a ve ry
dangerous place for an infan t or a large r ch ild
in a rearward- facing seat. The vehicle's Advanced Airbag System has a
capacitive passenger detection system i n the
front passenger seat cush ion that can detect
the presence of a baby or a ch ild in a child re­
stra int system on this seat.
The capacitive passenger detection system registers the changes that result in an electri ­
ca l fie ld when a chi ld, a child restra int, and a
baby blanket are on the front passenger seat.
The change in the measured capac itance due
to the p resence of a child, a ch ild restraint,
and a baby blanket on the front passenge r
seat is related to the chi ld restraint system
rest ing o n the seat. The meas ured capa cit an ce
of a child restrain t system varies depend ing
on the type of system and specific make and
model.
T he electrical c apa citan ce of the various
types, makes, and models of child restraints
specified by the U .S . Nationa l Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NH TSA) in the re levant
safety standard are stored in the Advanced
Airbag System contro l unit together with the
capacitances typical of infants and a 1-year
o ld child . When a child restraint is used on the
front passenger seat with a typical 1 year-old
infa nt, the Advanced Airbag System compa res
the capacitance measu red by the capacitive
passenge r de tection system wi th the data
stored in the electron ic cont ro l unit . Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system
Regardless of the c hild restra int that you use,
make sure that it has been cert ified to meet
U nited States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been ce rtified by its manu­
factu rer for use with an airbag. A lways be sure
t h at the c hild restr aint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating posi tions. If in excep­
t iona l circumstances yo u must use it on the
front passenger seat, carefully read a ll of the
information on child sa fety and Advanced Air­
bags and heed all of the applicable WARN­
INGS . Make certain that the c hild and chi ld re­
stra int are correctly recognized by the capac i­
t ive passenger detection system in the front .,.

190 Smart Technology
Steering r ecommendat ion
The ESC helps to stabilize the vehi cle by
changing the steering torque.
Select ive wh eel torqu e co ntrol
Select ive wheel torque control is used when
driving on curves . The front wheel on the in ­
side of the curve or both wheels on the inside
of the curve are braked selective ly as needed.
Th is a llows more precise driv ing in c urves.
Automatic post -collision braking system
The "Automatic post-collision braking system"
can he lp to reduce the risk of sliding and of
other coll is ions after an acc ident. If the airbag
control mod ule detects a collision above acer­
tain vehicle speed, the vehicle is braked by the
ESC.
The vehicle does not brake automatically if:
- the driver presses the accelerator pedal , or
- the braking fo rce genera ted by the pressed
brake pedal is greater than the braking force
that would be initiated by the system, or
- the ESC, the brake system or the vehicle
electrical system are not functioning .
A WARNING ,.
- The ESC and its integrated systems can­
not overcome the lim its posed by natural
physical laws. This is especia lly impor­
tant on s lippery or wet roads. If the sys-
Switching on /off
terns begin acting to stabilize your vehi­
cle, you should immediately a lter your
speed to match the road and traffic con­
ditions . Do not let the increased safety
provided tempt you into taking r isks .
This could increase your risk of a co lli­
sion .
- Please note the r isk of a coll is ion increas­
es when driving fast, especially through
curves and o n slippe ry or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to objects ahead.
The ESC and i ts integrated systems can­
not a lways p revent collisions -there is
still a risk of accidents!
- Press the acce lerator pedal caref ully
when acce lerating on even, slippery sur­
faces such as ice and snow. The drive wheels can spin even when these control
systems are installed and this can affect
driving stability and increase the risk of a
coll is io n.
(D Tips
- ABS and ASR only function correctly
when all four wheels are equ ipped w ith
identical t ires . Different t ire sizes can
lead to a reduction in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems
descr ibed are working .
- If the
DJ or [IJ indicator light appears,
there may be a malfunction¢
page 22.
E SC turns on automatically when you start the engine .
Fig. 1 50 Upper c ente r conso le : ESC but to n
The ESC is designed to funct ion in levels . De­
pending on the level that is selected, the sta­
bilization funct io n of the ESC is lim ited or
swit ched off . The amoun t of stabilization con ­
tro l will differ depending on t he level.
In the follow ing unusual situations it may
make sense to switch the ESC sport mode on
to allow the wheels to sp in:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Driving in deep snow or on loose ground
ll>

200 Driving and the environment
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac­
celerati ng. If you anticipate what is going to
happen next, you will need to brake less and,
thus, accelerate less. let the vehicle coast
whenever poss ible -for example when you see
that the next traffic light is red.
Avoid full throttle
Driving at moderate speeds saves fuel and
improves your mileage.
.. Try and keep well be low your car's max imum
speed.
Accelerating gently reduces fuel consump­
tion, engine wear, and does not disturb the
environment. F ue l consumption, exhaust emissions and en ­
gine noise increase disproportionately at hig h
speeds . If you drive at approximately three
quarters of top speed, fue l consumption will
be reduced by one half. Never dr ive faster
tha n the posted speed limit and weather con­
d itions permit.
Reducing unnecessary idling
Even when your car is just idling it burns up
fuel.
.. Sh ut the engine off when you are not dr iving
the vehicle.
.. Do not warm up the vehicle by letting the
engine run at idle.
It is efficient to switc h off the engine when
stopped at railroad crossings and long red
lights. Turning the engine off for just 30-40
seconds saves mo re fuel than is burned by
start ing the eng in e again.
It takes a long time for the engine to warm up
fu lly when it is running at idle. However, wear
and nox ious em issions are especially high
when the engine is warming up. So you should
d rive away as soon as you sta rt the eng ine and
avoid ru nning a t high RPM wh ile the engine is
still warming up .
(D Note
Do not leave engine i dling unattended af­
ter start ing. If wa rning lights sho uld come
on to indicate improper operation, they
would go unheeded. Extended idling also
produces heat , w hich could result in over­
hea ting o r othe r damage to the veh icle or
othe r property.
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a
lot of fuel.
.. Have your ve hicle serviced at regu lar inter-
vals.
Having your veh icle regu larly serviced by an
authorized Aud i dealer helps to ensure that it
runs properly and econom ica lly. The cond it io n
of your veh icle not on ly affects its safety and
ability to ho ld its va lue, i t also affects
fuel
c onsumption .
Check your oil each t ime you fill your tank.
The amount of oi l used is re lated to engine
l oad and speed.
It is normal for the oil consump tion of a new
engine to reach its lowest value after a certain
mileage has been driven .
You m ust drive your ve hicle abou t 3,000 m iles
(5,000 kilometers) before you can properly
assess oil consumpt ion .
T his also ap plies to fue l consumption and en ­
gine o utp ut.
(D Note
- Have your veh icle ma inta in ed properly
and i n acco rdance with the service rec­
ommendations in you r W arranty
& Main­
t enance boo klet. l ack of proper ma inte ­
nance as well as im proper use of the ve­
hicle will impair the function of the
em iss ion cont ro l system and cou ld lead
to damage.

M N
0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1"1
M 1.1"1 ,....,
Always keep your forearm parallel to the
ground to help prevent hot oil from run­
ning down your arm.
- Drain the oi l into a conta iner designed
for this p urpose, one large eno ugh to
hold at least the total amount of oil in
your engi ne.
- Engine oil is poisono us. Keep it well out
of the reach of c hildren .
- Cont inuo us contact with used engine oil
is harmful to your skin. Always protect
you r sk in by washing oil off thoroug hly
with soap and water .
(D Note
Never mix oil addit ives with your engine
oil. These additives can damage your en­
gine and adversely affect y our Aud i Limit­
ed New Vehicle Wa rra nty .
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before changing your oi l, f irst make sure
you know whe re you can proper ly dispose
of the used o il.
- Always d ispose of used engine oil proper­
l y. Do not dum p it o n ga rden so il, wood ­
ed a reas, into open streams or down
sewage dra ins.
- Recycle used engine o il by taking it to a
u se d engine oil collection facility in your
a rea, or contact a servi ce station .
Cooling system
Coolant
The engine coolant performs two functions: it
keeps the engine from overheating and it pro­
tects the engine from freezing in the winter.
The cooling system is sea led an d generally re ­
q uir es little attention.
The cooling system has been filled at the f ac­
tory with a pe rm anen t coo lan t which does no t
n eed to be changed. The coolant consists of a
mixture of specia lly conditioned water and the
manufacturer's glyco l-based coo lant add i-
tive Gl3 antifree ze with ant icorros ion addi-
Checking and Fillin g 225
tives (50% for USA mode ls; 60% fo r Canadian
models) . This mixture both ass ures the neces­
sary frost protection and protects metal com ­
ponents in the eng ine's cooling system from
corros io n and scaling. It also raises the bo il­
ing point of the coolant .
Do not reduce the concentration of the cool ­
ant in the s ummer by adding p lain water.
The
proportion of coolant additive must be at
least 50°/o but not more than 60 %
to main­
ta in antifreeze protect io n and cool ing eff ic ien­
cy . If the coo lant frost p rotection is too low ,
t he coo lan t could freeze and damage the vehi ­
cl e heating and engine cooling sys tem.
Fo r year- round drivi ng, a ntifreeze is added at
the factory fo r temperatures down to:
- -31 °F
< -3s0c) u sA
- -40°F ( - 40°C) Canada.
If you must ad d coo lant, use a mixture o f wa ­
te r and coolant additive. Mixing the coo lant
additive with dist illed water is recommended.
A WARNING
Before you chec k anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNI NGS
c:> page 217.
-
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coo lant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli­ mate condit ions. This is especially impor­
t ant if you l ive i n a region where the win-
t er is extremely cold. If necessary, in-
c rea se t he p ropo rtion of coo lant add itive
t o 6 0% .
- Whe n ad d ing coolant addi tiv e to yo ur
c ooling sys te m , reme mbe r:
- We recommend using on ly coo lant ad­
d itive Gl2 ++ or Gl3 (check the labe l)
for your vehicle. This coolant additive is ava ila ble at autho rized Aud i dea le rs .
Othe r ty pes of antifreeze ca n sig nifi­
cantly reduce cor ros io n protec tion . The
r esu lting co rrosion can cause a lo ss of
c o o lant a nd serio us e ng ine da mage.
IJI,,
•
•
•

....,
N
0 > co
rl I.O
"' ....,
"' rl
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself
An auxiliary electric radiator fan switches on
and off depending on coolan t temperature
and other vehicle operating conditions .
After you switch the engine off, the auxiliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself<=>.& , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of personal injury nev­
er touch the radiator fan.
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on au­
tomatically when the engine coolant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper­
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
N
N
N
>< ~
Fig. 165 Engine compa rtment: cove r on the brake fluid
rese rvoir
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS r::;, page 217 .
Checking and Filling 22 7
.. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir <=>
fig. 165, <=> page 220,
fig. 159.
T he brake fluid level must be be­
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The location of the brake fluid reservoir can be seen in the engine compartment illustration
<=>page 220.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads. This is not cause for alarm.
If the brake fluid level falls considerably be­
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indi­
cator light . (U.S. models)
I. (Canadian
models) will come on
c:> page 18 . Do not con­
tinue to operate the vehicle. The complete
brake system should be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or other quali­
fied facility and the cause corrected . If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warning/
indicator light will illuminate. Contact an au­
thorized Audi dealer
immediately.
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
enced technician.
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
high, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a period of time. The boiling point of the
brake fluid will also decrease considerably and
decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
every two years . Always use new brake fluid
which conforms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be difficult to
reach, therefore, we recommend that you
have the brake fluid changed by your author­
ized
Audi dealer. Your dealer has the correct
tools, the right brake fluid and the know-how
to do this for you.
II>-