2015 AUDI S3 Owners Manual

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In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bo lts from a different vehicle -
even if it
i s the same mode l
Q page 291.
A WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose caus ing loss of
control, a collision and ser ious personal in­
jury .
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop­
erly t ightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose w hile d riving if greased or
o iled,
even if tightened to the spec ified
torq ue.
- Only use wheel bo lts that belong to the
rim being ins talled.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle .
- Always maintain the correct tightening
torque fo r the wheel bolts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss. If the tigh teni ng tor­
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi­
cle is moving . If the tightening torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel ca n be­
come loose .
(D Note
The specified torque for the wheel bo lts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) w ith a tolerance of
± 7,4 ft lb(± 10 Nm). Torque whee l bolts
diagonally. After changing a wheel, the
torque must be checked as soon as possi­
b le with a torque wrench -prefe rably by an
author ized Audi dealer or qualified wo rk­
shop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped with low aspect
ratio tires . These tires have been thorough ly
tested and been selected spec ifically for your
model for the ir superb performance, road feel
Tire s an d wheel s 263
and handling under a variety o f driving condi ­
tions. Ask your authorized A udi dealer for
more details .
T he low aspec t ratio of these tires is ind icate d
by a numera l of
55 or le ss in the tire's size
designation. The numera l represents the ratio
of the t ire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage.
Conven­
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth rat io of 60 or
more .
The performance of low-a spect-ratio tire s is
particularl y sens it iv e to improper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
a spect ratio tir es are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pr essure i s
regularly checked and ma intain ed . Tire pr es­
s ure s should be checked at lea st on ce a
month and alway s bef ore a long trip
~ page 245 , Checking tire pressure .
A Word about Low Aspect Ratio and High
Performance Ti res
Hig h pe rformance tires are des igned for bet­
ter performance and handling in warm cli­
mates. When driving in cold, snowy or icy
weather, you sho uld equ ip your vehicle w it h
four all-season or winter tires, which
offer
better traction under those condit ions. We
suggest you use the Audi recommended win­
te r or a ll-season tires specified for you r Audi.
High performance tires a lso have a lower as ­
pect ratio that aids performance and han­
dling . Driving over rough or damaged road
surfaces, as well as debr is, cu rbs and other
obstacles can cause serious damage to
whee ls, tires, vehicle body, and suspens ion
parts . B e carefu l to avo id road hazards and re­
du ce your speed , espec ia lly if your vehicle is
equipped wi th low prof ile tires .
Please a lso remember when making your se­
lection that, wh ile these tires deliver respon­
s ive handling, t hey m ay ride less comfo rtably
and make more noise than o thers . Finally,
these tires may wear more quickly than other
c h oices.
IJJ>
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264 Tire s and wheel s
It is important that the inflation pressu re is
regularly checked and maintained at recom­
mended levels .
F or more informat ion p lease ask your A udi
deale r for more details .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio t ires can be damaged more
easi ly by impact with potho les, curbs, gu llies
or ridges on the road, part icularly if the t ire is
underinflated .
I n o rder to m inim ize the o ccu rrence of impact
damage to the tires of your vehicle, we recom­
mend that you observe the following precau­
tions:
- Always mainta in recommended inflat ion
pressures. Check your tire pressure every
2,000 miles (3,000 km) and add air if neces­
sary .
- Drive carefu lly on roads with potholes, deep
gullies or ridges. The impact from driving
thro ugh or over such obstacles can damage
your t ires. Impact with a curb may also
cause damage to your tires.
- After any impact, immediately inspect your
t ires or have them inspected by the neares t
authorized Aud i dealer . Replace a damaged
t ire as soon as possible .
- Inspect your t ires every 2,000 miles (3,000
km) for damage and wear . Damage is not al­
ways easy to see . Damage can lead to loss of
air and unde rinflat ion, wh ich could eventu­
ally cause t ire fail ure.
If you be lieve that a
t ire may have been damaged, replace the
tire as soon as possible.
- T hese tires may wea r more quick ly than oth­
ers.
- Please a lso remember that, whi le these t ires
deliver respons ive handling, they may ride
less comfortably and make mo re noise than
other c hoices.
Reduced performance in winter /cold
s eason condition s
All tires are designed for certain pu rposes .
The low aspect ratio, u ltra hig h performance t
ir es or iginally insta lled on yo ur vehicle a re in ­
tended for maximum dry and wet road per­
formance and handling . They are not suitable
for cold, snowy or icy weather conditions. If
you drive under those c ircumstances, you
shou ld equ ip your vehicle w ith all -season or
winter tires, which offer bette r traction unde r
those conditions . We suggest you use the rec­
ommended snow o r all-season t ires specified
for yo ur vehicle , or thei r equivalent .
Refer to~ page
261 for more detailed infor­
mation regard ing winter tires .
Tire pressure
monitoring system
ill General notes
E ach tire, including the spare ( if provided),
shou ld be checked monthly wh en co ld and in­
flated to t he inflat io n pressure recommended
by the veh icle man ufact urer on t he veh icle
placard or tire inf lation pressure labe l. (If your
vehicle has tires of a different size than the
size indicated on the vehicle placard or tire in ­
flat ion pressure labe l, you should determine
the proper t ire inflation press ure for those
t i res).
As an added safety feature, your ve hicle has
been equipped with a tire pressure monitoring
system (TPMS) that illum inates a low tire
pressure tell tale when one or more of your
t ires is s ignificantly under-inflated . According­
ly, when the low tire pressure telltale illumi­
nates, you shou ld stop and check you r tires as
soon as possib le, and inflate them to the
proper p ress ure. Driving on a sig nifican tly u n­
der -inflated t ire causes the tire to overhea t
and can lead to tire fa ilure . Under-inflation al­
so reduces fuel eff iciency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle's hand ling and
stopp ing ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a substit ute
for proper tire maintenance, and it is the driv­
er 's respons ibility to maintain correct tire
pressure, even if under-inflation has not

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reached the level to trigger illumination of the
TPMS low tire pressure telltale.
Your veh icle has also been equ ipped with a
TPMS malfunction indicato r to indica te when
the system is not operating properly . The
TPMS malfunction indicator is combined with
the low tire pressure tellta le . When the sys­
tem detects a malfunct ion, the telltale will
flash for approximately one minute and then
remain cont inuous ly illuminated. This se ­
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the ma lfunction ex ists .
When the malfunct ion indicator is illuminat­
ed, the system may not be able to detect or
sig nal low t ire pressure as intended . TPMS
malfunct ions may occur for a variety of rea­
sons, including the installa tio n of replace­
ment or a lternate tires or whee ls on the veh i­
cle that prevent the TPMS from funct ion ing
properly. Always check the TPMS malfunction
tellta le after replacing one or more tires or
wheels on your veh icle to ensure that the re­
placement or alternate tires and wheels allow
the
TPMS to continue to function properly.
If the Tire Pressure Monitoring System
indicator appears
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monito ring system
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too
low or if there is a system malfunction .
Fig . 173 In strum ent clus te r: indica tor l igh t w ith mes ­
sage
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure moni­
toring system compares the t ire tread circum­
ference and vibration characteristics of the in­
d iv idual tires . If the pressure changes in one
Tire s an d wheel s 265
or more tires, this is indicated in the instru ­
ment cluster disp lay with an indicator light
ti] and a message c:::> fig . 17 3. If only one tire
is affected, the locat ion of that tire will be in­
dicated. The message turns off after a few mi­
nutes . You can d isplay the message aga in
c:::> page 2 9 .
The tire pressures must be stored in the menu
display again each time the pressures change
(sw itching between partial and full load pres ­
sure) or after chang ing or replacing a t ire on
your vehicle
c:::> page 266 . The t ire press ure
monitori ng system only monito rs the tire
pressure yo u have stored . Yo u can find the rec ­
ommended t ire press ures for your vehicle on
the labe l on the driver 's doo r pillar
c:::> page240 .
Tire t read circumference and vib rat ion charac­
teristics can change and cause a tire pressu re
warning if :
- I f the tire pressure in one or mo re tires is
t oo low,
- the t ire has structural damage,
-The tire was replaced or the t ire p ressure
changed and it was not stored again
c:::> page 266 .
- The spare tire is installed .
Indicator light s
ti]-Loss of pressure in at least one tire c:::> &.
Check the tires and replace or repair if neces­
sary. Check/correct the pressures of all four
tires . Then store the t ire pressures in the MMI
c:::> page 266 .
DI (T ire Pressure Monitoring System) T ir e
press ure: S ystem malfunct ion!. If Ill ap­
pears afte r switching the ignition on or while
driv ing and the
ti] indicator l ight in the in­
str ume nt cluster b links for app rox imately one
minute and then stays on , the re is system
malfunction. Try to s to re the co rrec t ti re pres­
s u res
c:::> page 266. If the indicator ligh t does
turn off or tu rns on again after a short period
of time, drive to yo ur authorized Aud i dea ler
or qualified repa ir facility immed iate ly to have
the malfunction corrected. .,..
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266 Tire s and wheels
& WARNING
-If the tire pressure warning light ti] in
the instrument cluster turns on, the
pressure in one or more tires is too low.
Reduce the vehicle speed immediately
and avoid any hard steering or braking
maneuvers . Stop as soon as possible,
check the t ire and inflate the tire to the
correct pressure, which is specified on
the tire pressu re label on the veh icle
¢ page 240. Driving with a t ire with low
pressure causes the tire to overheat and
can result in failure of the tire . Low pres ­
sure can a lso have a negative effect on
the driving and braking behavior of the
vehicle.
- The driver is responsible for maintaining
the correct tire pressures. You must
check the t ire pressures regularly.
- Under certain conditions (such as a spor­
ty driving style, winter conditions or un­
paved roads), the pressure monitor ind i­
cator may be delayed .
- Ask your author ized dealer if run-flat
t ires may be used on your vehicle.
- The tire pressure monitoring system can
also stop work ing when there is an ESC
malfunction.
- Using snow chains may result in a system
malfunction.
- The tires with the identification "AO" or
"RO" ¢ page 254 have been matched
with your Audi tire pressure monitoring
system. We recommend that you use
these tires.
- The tire pressure monitoring system can
only mon itor the t ire pressure of the
driving tires . Check the tire pressure of
the spare wheel in the luggage compart­ ment so that if necessary it is ready for
us e.
-
Storing tire pressures
Applies to vehicles: wit h tire press ure mo nitor ing system
A change in tire pressure or a change in tires
must be stored in the system.
The tire pressure is stored in the MMI.
.. Make sure before storing that the tire pres ­
sures of a ll four tires meet the specified va l­
ues and are adapted to the load. Otherwise
the system could malfunction
¢ page 240.
.. Switch on the ignition.
.. Select: the
I MENU I button >Car > Systems*
control button > Service & control > Tire
pressure monitor > Store tire pre ssure >
Yes, store now.
(D Tips
Do not store the tire pressures if snow
chains are installed. Otherwise the system
could malfunction.

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What do I do now? Luggage compartment
lid emergency release
In case of an emergency, the rear lid can be
opened from the inside using the trunk es­
cape handle .
Fig. 174 Section of the luggage compartm en t: access
to the emergency release
To reach the emergency release mechanism,
the rear bench seat backrest must be folded
down .
~ page 65
.,. Push the latch upward in the direction of the
arrow until the lock releases .
The trunk escape handle inside the rear lid is
made of fluorescent material to glow in the
dark.
A WARNING
The trunk escape handle is to be used only in an emergency .
@ Tips
The emergency release lever should never
be used as a handle for closing the rear lid .
General information
.,. Park the vehicle as far as possible from mov­
ing traff ic in the event of a flat tire. In the
event of a flat tire, park the vehicle on a lev­
el surface .
It you are on a steep incline, be
especially careful.
.,. Set the parking b rake.
.,. Swi tch the emergency flashers on .
.,. Put on a reflective vest, if avai lable .
.,. Set up the warning triangle, if available .
What do I d o now ? 267
.,. Have the passengers exit the vehicle . They
should move to a safe place, for examp le
beh ind a guard rail.
A WARNING
Pay attention to the steps above. They are
for your p rotection and t he for the safety
of other dr ivers.
A WARNING ...
Imp roper use of the vehicle jack can cause
se rious pe rsonal injuries .
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten w heel bolts, s ince the bolts can­
not attain the necessary tighten ing tor­
que if you use the hex head, potentially
causing an ac cident .
- The fac tory-supplied jack is intended on­
ly fo r yo ur vehicle model. U nder no c ir­
cumstances sho uld it be used to
li ft
heavy vehicles o r other loads; you risk in ­
juring yo urself .
- Never s tart the engine when the vehicle
is raised, w hich co uld cause an acc ident.
- Support the vehicle secu rely wit h appro­
priate stands if wor k is to be performed
underneath the vehicle ; otherwise, there
is a pote ntia l risk for injury.
- Never use the jac k supplied wit h your
Aud i on another vehicle, particularly on a
heav ier one. The jack is only su itable for
use on the vehicle it came with.
@ Tips
- Some of the on board items listed above
are provided on certain mo dels only or
are opt ional extras.
- Before stor ing the jack*, make sure it is
wound back down as far as it w ill go .

268 What do I do n ow ?
Equipment
Vehicle tool kit
Applies to vehicles: with vehicle tool kit
Fig . 175 Luggage compart ment: cargo floor cover
folded upward
The vehicle tool kit is located in the luggage
compartment under the cargo floor cover
¢fig. 175 .
Carg o flo or c over
.. Hang the plastic hook on the luggage com­
partment weather str ip -arrow-.
Spare tire
General information
Applies to vehicles: with space-saving spa re tire (compact
spare tire)
Fig. 176 Luggage compartment: cargo floor cove r
fo lded upward
Fi g. 177 Compact spare tire
The spare tire~ fig. 177 is intended for short­
term use only. Have the damaged tire checked
and replaced if necessary by an author ized
Audi dealer or qualified repair facility as soon
as possible.
There are some restrictions on the use of the
compact spare tire. The compact spare tire
has been designed specifically for your type of
vehicle. Do not replace it with the spare tire
from another type of vehicle.
Rem ovi ng the sp are tir e
.. Lift the cargo floor by the plastic handle.
.. Hang the p lastic hook on the luggage com­
partment weather strip@¢
fig. 176 .
.. Remove the subwoofer*, if necessary
¢page 269.
.. Turn the large screw counter-clockwise.
.. Remove the spare tire.
Snow ch ain s
For technical reasons, the use of snow chains
on the compact spare tire is not permitted.
If you have to drive with snow chains and a
front tire fails, mount the spare wheel in place
of a rear tire. Install the snow chains on the
rear tire that you removed, and install that in
place of the front tire that failed .
A WARNING
--After installing a spare tire, the tire pres-
sure must be c hec ked as soon as possi­
b le. The tire p ress ure is available on
¢ page 240, fig. 169
- If the spa re tire is more t han 6 years old,
use it only in an emergency and with ex­
treme caution and careful driving.
- The spare ti re is intended only for tem­
pora ry and short-term use.
It shou ld be
replaced as soon as poss ible with the
normal wheel and tire.
- After mounting the compact spare tire, the tire pressure must be checked as
soon as possible . The tire pressure of the
compact spare tire must be 4.2 bar; oth­
erwise, you risk having an accident.

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-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

2 70 What do I do now ?
other warning devices to alert other
motorists.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a safe
place away from the vehicle and well
away from the road and traff ic.
- To help prevent the ve hicle from mov ing
sudden ly and possibly slipping off the
jack, always fully set the parking brake and block the whee l diago na lly opposite
the whee l being changed . When one
front whee l is lifted off the gro und, plac ­
ing the A utomat ic Transm iss ion in P
( P ark) will
no t prevent t he ve hicl e from
movin g.
- B efore yo u change a w heel, be su re the
gr ound is leve l and fir m.
If necess ary,
use a s turdy board under the j ack.
- Alw ay s store the vehicle tool ki t, the j ack
and the repl aced t ire i n the l ugg age com­
partment
¢ page 131.
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel, follow these­
quence described below step-by -step and in
exactly that order.
1. Remove the decorative wheel cover* . Fo r
mo re details see also¢
page 2 70, Deco­
rative wheel covers
or ¢ page 2 71 ,
Wheels with wheel bolt caps .
2. Loosen the wheel bolts r::!> page 271.
3 . Locate the proper mo unting point for the
jack and align the jack below that point
¢ page 272.
4 .
Raise the car w ith the jack ¢ page 2 72.
5. Remove the wheel with the flat tire and
then install
the spare ¢ page 2 73.
6. Tighten all wheel bo lt s li ghtly.
7 .
Lower the ve hicle w ith the jack.
8. Use the wheel bolt wrench and
firmly
t ig hten all whee l bolts <:!> page 271.
9. Replace the decorative wheel cove r* .
A WARNING
A lways read and follow all WARNINGS and
informati on
r::!> &. in Raising the vehicle on
page
2 72 a nd r:!> page 274 .
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the
doing the following .
"'Always store the vehicle toot kit, the jack*
and the replaced tire in the luggage com­
pa rtment
¢ page 131.
"' Check the tire pr essure on the spare whee l
immed iate ly afte r mounting i t.
"' As soon as poss ib le, have the
tight ening
torques
on all whee l bolts chec ked with a
torque wre nch . The correc t tig hten ing tor ­
que is 90 ft l b (120 Nm).
"' Have the flat tire
replaced as soon as possi­
ble.
@ Tips
- If you not ice that the wheel bo lts are
corroded and difficult to turn while
chang ing a tire, t hey should be rep laced
before you check the tig htening to rque.
- Dr ive at reduced speed until you have the
t ightening torques checked.
- After changing a whee l, the t ire p ress ure
in all four tires must be chec ked/co rrect­
ed and the tire p ress ure monito ring ind i­
cator must be s to red in the MMI
r::!> page 266.
' Decorative wheel covers
Applies to vehicles: w ith decorative whee l covers
The decorative wheel covers mus t be removed
first to access the wheel bolts.
Fig. 1 79 Cha ngin g a w hee l: Re mov ing th e w heel cove r
Removing
"' Insert the hook (p rov ided with th e vehicle
t oo l ki t) in the ho le in the whee l hub cover . .,._