2016 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET Owners Manual

Driving
at idle for approxim ately two minutes before
shutting it
off.
Starting the engine if there is a
malfunction
A pp lies to: ve hicles w ith conve nien ce key
It may not be possible to start the engine under
certain circumstances, for example if the battery
in the vehicle key is drained, if interference is af­
fected the key or if there is a system malfunc ­
tion .
Fig. 77 Steering co lumn/ remote control key: start ing t he
eng ine if th ere is a malfu nct ion
As long as the message t>>) Key not recognized.
See owner' s manual
appears, you can start yo ur
ve hicle using the emergency sta rt function .
• Press t he b rake pedal ¢
A in Starting the en­
gine with the
ST ART ENGINE STOP button on
page 70 .
• Press the ~1s= T~A~R~ T~E~N~G~I~ N~E~s= T=o=P~I b utton .
• Hold t he maste r key in the location indica ted as
shown in the i llus trati on
t>>) Q fig. 77. The en ­
g ine w ill sta rt .
• If the engine does not automatically start,
press the
I START ENGINE STOPI button again .
D rive to an a uth o riz ed Aud i de aler or a uthori zed
Aud i Serv ice Facility immediately to have the
malfunct io n corrected .
Y ou ca n disp lay the me ss a ge th at appe ars
durin g an eme rgency by pressing the
!START ENGINE STOPI* button.
72
Messages
Turn off ignition before leaving car. Battery is
discharging
This mes sage appears and a warning tone sounds
i f you open t he drive r's doo r w hen t he ig nition is
swi tched on . Switch the igni tion
off so that the
batte ry will not discharge .
Pressing start/stop button again will switch off
engine!
This message appears w hen you press the
I STAR T EN GINE STOP~ button while dr iv ing
¢ page 71, Emergency off fun ction*.
Engine start system malfun ction. Please con­
tact Service
The eng ine automat ic start system has a mal­
funct ion. Dr ive to an a uthorized Audi dea le r or
authorized Aud i Serv ice Facility immedia tely to
have the malfunct ion cor rected. To s tart the en­
gine, press an d hold the
I START ENGINE STOPI
button.
II Key not re cogniz ed. S ee owner 's manual
This message appears if there is no conven ience
key i nside the vehicle or if the system does not
recognize the key . The convenience key may not
be recognized, for example, if i t is covered by an
ob ject tha t
disrupts the signa l (such as a br ief­
c a se), or if the key battery is we ak. Elec tron ic de ­
vices such as cell phones c an also inte rfe re wi th
the signa l.
To still be ab le to start o r stop the engine, refer
to ''Co rrecting a malfu nction"
Q page 7 2.
Ill Key not in vehicle?
The Ill indicator light t urns on and th is message
appears if the convenience key was removed from
the vehicle when the engine was ru nning. If the
convenience key is no longe r in the veh icle, yo u
cannot sw itch the ignition on or sta rt the e ng ine
o nce you stop it . In addition, you canno t loc k the
vehicle from the outside.
Press brake pedal
This message appears if yo u do not press the
brake peda l when starting the engine.

<( co ..... N
" N ..... 0
" > 00
Please select N or P
This message appears when starting or stopping
the eng ine if the selector lever is not in the Nor P
position . The eng ine will not sta rt/stop.
Shift to P , veh icle can roll away. D oors can onl y
b e loc ked in P
This message appears for safety reasons along
with a warning tone.
It appears if the selector
l ever for the automatic transmission is not in the
P posit ion when switching the ignition off with
the
! STAR T ENGINE ST OPI* button . S hi ft these­
l ecto r lever to the P position. Otherwise, the veh i­
cle could roll. You also cannot lock the vehicle us­
ing the locking sensor on the door handle or us­
ing the convenience key .
Electromechanical
parking brake
Operating
The electromechanical parking brake replaces
the hand brake .
Fig. 78 Center console : p arking brake
.,. Pull the (I) sw itch to set the park ing brake
c> fig . 78 . The - (USA models)/ . (Canada
models) indicator lights in the button and in
the instrument cluster d isplay turn on .
.,. To release the parking brake , press the b rake o r
acce lera to r ped al wh ile the igni tion is sw itched
on and p ress the
(D swi tch at the same t ime.
The - (USA models) /. (Canada mode ls)
indicator lights turn on in the b utton and in the
display .
Your veh icle is equipped with an e lectromechani ­
cal parki ng b rake. The park ing brake is designed
D rivi ng
to prevent the vehicle from ro lling unintent ional­
ly and replaces the hand brake.
In add ition to the normal f unctions of a trad i­
t iona l hand b rake, the elec tromechanical parking
brake provides va rious convenience and safety
functions .
When starting from a stop
- The integral hill start assist he lps yo u when
driving by automa tically re leas ing the pa rking
brake
c> page 74 , Starting from a stop.
- When starting on inclines, the h ill sta rt assist
p revents the veh icle from un in tentionally ro ll­
ing back . The braking force of the parking brake
is not re leased unt il sufficient dr iving force has
been b uilt up at the whee ls.
Emergency brake function
An emergency bra kin g f unction ensures that the
vehicle can be slowed down even if the
normal
brakes fail c> page 75, Emergency braking
function .
A WARNING
---=---Do not press the acce le rator pedal inadver­
tently when the vehicle is stat ionary and the
engine is running a nd a gear is selected.
Othe rw ise the vehicle will start to move im­
mediately and could result in a crash.
- If the power supply fails, the re leased park­
ing b rake can no longer engage . In this
case, park the vehicle on level ground and
secure it by plac ing the selecto r leve r in t he
P positio n. See an a utho riz e d Aud i dea le r o r
author ized A udi Se rvice Facility for assis­
tance.
(D Note
If the . or 111111 (USA mo dels) /. (Canada
models) indica to r lig ht in the inst rument
clus ter blinks, the re is a malf unc tion in the
brake system. Refer to the detailed descrip ­
tion of the indicator lights
i=>page 15.
-If the - indic a tor light (USA mode ls)/
• (Canada models) or
l!I turns o n, there is
a parking brake malfunction
c> page 15. ..,_
73

Driving
(D Tips
-If the parking brake is set while the ignition
i s sw itched off, the
tG)a indicator light in the
b utton and in the instrument cluster dis­
play - (USA models)/ . (Canada mod­
e ls) will turn off after a certain amount of
time.
- If dr iver's door is opened while the ign ition
i s sw itched on, the pa rking brake sets a uto­
ma tically. T his prevents unin tended ro lling
of the vehicle.
- Occasiona l noises when the parking brake is
set and re leased a re no rmal a nd a re not a
cause for con cer n.
- When the vehicle is par ked, the park ing
b rake goes thro ugh a se lf-test cycle at reg u­
l a r int erva ls. A ny no is es asso ciated with th is
a re normal.
- If t here is a power fa ilure, the p arking bra ke
will not se t if i t is re le a se d, and it will not
r ele ase if it is set¢.&.. See an au thori zed
A udi dealer or au thorized A ud i Service Fa ­
cility for ass istance .
Parking
~ Press the brake pedal to stop the vehicle.
~ Pull the (D switch to set the park ing brake
¢ page 73, fig. 78 .
~ Place the selector lever in the P pos ition.
~ Turn the eng ine off ¢&_ .
~ Turn the steering whee l when pa rking on in­
clin es so that the whee ls will roll into the curb
if the ve hicle starts mov ing .
A WARNING
-Always take the vehicle key with you when
leaving the vehicle, even fo r a short period
of time. This applies particularly when chi l­
dren rema in in the veh icle . Otherwise ch il­
dren could start the engine, release the
par kin g brake or operate elect rical eq uip­
me nt such as powe r windows, which in­
c reases the ris k of an acc ident.
- When the vehicle is locked, no one -particu­
larly not children -sho uld rem ain i n the ve­
hicle. Loc ked doors ma ke it more diffic ult
74
-
for emergency workers to get into the vehi­
cle, which puts lives at risk.
Starting from a stop
The start assist function ensures that the park ­
ing broke is released automatically upon start­
ing.
Stopping and sett ing the parking brake
~ Pull the (D swi tc h to set t he pa rking brake
¢ page 73, fig . 78 .
Starting and automatically releasing the
parking brake
Require ment: the d river 's doo r mus t be closed
and the driver 's sa fe ty belt must be fastened.
~ When you press the acce lerato r pedal, the
parking bra ke is a utomat ica lly re leased and
your veh icle begi ns to move.
When stopp ing at a traff ic signa l or stopping in
c ity traff ic, the par king b rake can be applied . The
vehicle does no t have to be held wi th the brake
pedal. The par king bra ke elim inates the ten dency
to creep when a se lector lever posi tion is engag ­
ed. As soon as you p ress the accelerator pedal,
the parking brake releases a utomat ica lly and the
vehicle starts to move.
Starting on slopes
When star ting on in cli nes, the hill start assist
prevents the vehicle from unintentiona lly rolling
b ack . The b raking force of t he parking brake is
not re leased unti l sufficient dr iv ing force has
been built up at the wheels.
@ Tips
F o r safety reasons, the parking brake is re­
l eased a utomatica lly on ly when the driver 's
safety be lt is fastened and the driver's door is
l ocked.

<( co .... N r--­N .... 0 r--­> co
Emergency braking function
In the event that the conventional brake system
fails or locks.
11-To brake your vehicle in an emergency, pull the
s wi tch (D and hold it¢
page 73, fig. 78.
11-As soon as you release the switch (Dor acceler -
ate , the brak ing stops.
Pulling and holding the switch (D while driving at
a speed of about 2 mph (3 km/h) or higher ini ­
tiates the emergency b raking function . The vehi­
cle brakes at all four whee ls by act ivat ing the
b raking hydrauli cs. The b rake perfo rmance is
sim ilar to heavy braking.¢.&
To reduce the r isk of activating the emergency
braking by mistake, an audible warning tone
(buzzer) so unds when the switch (Dis pulled.
E mergency braking stops as soon as the
switch (Dis released o r the accelerator pedal is
pressed.
A WARNING
Emergency braking should only be used in an
emergency, when the normal brake pedal has
failed or the brake pedal is obstructed. Dur ing
emergency braking, your vehicle will brake
sim ilar to heavy braking . ESC and the associ ­
ated components (ABS, ASR, EDL) cannot
overcome the laws of physics. In corners and
when road o r weathe r cond itions are bad, a
full brake application can cause the vehicle to skid or the rear end to break away, wh ich in ­
creases the risk of an accident.
Hill hold
Appl ies to: ve hicles with hill hold assist
Hill hold makes it easier to start on hills.
Requiremen t: the d river's door must be closed
and the eng ine must be r unning.
The system is act ivated when the brake pedal is
p ressed wh ile the vehicle is stat iona ry .
T o prevent the veh icle from rolling back when
starting , the brake power is held for a brief mo ­
ment afte r releasing the brake pedal. Dur ing this
time, you can eas ily beg in to move you r vehicle.
D riv ing
A WARNING
- The intelligent technology of Hill Hold can­
not overcome the limitat ions imposed by
natural phys ical laws. The increased comfort
offe red by Hi ll Hold shou ld no t cause you to
take safety risks.
- Hill Hold cannot hold the vehicle in a ll hill
start s ituations (for example, if the g round
is slippery or icy) .
- I f you do not beg in moving immediately af­
ter releasing the b rake peda l, the vehi cle
could begin to roll ba ckward under certain
circumstances . Press the bra ke pedal or set
the parking brake immediately .
- If the engine "stalls", press the brake peda l
or set the parking bra ke immed iate ly.
- Stop-and-go traffic on inclines: to help pre­
vent the vehicle from rolling back when con­
tinuing to drive, press and hold the brake
pedal for several seconds when the vehicle
is stationary.
(D Tips
You can find out if your vehicle is eq uipped
with Hill Hold by checking at an authorized
A udi dealer or authorized Audi Service Fac ili­
ty.
75

Automatic transmissio n
Automatic transmission
S tronic
Introduction
A pp lies to: ve hicles w ith au tomat ic tra nsmi ssio ns
Your veh icle is equipped with an electronically­
controlled DSG t ransm iss ion called S t ronic. Two
independent cl utches transfer the power be ­
tween the engine and t ransmission . It allows the
vehicle to accelerate without a noticeab le inter ­
ruption in traction.
The transm ission upshifts o r downshifts auto ­
mat ica lly. The driving sty le continuously influen ­
ces the selection of the driving program.
When a
mod erat e dri ving styl e is used, the
transmission se lects the most eco nomical d riving
mode . The t ransmission upshifts at a lower RPM
and downshifts at a higher RPM to improve fuel
efficiency.
The transm ission switches to a spo rty mode afte r
a kick-down or when the driver uses a
s port y
dri ving style
characterized by quick accelerator
pedal movements, heavy acce leration, frequent
changes in speed and traveling at the maximum
speed.
I f desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode) ¢ page 81, Shifting
manually (tiptronic mode).
Selector lever positions
A ppl ies to: ve hicles w ith a uto mat ic t ra n smi ssio ns
F ig. 79 Instrument cluster: selec tor lever posit ions
The instrument cluste r display shows the current
selector lever position and current gear .
76
P - Park
The w heels a re mechan ically locked in t his posi ­
tion . Yo u can only sh ift into Park when the vehi­
cle is
stationary ¢.&. .
To sh ift in and ou t of the P selecto r leve r posi­
tion, press the interlock button in the selector
l ever
while pressing the brake peda l.
R- Reverse
Only shift into reverse gear when the veh icle is
stationary and the engine is run ning at id le
speed¢ ,&..
To select the R selector lever position, press the i nterlock button
while pressing the brake pedal.
The back- up lights switch on i n the R pos ition if
the ign it io n is switched on.
N - Neutral
The transmission is in idle in th is position.
D /S - No rmal po sition fo r dri ving fo rw ard
In the D/S se lector lever position, the transmis­
sion can be operated either in the normal D mode
or in the S sport mode. To select the S sport
mode, pull the selector lever back br iefly. Pulling
the lever back aga in will select the normal D
mode . The instrument cluster display shows the
selected driving mode.
In the
normal m ode D, the transmission auto­
matically selects the suitable gear ratio . It de­
pends on engine load, veh icle speed and driving
style .
Se lect the
sport mo de S for sporty driving. The
vehicle makes full use of the engine's power .
Sh ift ing may become noticeable when accelerat­
i ng .
To move from selector lever pos ition N to D, you
must press the brake pedal and the veh icle must
be traveling less than 1 mph (2 km/h) or be sta­
tionary ¢,&. .
&, WARNING
Read and fo llow all WARNINGS.
- The vehicle can roll even if the ig nit ion is
sw itched off.

<( co ..... N
" N ..... 0 r--. > 00
-Never select R or P while driving, because
this increases the risk of an accident.
- Power is sti ll transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is running at idle. To pre­
vent 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 increases the r isk
of an accident.
- Do not inadvertently press the accelerator
peda l when the veh icle is stopped if a gear is
engaged . Otherwise the veh icle w ill start to
move immediately, even if the pa rking brake
is set . Th is cou ld res ult in a crash.
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever pos ition while
the vehicle is stationary and the engine is running .
- Never leave yo ur vehicle wi th t he engine
running wh ile in gear. If yo u must leave
your vehicle when the engine is running, set the parking brake and move the selector lev­
er to the P position.
- Due to an accident risk, the selector lever
must be in the
P pos ition and the parking
brake must be set before opening the hood
and working on a running engine. Always
read and follow the applicable warnings
¢ page 188, Working in the engine com­
partment .
(D Note
Never let the veh icle roll downhill with engi ne
off and the selector lever in the N position,
because this could damage the automatic
tra nsmission and cata lytic converter .
@ Tips
- Audi drive select: Sporty shifting character ­
i stics can be selected using the
D ynamic
d riving mode. 5 wi ll appea r in the in stru­
ment cluster disp lay instead of D .
- If yo u accidentally select N while driv ing ,
take your foot off the accele rato r pedal im­
med iate ly and w ait for the engine to slow
down to idle before se lecting Dor 5 .
Automa tic tr ansm iss ion
-If there is a power failure, the se lector lever
wi ll not move out of the P position. The
eme rgency re lease can be used if t his hap­
pens
¢ page 83 .
Selector lever lock
Applies to : vehicles with automatic transmissions
The s elector l ever lock prevents you from sel ect ­
ing a gear occidentally , causing the veh icle to
roll .
Fig . 80 Sele cto r lever lock
To release the se lector lever lock:
.,. Switch on the ign ition .
•
lll 0 0
> a, .. Press the brake pedal while pressing the inter-
lock button .
Automatic shift lock (ASL)
The selector lever is locked in the P a nd N posi­
t ions when the ignition is switched on. You must
press the brake pedal to select another position .
You must also press the interlock button if you
are moving from the P position. The following
message appears in the d isplay when the se lector
lever is in the P or N posit io n to rem ind the driv­
er:
When station ary apply footbrake while select ­
ing
gear
T he automatic sh ift lock only funct ions w hen the
vehicle is stat ionary or at speeds below I mph
(2 km/h) . At higher speeds, the lock is au toma ti­
ca lly deac tiva ted in the N pos it ion.
T he selector lever is not locked when shifting
quickly through N, for example from R to D . This
makes it possibl e to free the vehicle when it is ..,.
77

Automatic transmission
stuck by "rocking" it. The selector lever lock en­
gages if the lever stays in the N position longer
than approximately 2 seconds when the brake
pedal is not pressed .
Interlock button
The interlock button in the selector lever handle
prevents you from moving the selector lever in­
advertently while in some se lector lever posi­
tions. The positions that require the lock button
to be pressed are marked in color in the illustra­
tion
c> fig. 80.
Ignition key safety interlock*
You can only remove the key from the ignition af­
ter switching the ignition off if the selector lever
is in the P position. The selector lever wi ll be
locked in the P position as long as the key is not
in the ignition .
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS. c> A in Selec­
tor lever positions on page 76.
(D Tips
-If the se lector lever does not engage, there
i s a malfunction . The eng ine is disabled to
prevent the vehicle from driving off unin­
tentiona lly . Press the brake pedal br iefly to
al low the selector lever lock to engage
again .
-If the vehicle does not move forward or in
r everse even though a drive position is se­
lected, proceed as follows:
- >If the vehicle does not move in the desired
direction, the system may not have engaged
the drive position correctly. Press the brake
pedal and select the drive position again.
-> If the vehicle st ill does not move in the de­
sired direction, there is a system malfunc­
tion. See an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility for assistance
to have the system checked.
78
Driving tips
Applies to: vehicles with automatic transmissions
The transmission shifts up and down automati­
cally when in the driving gears.
Fig. 81 Sect ion of t he ce nter console: se lector lever with
interlock button
The engine will only be able start when the selec­
tor lever is in the P or N pos itions . At low temper ­
atures (below 14 °F (-10 °()), the engine can only
be started when the selector lever is in the P po­
sition.
Starting from a stop
"' Press and hold the brake pedal.
"' Press and hold the interlock button in these­
lector lever handle, select the desired selector
lever position such as D
c> page 76 and release
the lock button.
"' Wait a moment until the transmission shifts.
You will notice a slight movement when the gear engages.
"' Release the brake pedal and press the accelera­
tor pedal
c> .&. -
Stopping temporarily
"'Keep the vehicle stationary using the braking
pedal, for example at traffic lights .
"' Do not press the acce lerator pedal when doing
this.
"' To prevent the vehicle from rolling when you
start driving, set the parking brake when stop­
ping on steep incl ines
c> ,&. .
"'The parking brake will release automat ically
and the vehicle will start moving once you p ress
the acce lera tor pedal. Requirement: the driv­
er's doo r must be closed and the driver's safety
belt must be fastened . ..,.

<( co .... N ,.__
N .... 0 ,.__
> co
Stopping /p ark ing
If the selecto r lever is not in the P position when
you open the driver's door, the vehicle could rol l.
I n vehicles with a convenience key*, the message :
Shift to P, v eh icle can roll awa y. Doo rs can be
lo cked onl y i n P
appears. You will also hear a
warning tone.
~ Press and hold the brake pedal¢.&_ .
~ Set the parking brake.
~ Select the P selector lever pos ition.
Stopp ing on an incline
~ Always press the brake peda l to hold the vehi­
cle in place and prevent it from "rolling back"
¢
A -Do not try to prevent the vehicle from
"ro lling back" when a gear is engaged by in­
creasing the engine speed¢@) .
Starting on a n incline in vehicl es w ithout Hill
H old *
~ Set the parking brake.
~ With the driving gear se lected, press the acce l­
erator pedal carefully. The parking brake re­
leases automatically . Requirement: the driver's
door must be closed and the driver's safety belt
must be fastened .
Starting on an incline in vehicle s with Hill
Hold*
~ With the driving gear selected, remove your
foot from the brake pedal and press the accel­
erator pedal¢
page 75, Hill hold.
Under certain c ircumstances, (such as driving in
the mountains or towing a trailer), it may be use­
fu l to sw itch temporari ly to the manua l shift pro­
g ram in orde r to adjust the gears to t he d riving
conditions by hand
¢ page 81 .
When parking on a level surface , simply place the
se lector lever in the P position. On inclines, acti­
vate the parking b rake first and then move the
selecto r lever to the P position
¢ page 73. This
prevents the locking mechanism from being
l oaded too heavi ly and wi ll make it easier to
move the selector lever out of the P position.
Autom atic tran sm iss ion
A WARNING
- The vehicle can roll even when the eng ine is
sw itched off .
- Unintended vehicle movement can lead to
serious injuries .
- Never leave your veh icle w ith the engine
running while in gear. If you must leave
your veh icle when the engine is running, set
the park ing brake and move the selector lev­
er to the P posit ion.
- Power is still transferred to the wheels when the engine is runn ing at idle. To pre­
vent the vehicle from "creeping", yo u must
keep your foot on the b rake when the en­
g ine is r unning and the selector lever is in
the D, Sor R position or " tip tronic" mode is
selected.
- Do not in adver ten tly press the accelerator
pedal when the vehicle is stationary. Other­
wise the vehicle wi ll start to move immedi­
ately, even if the parking brake is set. This
could result in a crash.
- Do not press the acce lerator pedal when
changing the se lector lever position while
the vehicle is stationary and the engine is running.
- Never engage the R or P selector level pos i­
tions while dr iv ing.
It could cause a crash.
- Before driving down a steep slope, reduce your speed and sh ift into a lower gear w ith
"t i ptronic".
- Do not r ide the brakes or press the brake
pedal too often or too long when dr iving
downhill. Constant braking causes the brakes to overheat and substant ially re­
duces bra king performance, increases b rak­
ing d istance or causes comp lete failure of
the brake sys tem.
- I f you must stop on an incline, a lways hold
the vehicle in place w it h the foot brake or
p ar king brake to p reve nt i t from rolling
back.
- Never hold the vehicle on an incline with a
slipp ing clu tc h . The clutch opens automati­
cally when it becomes too hot from the
overload . The
mJ indicator light turns on
79