2015 AUDI S3 automatic transmission

2 Table of contents Vehicle literature .. .. .. .. .. ... .
About this Owner's Manual ...
Operation .............. .... ... .
Cockpit ... ............. .... .. . .
Ove rv iew ... ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Instruments and indicator
lamps ..... ............. .. .. .. . .
Ins truments . .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Indicator lights ....... ... .. .. ... .
Driver information system .. .
Overview ... ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Operation . .... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Boost indicator ........... .... ... .
Efficiency program ........ .. .. .. . .
On-Board Diagnostic system (OBD) . . .
Lap timer and engine oil temperature
indicator ............. ........ .. .
Opening and closing .. .. .. .. . .
Ce ntra l locking ................ .. .
L uggage compartmen t lid ... ... .. . .
C hil d safety lo ck ........ .. .. .. .. . .
P owe r wi ndows .......... .. .. .. . .
5
6
8
8
8
10
1 0
1 4
27
2 7
28
29
29
30
32
35
35
4 2
42
43
P anorama s unroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4
Lights and Vision ............. .
Exte rior ligh ting ....... ... .. .. ... .
I nter ior light ing .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
V1s 1on ..... ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
W indshie ld wipers ........ .. .. ... .
O utside mirror ............... ... .
Dig ita l compass .......... .... ... .
Seats and storage ....... .. ... .
General i nformat ion ............. .
F ront seats ........... .... .... .. .
H eadrests .. ................ ... . .
Socket ... .. ... .... ...... .. .. .. . .
S to rage .... ... .......... .. .. .. . .
Ro of r ack .. ............. ....... .
L uggage compartmen t .. .. .. .. .. . .
46
46
4 9
so
so
52
54
56
56
57
59
60
6 1
6 2
6 4
Warm and cold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
C lima te control sys tem . . . . . . . . . . . .
6 8
Driving ... .... .. ... .. ..... .... . .
Stee ring .. .... .. .. ... ..... ... .. .
Starting and stopp ing t he engine
(ve hicles with an ign ition lock) ... .. .
Starting and stopp ing th e engine
(ve hicles w ith a convenience key) ... .
Drive r m essages .. ... .. ....... ... .
El ectromechanical pa rking brak e ... .
Hill ho ld .. .. .. . .............. .. .
S peed w arning system .......... .. .
C ruise con tro l system .. ..... ... .. . 74
74
74
77
79
80
82
83
8 3
Audi adaptive cruise control .. 86
In troduc tion ..... ............... .
Genera l Info rmation . .. ..... ... .. .
Adaptive cruise contro l ...... .... . .
Drive r messages . .... .. ..... ... .. .
Audi pre sense .. .... .... ... .. .
Introduction ..... ... .. ..... .... . .
Genera l information ........... .. .
Audi pre sense basic .............. .
Audi pre sense front .............. .
Driver messages ................. .
Audi active lane ass ist ..... .. .
Lane assist .. .. ............ ..... . 86
8
6
87
92
94
94
94
94
94
96
98
98
Audi side assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Side assist ...... ............... .
Audi drive select ............. .
Driving settings ................. .
Automatic transmission ..... .
S tronic-transmiss ion ........... .. .
Parking systems
General information ........... .. .
Rea r parki ng system ............. .
Pa rking sys tem plus .............. .
Rea rv iew camera .... .. ....... ... .
Adju sting t he d isplay a nd the wa rning
tones . .... .... ................. .
Er ror messages . ... ... ..... ... .. .
102
106
106
109
109
118
118
119
119
120
124
124

M N
0 > co ...... \!) ..,.,
M ..,., ......
CD
@
®
©
®
®
(J)
®
Power windows
Door handle
Aud i side assist
........ .... .
Centra l locking switch ... .. .. .
Powe r exter ior mirror adjust­
ment
.. ... .............. ..
Light switch
Vents
L ever fo r:
- Turn signals and high beams
- Audi active lane assist ... .. .
® Steer ing wheel w ith horn and
- Drive r's airbag ....... .. .. .
- On-board computer controls
- MMI, telephone, nav igat ion
and voice recogn it ion system
controls
- tiptron ic shift paddles (auto-
matic transmission) ....... .
@ Instrument cluster .. ... .. .. .
@ W indshield washer system
l ever
' .. ... .............. . .
@ S teer ing column with:
- Ignit ion emergency operation
(in vehicles with conven ience
key) . .. ................. .
- Ignit ion lock (in vehicles with
mechanical key) ...... .. .. .
@ Adjustable s teer ing column
@ Depending on equipment :
- Cruise contro l lever . ...... .
- adaptive cruise contro l ... .. . 4
3
10 2
39
52
46
68
48 98
148 28
1 14
1 0
so
79
74
74
83
86
@ D river's knee a irbag . . . . . . . . . 161
@ Instrument i llumination . . . . . . 50
@ H ood re lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
@ Lugg age compartmen t release 42
@ Child safety lock button . . . . . . 43
@ MMI d isp lay (navigation , radio,
TV/video)
@ Glove compartment ( lockable)
@ Front passenger's airbag .. .. .
@ Treble speakers
@ Front passenger's knee airbag 61
148
161
Cockpi t 9
@) Depending on eq uipment, but­
tons for:
- Aud i drive select
- Parking a id p lus (or w ith rear-
view camera) .. . ... ...... .
- Emergency flashers ....... .
- Electron ic Stabilization Con-
trol ( ESC) . .. .... ........ .
- MMI Display
- Airbag
Off indicator ..... .. .
@ Depend ing on equ ipment:
- Manual climate cont ro l
system
- Automatic climate contro l sys­
t em
. . .. .. .. .... .........
@ Socket
@ S tronic se lector lever ....... .
@ Cup ho lder .. .. .. . ......... .
@ MMI On/Off button
@ MM I control panel
@ Parking brake ... . ... ...... .
@ I START ENGI NE STOPI button
(ve hicles w ith convenience key)
(D Tips
106
119
47
189
157
69
70
60
109
61
80
77
- Some the eq uipment listed here is only
installed in certain models or is available
as an option.
- Operat ion of the Multi Med ia Interface
(MMI) is described in a separate operat­
ing instructions manual. You can a lso
find info rmation on A udi con nect ther e.
•

106 Audi drive select
Audi drive select
Driving settings
Introduction
Applies to vehicles: with Audi drive select
Aud i d rive select makes it possibl e to expe ri­
e nce diffe ren t types of vehi cle sett ings in o ne
ve hicl e. The dr ive r can se lect from three
c om­
fort , auto and dynamic modes using the t.'i:.:1
button in the center conso le or the MM I to
switch between a sporty an d a comfortable
driving mode, for examp le. In the
individual *
mode, the sett ings can be ad justed to your
pe rsonal preferences. This makes it poss ib le
to comb ine settings such as a sporty eng ine
tuni ng with lig ht steer ing.
A WARNING ,_
Using Audi dr ive se lect i ncorrect ly can lead
t o co llisions, othe r accidents an d serio us
inju ries.
Description
Applies to vehicles: with Audi drive select
The vehicle setup in each mode depends on
the vehicle's features. However, t he engine
and steering are always affected .
Engine and automatic transmission
Depending on the m ode, the e ng ine and au to­
ma tic transm iss ion * respond more quickly or
in a more ba la nce d manner to acce lerator
pedal movements.
Adaptive dampers (Audi magnetic ride)*
T he adaptive dampers use senso rs to reco rd
in fo rma tion rega rding s teering moveme nts,
b rak ing and a cce le ra ti on ope rat ions by t he
d river, road s urface, driving spee d, an d load.
W ith Aud i drive se lect yo u can adjust the
adaptive dampe rs sporty (dynamic), comfort­
ab le (comfort) or balanced (auto).
Steering
T he stee ring ad apts in te rms o f stee ring assis­
tance. There are different modes
~ page 10 7.
Indirect stee ring that moves eas ily as in com -f
ort mode is es pec ially suited to long drives
o n a hig hway. The dynam ic mode provi des
spo rty, direct steer ing.
F o r vehicles wi th progressive stee ring * the
stee ring pe rformance is mo re agile.
Cornering light*
T he co rne ring light adjusts when driv ing on
c u rves a t speeds between 6 mph ( 10 km/h)
and 68 mph (1 10 km/h). The pivo ting act io n
and the light ing a re a lso adapted to the
mode.
Adaptive cruise control*
T he be hav io r whe n accelerating can be adjust­
ed from comfor tab le to spor ty, depend ing on
t h e Au di drive sele ct mo de. Ad aptive cr uise
control also responds to the driving behavior
of the vehicle ahead in a more co nservative or
spo rty manne r.
(D Tips
In some mo dels, the maxim um vehicle
sp eed can on ly be reache d in t he a uto and
d ynam ic modes.

M N
0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1"1
M 1.1"1 ,....,
Automatic
transmission S tronic-transmission
Introduction
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic transmiss ion
Your vehicle is equipped with an electronical­
l y -controlled DSG transmission called S tronic.
T wo independent clutches transfer the power
between the engine and transmission. It al­
lows the vehicle to accelerate without a no­
ticeable interruption in traction .
T he transmission upshifts or downshifts auto­
matically. The driving style continuously influ­
ences the selection of the driving program .
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
transmission selects the most econom ica l
driving mode. The transmission upshifts at a
lower RPM and downshifts at a higher RPM to
improve fuel effic iency .
T he transmission switches to a sporty mode
after a kick-down or when the driver uses a
sporty driving style characterized by quick ac­
celerator pedal movements, heavy accelera­
tion, frequent changes in speed and traveling
at the maximum speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode) r=> page 114,
Shifting manually (tiptronic mode) .
Selector lever positions
Applies to vehicles: with S tro nic transmission
Fig. 96 Instrument cluster: selector leve r positions
The instrument cluster display shows the cur­
rent selector lever position and current gear.
Automatic transmission 109
P -Park
The wheels are mechanically locked in this po­
sition. You can only shift into Park when the
vehicle is
stationary r=> &..
To shift in and out of the P selector lever posi­
tion, press the interlock button in the selector
lever
while pressing the brake peda l.
R- Reverse
Only shift into reverse gear when the vehicle is
stationary and the engine is running at idle
speed
r=> &. .
To select the R selector lever position, press
the interlock button
while press ing the brake
pedal. The back-up lights sw itch on in the R
pos ition if the ignition is switched on .
N -Neutral
The transm iss ion is in idle in this position .
DIS -Normal position for driving forward
In the D/S selector lever position , the trans ­
mission can be operated either in the normal
D mode or in the S sport mode. To select the S
spor t mode, pull the selector lever back brief­
ly. Pulling the lever back again will select the
normal D mode . The instrument cluster dis­
play shows the selected driving mode.
In the
normal mode D, the transmission auto­
matically selects the suitable gear ratio . It de­
pends on engine load, vehicle speed and driv­
ing style .
Select the
sport mode S for sporty driving .
The vehicle makes full use of the eng ine's
power. Shift ing may become noticeable when
acce lerat ing.
To move from selector lever position N to D,
you must press the brake pedal and the vehi­ cle must be traveling less than 1 mph (2 km/
h) or be stationary~ &.-
.&_ WARNING
Read and following all WARNINGS.
- The vehicle can roll even if the ignition is
switched off.
~
•

110 Autom atic tr an smi ssion
-Never select R or P while driving, because
this increases the risk of an accident.
- Power is still transmitted to the whee ls
when the eng ine is running at idle. To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake in all
selector lever positions (except P) when
the engine is runn ing. Otherwise, th is in­
creases the risk of an accident.
- Do not inadvertently press the accelera­
tor pedal when the vehicle is stopped if a
gea r is engaged. Otherwise the vehicle
will star t to move immediately, even if
the parking bra ke is set . This could result
in a crash .
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever position
whi le the vehicle is stationary and the
engine is running.
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running whi le in gear . If you must leave
yo ur vehicle when the engine is running,
set the park ing brake and move these ­
lector lever to the P position.
- Before opening the hood and working on
a running engine, select the P position
with the se lector lever and set the park­
ing brake. Always read and follow the ap­
plicable warnings
~ page 217, Working
in the engine compartment.
Q) Note
Never let the veh icle roll downhill with en­
gine off and the selector lever in the N po­
sition, because this cou ld damage the au­
tomatic transmission and cata lytic con­
verter.
@ Tips
- Audi drive select : Sporty shift ing cha rac­
terist ics can be se lected using th e
dy·
nam ic driving mode. Swill appear in the
i nstrument cl uste r display i nstead of D.
- If you accidenta lly sele ct N while driv ing,
take your foot off the acce le rator pedal
i mmedia tely and wait for the engine to
s low down to idle be fore se lecting Dor S . -
If there is a power failure, the selector
lever wi ll not move out of the P position.
The emergency re lease can be used i f
this happens
¢ page 116.
Selector lever lock '
Applies to vehicles: wi th S t ronic tra nsmi ssio n
The selector lever lock prevents you from se­
lecting a gear occidentally, causing the vehi­
cle to roll.
Fig . 97 Selecto r lever lock
To release the selector lever lock:
.. Switch on the ignition .
8 0 :,l. CX) .,
.. Press the brake pedal while pressing the in-
terlock button .
Automat ic shift loc k (AS L)
The selector lever is locked in the P and N po­
sitions when the ign ition is switched on. You
must press the brake pedal to select another
position. You must also press the interlock
button if you a re mov ing from the P position .
T he following message appears in the display
when the selector lever is in the P or N pos i­
t ion to remind the drive r:
When stationar y apply footbrake while se­
l e cting gear
The automatic shift lock only functions when
the vehicle is stationary or at speeds be low 1
mph (2 km/h) . At higher speeds, the lock is
automat ica lly deactivated in the N pos it ion.
The selector lever is not locked when shifting
quick ly through N, for example from R to D.
T his makes it possible to free the vehicle when
it is stuck by "rocking" it. The se lector lever
lock engages if the lever stays in the N

M N
0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1
M 1.1'1 ,....,
the overload. The ml indicator light
turns on and a message appears
Q page 115 when the clutch is overload­
ed .
-If the engine must run while you are
working in the eng ine compartment with
the hood open, make sure a gear is not engaged . T he selecto r leve r must be
firmly in the P pos ition and locked in
pla ce and t he pa rking brake must be set
Qpage217. Otherwise, the veh icle
cou ld beg in moving when the eng ine
speed is high, even with the parking
brake set.
W Note
- When stopping on an incline, do not try
to ho ld the vehicle in place by pressing
the accelerator peda l w hile a dr iving gear
i s selected. This can cause the automatic
transmission to overheat and can dam­
age it. Set the parking b rake or press the
brake pedal to p revent the veh icle from
ro lling .
- Allow ing the ve hicle to roll when the en­
gine is stopped and the selector lever is
i n the N position will damage the auto­
matic transmission beca use it is not lu­
b ricated unde r tho se c ircumstances.
- The t ransm ission can overheat and be
damaged under certa in d riving and traf­
fi c condition s suc h as frequent s tarts ,
creeping for a long time , or s top-and-go
traff ic. W hen the
ml or . indicator
light turns on, stop the vehicle at the
next oppo rtunity and let the t ransmis ­
s ion coo l
Qpage 115.
-Allow ing the ve hicle to roll when the en­
gine is stopped w ill damage the S tron ic
transmission because it is not lubricated
Q page 282 , Emergency towing with
commercial tow truck .
@ Tips
For safety reasons, the park ing brake re­
leases automatically only when the driver's
door is closed and dr iver 's safety belt is
fastened.
Automa tic tran sm iss ion 113
Hill descent control
App lies to vehicles : wi th 5 tronic tra nsmi ssio n
Hill descent control assists the driver when
driving down hills .
Hill descent control is activated when these­
l ector lever is in the D or S position and you
press the brake peda l. The transmission auto ­
matically selects a gear that is suitable for the
i ncl ine. Hill descent cont ro l t ries to ma inta in
t h e speed ac hieved a t the t ime of b raking,
within physic al and tec hnical lim it a tions. If
may sti ll be ne cessa ry to adju st the speed
with t he b rakes . Because hi ll descent control
cannot sh ift down farthe r than 3rd gear, it
may be necessary to sh ift into t iptronic mode
in very steep areas. In this case, shift into 1st
o r 2nd gear in tiptro nic mode to use the en­
gine's brak ing force to relieve the brakes .
Hill descent control switches off once the hi ll
levels out or you press the accelerator pedal.
On vehicles with a cruise contro l system*
Q page 83, hill descent control is also activat ­
ed when the speed is set .
A WARNING
-
Hill descent control cannot overcome
physical lim itations, so it may not be ab le
to maintain a co nsta nt speed unde r all
conditions . A lways be ready to apply the
b rakes .
•

114 Automatic transmission
Shifting manually (tiptronic mode)
Applies to vehicles: with S tron ic t ransmiss ion/ s hift pa d­
d les
The tiptronic allow the driver to shift the
gears manually.
F ig. 99 Cente r console : manual shifting with the selec·
tor lever
Fi g. 100 Steer ing whee l: manua l sh ift ing w ith the s hift
paddles•
Shifting with the selector lever
You can shift into tiptronic mode while sta­
tionary and while driving.
.. To shift into tiptronic mode, pus h the selec­
tor lever from the D/S setting to the right in
the tiptronic shift gate . Once the transmis­
s ion has switched modes, the selector lever
pos it ion
M is shown in the instrument clus­
ter display
c:> page 109, fig. 96. For example
M4, means the fourth gear is engaged.
.. To shift up a gea r, tap the selector lever for­
ward
0 c:>fig. 99.
.. To shift down a gear, tap the selector lever
to back Q.
Shifting with the shift paddles*
You can operate the shift paddles in the D/S or
M (tiptronic shift gate) selector lever posi­
tions. ..
To shift up one gear, tap the shift paddle
0
c:> fig. 100.
.. To shift down one gear, tap the shift paddle
o.
If the shift padd les are tapped while in the D/
S selector lever position, automatic mode
switches
off briefly . To switch from manually
shifting back to automatic sh ifting immedi­
ately, tap the shift paddle
0 c:> fig. 100 for 1
second.
To keep shifting using the shift paddles, move
the selector lever to the rig ht out of the D/
S position into the tiptronic shift gate.
The transmission automatically shifts up or
down before critical engine speed is reached.
T he transmission only allows manual shifting
when the engine speed is within the permit­
ted range.
(D Tips
- If you shift to the next lowest gear, the
transmission w ill only shift if the engine
will not be over-revved.
- With kick-down, the transmission shifts
to a lower gear, depending on vehicle
speed and engine speed.
- tiptronic does not work if the transmis­
sion is run ning in emergency mode.
· Kick-down
App lies to vehicles: wit h S t ronic tra nsmi ssio n
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
When yo u press the accele rator pedal down
beyond the resistance point, the automatic
transmission downshifts into a lower gear, de­
pending on vehicle speed and engine RPM. It
shifts up into the next higher gear once the
maximum specified engine RPM is reached.
A WARNING
-Please note that the wheels could spin on
slick or slippery roads when kick-down is
active.

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. ..,.