
Transmission S tronic transmission
Introduction
Your vehicle is equipped with a S tronic trans miss ion, also called a double-clutch system/
transmission.
Power is transferred between the engine and
the transmission by means of two i ndepend
ent clutches. They replace the to rque convert
e r of conventional automat ic transm iss ions
and a llow the vehicle to acce lerate without a
noticeable break in the power flow .
W ith the aid
of tiptr oni c, the gea rs can op
tionally be sh ifted
manually¢ page 84.
Selector lever positions
All the selector lever positions are explained
in this section.
F ig . 89 Display: Selector lever position
The instrument cluster display shows these
l ector lever position.
P -Park loc k
In th is position the gea rs are mechan ically
l ocked .
The park lock must on ly be engaged with the
ve hicle
stationary¢ /1. .
To engage P and to remove the lever from th is
position, you must depress the release button
(button in the selector lever handle)
and si
multaneously you must step on the brake
pedal.
Tran sm iss ion 8 1
R -re ver se
In this position, reverse is engaged.
Reverse gear must only be engaged w ith the
vehicle
stationary and the engine ru nning at
idle speed ¢
/1..
To engage R, you have to depress the release
button
and simultaneously step on the brake
pedal. I n the R pos ition, the bac k-up lights il
luminate w ith the ignition on.
N -Neutral
The transm iss ion is in neutral in this pos ition.
D -Normal po sition fo r dri ving fo rward
In this position, the forward gears are auto
matically shifted up and down, depending on
engine load and vehicle speed.
T o engage D from
N, the brake pedal must be
depressed at speeds below 3 mph (5 km/h) or
when the vehicle is stationary¢&. .
In certa in circ umstances (driving in the moun
tains for examp le) it can be beneficia l to
switch temporari ly to the man ual shift pro
gram ¢
page 84 in order to adjust the gear
ratios to driving conditions
manually .
S -Sport setting
The S set ting should be se lected for sporty
driving. The power reserves of the engine can
be fully exploited through later upshifts.
T o e ngage 5 from N, the b rake peda l must be
depressed at speeds below 3 mph (5 km/h) or
when the vehicle is stationary¢&. .
A WARNING
-Never p lace the selector lever i n the R or
P posit ion while the veh icle is moving -
risk of an accident!
- With the engine r unning, it is necessary
to hold the vehicle with the foot brake in
all se lector lever positions (except P and
N), because even at idle speed the trans
fe r of power is never completely inter
r u pted -the vehicle "creeps". If t he vehi
cle is stat io nary and the transm ission is

82 Transmi ssion
engag ed, the engine shou ld neve r be
spe eded up unintentionally (e.g. manual
ly from under the hood). Otherwise the
vehicle will immediately start to move -
sometimes even if the parking brake is
firmly applied -risk of an accident!
- Before you or other persons open the
hood and work on a running eng ine, the
selector lever must be move d to P and
t h e parking bra ke applied fi rm ly -ris k of
an a ccident! Fo ll ow the warning stickers .
a) Tips
If you have inadvertently s hifted into N
while the veh icle is moving, you should r e
move your foo t from the accelerato r and
wait until the eng ine speed h as droppe d to
id le before shifting back to Dor S.
Selector lever lock
The selec tor Lever Lo ck prevents a gear from
being engaged occidentally and unintention
ally setting the vehicle in motion .
Fig. 90 Selecto r lever lo cks
The selector lever lock is released as follows:
.. Switch the ign ition on .
.. Step on the brake pedal
and simultaneous ly
hold down the release button .
Automatic selector lever lock
The selector lever is locked in the P and N po
sitions when the ignition is on. To move the
leve r from t hese positions the d river m ust de
press the brake pedal. As a reminder to the
driver, the fo llowing warning appears in the
inst rument cluster d isp lay when the selector
is in P and N :
To start engine or select gear apply foot
brake when stationar y
The selec tor leve r lock is effec tive on ly w hen
t h e veh icle is stationary and a t speeds below
3 m ph (5 km/h). At higher speeds, the lock in
t h e N position is automatica lly switched off .
T he selec tor leve r is not locked whe n rap id
shifts are made through the N posi tion (e.g.
from R to D). This a llows you to "rock" the ve
hicle if it becomes stuck. If the lever is in the
N position for more than 1 second with the
brake pedal not depre ssed, the selector lock
engages au tomatically.
Release button
T he re lease bu tton in the selector lever han
dle prevents accidenta l shifts into certain se
lector leve r positions. When you press the re
lease button, the selector lever lock is cancel
led. In the illustration, the posit ions i n which
the re lease button has to be p res sed are high
lighted in color ~
fig. 90 .
Ignition key remo val lock
The ign it ion key can only be removed after the
ignition is sw itched off if the selector lever is
in P . As long as the igni tion key is removed ,
the selector lever is locked in P.
(D Tips
If the se lector lever does not engage,
the re is a malfunction. The engine is disa
bled to prevent t he veh icle from drivi ng off
unintentionally . To allow the selector lever
to engage aga in, p roceed as follows: Press
an d release the bra ke peda l.

Driving Notes
The forward gears are shifted up or down au
tomatically.
--
-
-
-
-
-
--Fig . 91 Sect io n from center co nsole: Sele ctor leve r
wit h release bu tto n
Starting the engine
.. The selector lever must be in the P or the N
position. At low temperatures (below -10
0 (), the engine can only be started when the
selector lever is in the P position .
Starting from stop
.. Step on and hold the brake pedal.
.. Hold the release button (button in se lector
lever) down, move the selector lever to the
desired position, for example D
c:> page 81,
and release the button .
.. Release the brake pedal and accelerate
¢,& .
Stopping temporarily
.. Bring the vehicle to a full stop with the
brake, e.g . at traffic signals .
.. Do not accelerate .
Parking
.. Step on and hold the brake pedal¢_& .
.. Apply the parking brake firmly.
.. Hold the release button down, move these
lector lever to P and release the button.
Stopping on an incline
.. Always hold the vehicle with the footbrake
or parking brake in order to prevent "roll
back"
¢ _& . Do not try to prevent the vehi
cle from rolling back by rewing the engine
while it is in gear.
Transmission 83
Starting on a hill
.. Apply the hand brake firmly.
.. With the engine in gear, gradually acceler-
ate and release the hand brake.
The engine can only be
started with the selec
tor lever in P or N
c:> page 7 3. At low amb ient
temperatures (14
°F /-10 °C), it is only possi
ble to start the engine with the selector lever
in P.
When parking on level ground, it is sufficient
to place the selector lever in P. On a steeply
sloping road, you should first apply the park
ing brake firmly and then place the selector
lever in P. This way, you do not overload the
pawl mechanism and it is easier to move the
selector lever out of P .
A WARNING
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running while in gear . If you must leave
your veh icle with the engine running, set
the parking brake and engage the park
lock .
- When the engine is running and the
transmission is in gear (D, Sor R) or in
"t iptroni c" mode, it is essential that you
stop the vehicle with the footbrake .
When idling, the transmission of power
does not stop completely - the vehicle
"creeps".
- Do not accelerate when you change the selector lever position with the vehicle
stationary and the engine running - risk
of an accident!
- Never place the selector lever in the R or
N position while the vehicle is moving -
risk of an accident!
- If you have to bring your vehicle to a stop
while on an incline, keep the foot brake depressed all the way down so that the
vehicle does not start to roll backward .
You should never hold the vehicle using
the clutch if you are going to be stopped
on an incline. If you do, the clutch w ill
start to slip when it overheats caused by
the constant overload. This is dangerous .,.

~ 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
c:> page 60.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it deploys. 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 adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and
the lower part of the instrument panel.
- 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 in
flates
- 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-
Driving Safely 93
ed ly 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 seats
c:> page 129 . Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front passenger seat
c:> page 108.
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 :
~ 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.
~ Adjust the head restraint so that the upper
edge is as even w ith the top of your head as
possible but not lower than eye level and so
that it is as close to the back of your head as
possible
c:> page 94.
~ Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat .
~ Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
c:> page 103.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
c:> page 59 .
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:
•
•

~ Distribute the load evenly in the luggage
compartment.
~ Always place and properly secure heavy items in the luggage compartment as far
forward as possible.
& WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle causing serious
personal injury in the event of hard brak
ing or an accident. To help reduce the risk
of serious personal injury :
- Always put objects, for example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com
partment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compartment using the tie-down eyelets
and suitable straps.
& WARNING , ~
Heavy loads will influence the way your ve
hicle handles. To help reduce the risk of a
loss of control leading to serious personal
injury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
vehicle handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat
ing or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per
missible weight standards can cause the
vehicle to slide and handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driv
ing
~ page 91.
& WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always
keep the rear lid closed while driving.
- Never transport objects larger than
-
those fitting completely into the luggage
Driving Safely 97
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the convertible top,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
& WARNING ~
Always make sure that the doors, all win-
dows, the convertible top and the rear lid
are securely closed and locked to reduce
the risk of injury when the vehicle is not
being used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked .
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es
pecially with the rear lid left open . A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
(D Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce window
fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel, on the
left side of the luggage compartment. Be sure to keep these slots free and
open.
- The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la
bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar .
The tire pressure label lists the ..,_ •
•

-Never strap more than one person, in
cluding small children, into any single
safety belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit
ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being driv
en.
- Never let any person ride with feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of being injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
may cause injury.
- Never wear the shoulder part of the belt under your arm or otherwise out of posi
tion.
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in
terfere with correct positioning of belts
and reduce their effectiveness.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latch
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt. Howev
er, special clips may be required for the
correct use of some child restraint sys
tems.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam
aged by being caught in door or seat hardware.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear and
damaged belt ha rdware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly.
If web
bing, bindings, buckles, or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop . Replacement may be necessa-
Safety belts 103
ry even if damage cannot be clearly seen.
Anchorages that were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety belts yourself .
- Always keep the belts clean . Dirty be lts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inertia reel¢
ta
ble Cleaning interior on page 156.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 106 Belt buck le and to ngue on t he driv er's se at
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint
properly ¢
page 59, General recommenda
tions.
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even
ly across the chest and pelvis
c:> _& .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢fig . 106.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat
ic belt retractor on the shoulder belt . This fea
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and in an accident .
The belt may a lso lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sha rp curve.

104 Safety belts
During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
q page 15.
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a switchable locking fea
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
¢ page 137.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 104, Safety belt position .
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly positioned on the
body .
-
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
effectiveness and can cause serious per
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
belt itself when it moves from the stron-
ger parts of the body into critical areas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the convertible locking re
t ractor when you are securing a child
seat in the vehicle
q page 139.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 107 Safety belt position
Standard features on your vehicle help you ad
just the position of the safety belt to match
your body size .
- height-adjustable front seats .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci
dent.
-
- The shoulder belt should lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as possible and should fit well on the body. Hold the
belt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pelvis and there is
no pressure on the abdomen . The belt
should always fit snugly
¢ fig . 10 7. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary .
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo
men . Make sure the belt lies flat and
snug
q fig. 107. Pull on the belt to tight
en if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri
ous injuries by shifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more vulnerable, soft tissue and cause serious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢page 102.

120 Airbag sys te m
described in the child restraint manufactur
er 's instructions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea
ture on the safety be lt for the front passen
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight. The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the seat can do its job
c> page 13 7.
- make sure that things that may increase the
weight of the child and child safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen sor is not blocked . Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenger seat back and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is bei ng used to tie the
child safety seat to t he front passenger
seat, make sure t hat it is no t so tight that it
ca uses the we ight -sensing mat to meas ure
more weight than is actua lly on the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
doe s not come on and does not stay on con
tinuously (when the igni tion is sw itched on),
- take the ch ild restraint off the front passen-
ger seat and have the ai rbag system inspect
ed by you r A udi dealer immediate ly .
The PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light should
NO T come on when the ign ition is on and an
adult is sitt ing in a p rope r seating pos it ion on
the front passenger seat. If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds whi le driving, un
der these circumstances, make s ure that:
- the ad ult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat
c u shion with his or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
c> page 92, Prop er occupant seating posi
tions,
- th e ad ult is not taking weight off the seat by
ho lding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door, - the sa
fety belt is being properly wo rn and
that there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webb ing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the fron t passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
In addition to the PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
li ght in the center of the instr ument panel,
the message PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON will briefly appear
i n the i nstr ument cluster d isplay. This is to i n
form the dr iver of the current front passenge r
airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An a irbag system that is not functioning
p roperly cannot p rovide supplemental pro
tection in a frontal c rash.
- If the airbag ind icator light comes on, i t
means that there may be something
wrong with t he Advanced Airbag System.
It is poss ible that the ai rbag w ill inflate
when it is not supposed to, or will not in
f late when it sho uld .
- Have the airbag system inspected imme
d iate ly by yo ur Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without
a child restraint, in a rea rward-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing child re
straint that has not been properly installed
will be serious ly injured and can be killed.
- Even tho ugh your vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced A irbag System, make
certain that all children, espec ially 12
yea rs and younger, always ride properly
restrained fo r their age and size.
-