2016 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET warning lights

Trailer mod e
load" on the la bel located on the driver's side B ­
pillar (visib le when the door is open) . Inflate
tra iler tires to trailer and tire manufacturers'
specif ications.
Lights
Check to make sure both vehicle and t railer lights
are working p roper ly.
Safety chains
Be sure t railer safety chains are properly connect­
ed from the trai le r to the hi tch on the veh icle.
L eave enough sla ck in the cha ins to permi t turn­
ing corners. When yo u install safety chains, ma ke
sure they wi ll not drag on the road when yo u are
driving .
The cha ins s hou ld cross under the trailer tongue
t o prevent it from dropping in case of separation
from the h itch .
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra care
and consideration .
To obtain t he best poss ible handling of vehicle
and traile r, please note the fo llow ing :
.,. Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car itself
is not loaded.
.. Be especi ally ca ref ul when pass ing othe r
vehicles.
.. Observe speed limi ts .
.. Do not d rive at the maximum permissible
speed.
.. Always apply brakes early.
.. Monitor the temperature gauge .
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded t railer w ith an empty car res ults
in a high ly unstable distribution of weight . If this
cannot be avoided, drive at very low speeds on ly
to avoid the risk of losing steering control.
A "balanced" rig is easie r to operate and cont rol.
This means that the tow vehi cle should be loaded
to the extent possible and permissible, while
keep ing the tra iler as light as possib le under the
circumstances. Whenever possible, transfer
some cargo to the l uggage compartment of the
86
tow veh icle wh ile observing tong ue load require ­
ments and vehicle loading considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the mo re diff icu lt i t be­
comes for the driver to con trol the r ig. Do not
drive at t he maxim um permissible speed. Reduce
you r speed even more if load, weather or wind
con dit ions are unfavorab le - partic ularly when
go ing downh ill.
Reduce vehicle speed
immediately if the trailer
shows the slightest sign of swaying.
Do not try
to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limi ts. In some areas, s peeds fo r
vehicles towing trailers are lower than for regular
vehicles .
A lways apply bra kes early. Whe n driving down­
hill, shift in to a lower gea r to use the engine
b raki ng effect to slow the vehi cle. Use of the
brakes alone ca n cause them to over heat and fai l.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge 9 page 12 must
be obse rved caref ully. The coolant temperature
c a n incre ase if yo u drive o n long incl ines in a low
gear a t high engine speeds . Red uce your speed
immediately if the LE Ds in the top part of the dis­
play turn on .
Fo r more info rm ation abou t indicator lights, re­
fer to .
¢ page 16 .
A WARNING
-
Anyone not prope rly restrai ned in a moving
vehicle is at a much greate r risk in an acci ­
dent. Never let anyone ride in your car who is
not properly wear ing the restraints provided
by Aud i.
Trailer mode notes
Important to know
Your vehicle handles differen tly when towing a
trailer because o f the additiona l weight and di f­
ferent weight distribution. Safety, performance
and economy will g reatly depend on how caref ul-
l y you load your trai ler and operate you r rig. ..,_

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-Please note that unconsciously "resting"
your foot on the accelerator pedal prevents the cruise control from braking. This is be­
cause pressing the accelerator pedal over­
rides the cruise control system .
-If there is a brake system malfunction such
as overheating when the speed warning sys­
tem is switched on, the braking function in
the system will be deactivated. The remain­
ing speed warning system functions will re­
main active , as long as the~ (USA mod­
els) /
fil (Canada models) indicator light is
on.
{i) Tips
- The cruise control system is ideal for
stretches with speed limits. The driver is re­
sponsible for adhering to the correct speed.
- The cruise control remains active when
shifting gears.
- The brake lights turn on when the brakes
are activated.
Switching on
A pp lies to: ve hicles with c ru ise control system
0
f
®t
0
Fig. 86 Operat ing lever: c ru ise control syste m
.. To switch the cruise control on, pull the lever
into position @~
fig. 86 .
.. Drive at the speed to be maintained .
.. To store the speed, press the button @. The
@;\1)~14 indicator light (USA models)/ fil (Cana­
da models) turns on in the instrument cluster.
Assist
Changing speed
Applies to : vehicles wit h cruise co ntrol sys tem
., To increase or decrease the speed in incre­
ments,
tap the lever in the 010 direction
~ page 89, fig. 86.
.. To increase or decrease the speed quickly, hold
the lever in the 0 / 0 direction until the de­
sired speed is reached.
Overriding the speed
You can press the acce lerator pedal down to in­
crease your speed, for example if you want to
pass someone. The speed you saved earlier will
resume as soon as you let off of the accelerator
pedal.
If, however, you exceed your saved speed by 5
mph (10 km/h) for longer than 6 minutes, the
cruise control turns off temporarily .
The@;\!)~14
(USA models) ;fil (Canada models) indicator
light in the instrument cluster turns off and the
stored speed is maintained.
Preselecting the speed
Appl ies to: vehicles wi th cruise co ntrol sys te m
You can pre-select your desired speed while the
vehicle is not moving.
., Switch on the ignition .
.. Pull the lever into position
(D 9 page 89,
fig. 86 .
.. To increase or decrease the speed, tap the lever
in the
0 10 direction.
This function makes it possible, for example, to
save the speed you want before driving on the
highway. Once on the highway, activate the
cruise control system by pulling the lever toward
the position
(D .
Switching off
Applies to : vehicles wi th cruise co ntrol syste m
Temporary deactivation
.. Press the brake pedal, or
.. Press the lever into position @ (not clicked into
place)
~ page 89, fig. 86, or ..,
89

Switching adaptive crui se control on
"' Pull the lever toward you into position @
¢
fig. 91. A CC: s tandby appea rs in the instru­
ment cluster disp lay .
Saving the speed and activating regulati on
"'T o save the c urrent speed , press the ISETI
¢ fig. 91 button . The stored speed is shown in
t h e tachomete r LED line @and appears briefly
in the information line ®¢
fig. 92 .
"' To activate the regulation whi le stationary, you
must press the brake pedal.
Sw itching adaptiv e cruise control off
"' Push the lever away from you into position @
until it clicks i nto place ¢
fig. 91 . The message
AC C: off appears.
The stored speed in the LED line is e rased.
@ Indicato r lights
II -adaptive cruise control is switched on. No
objects are detected ahead. The stored speed is
maintained.
• -An object a head was detected . The adaptive
cruise control system regulates the speed and
d istance to the object ahead and brakes/acce ler ­
ates automatica lly.
fij -adaptive cru ise control is switched on. An
object ahead was detected. Your vehicle remains
stopped and w ill not start driving automatica lly.
• -T he automatic bra king is no t enough to
maintain a sufficient distance to a n object ahead.
You must intervene ¢
page 96, Request for
driver intervention.
© Instrument cluster display
I f adaptive cruise control is not shown in the in­
s trument cluster disp lay, yo u can call it up using
the mu ltifunction steering wheel b uttons
¢ page 24.
Based on the g raph ics in the d isp lay, you can de­
termine if the system is m ainta ining a distance to
;;!; a vehicle ahead and what that distance to this ve-....
~ hide is: N ....
R No vehi cle -No object ahead was detected.
> 00
Assist
White vehicl e -An object ahead was de tected .
Red vehicl e -Request for the dr iver to take action
¢page 96.
Both
arrows on t he scal e@ indicate the d istance
to the object ahead . No arrow appears when the
vehicle is on an open road and t here is no object
ahead. If an object is detec ted ahead, the a rrow
moves on the sca le.
T he green zone o n the scale indicates the store
distance. For informat ion on changing the dis­
t a nce, refer to ¢
page 95. If the dis tance se ­
l ected is exceeded or not reached, the arrow
moves into the red zone on the scale.
A WARNING
- Using adaptive cruise control incorrectly can
cause collisions, other accidents and ser ious
in ju ries.
- If you press the
!SET ! button w hen driving at
speeds be low 20 mph (30 km/h), the vehi­
cle acce lerates automatically up to 20 mph
(30 km/h), wh ich is the minimum speed
that can be set.
{!) Tips
- If you switch the ignit ion or the adaptive
cruise control system off, the set speed is
erased for safety reason.
- The Elect ronic Stabilization Control (ESC)
and Anti-S lip Regulat ion (ASR) both sw itch
on when the adaptive cruise control is
switched on . ESC and ASR ca nnot be switch­
ed off when adapt ive cruise control is
switched on.
- With the adaptive cruise control act ivated
t he ESC spo rt mode cannot be activated.
93

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prevent collisions -there is still a risk of ac­
cidents!
- Press the accelerator pedal carefully when
accelerating on even, slippery surfaces such
as ice and snow. The drive wheels can spin
even when these control systems are instal­
led and this can affect driving stability and
increase the risk of a collision.
Switching on /off
Intelligent Technology
(D Tips
- The ABS and ASR only function correctly
when all four wheels have a sim ilar wear
condition. Different tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems de­
scribed are working.
£SC turns on automatically when you start the engine.
Fig. 119 Upper center console : ESC button
function of the ESC is limited or switched off . The
amount of stabilization control will differ de­
pending on the level.
The following examples are unusual situations
where it may make sense to switch sport mode
on in order to allow the wheels to spin:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Dr iving in deep snow or on loose ground
The ESC is designed to function in levels. Depend­
ing on the level that is selected, the stabilization
Sport mode on
Behavior
The ESC and ASR stabiliza-
tion functions are limited
~A .
Operation Press the!.$ OFFI button
briefly .
Indicator II turns on.
lights
Driver mes- Stabilization
control (ESC):
sages sport. Warning! Restricted
stability
A WARNING
You should only switch sport mode on or
switch ESC/ ASR off if your driving abilities
and road conditions permit.
- The stabilization function is limited when
sport mode is switched on. The driving
wheels could spin and the vehicle could
ESC/ASR off Sport mode off or
ESC/ASRon
The stabilization function is The full stabilization func-
not available
~ A. ESC and tion of the ESC and ASR is
ASR are switched off. avai lab le again.
Press and hold the!.$ OFFI Press the!.$ OFFI button
button longer than 3 sec- again.
onds.
II and lf'illtla~* turn on . II turns off or'II and
lf'tl•I~~ · turn off.
Stabilization control (ESC):
Stabilization control
off. Warning! Restricted (ESC): On
stability
swerve, especially on slick or slippery road
surfaces.
- There is no vehicle stabilization when ESC/
ASR are switched off.
117

Driving sa fe ty
Driving safety
Basics
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instruct ions and warn ings that you need to
read and observe for your own safety, the safety
of your passengers and others. We have summar­ ized here what you need to know about safety
be lts, a irbags, child restra ints as well as child
safety. Your safety is for us
priority number 1 . Al­
ways observe the i nfo rmation and wa rn ings in
this section - for your own safety as well as that
of your passengers.
The information i n this section applies to all
model versions of yo ur vehicle . Some of the fea­
tures descr ibed in t his sections may be s tanda rd
equipment on some models, or may be optional
equipment on others . If you are not sure, ask
your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in­
structions and heed the WARNINGS in th is
Manual.
It is in your interest and in the in­
te rest of your passengers.
- Always keep the comp lete Owner's Litera­
ture in your A udi when you lend or se ll your
vehicle so that this important information
will always be available to the d river and
passenge rs.
- Always keep the Owner 's literature handy so
that you can find it easily i f you have ques­
t ions.
- Always adjust your speed to the wea ther
t raff ic and conditions. Follow the speed lim­
its.
- Always dr ive in such a way that you can s top
yo ur vehicle safely.
- Always adjust your speed to the genera l
flow of traffic. Follow the speed l imits.
124
· Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant re­
straint system and work together to help reduce the risk of injury in a wide variety of accident sit­
uations.
You r safety and the safety of your passengers
should not be left to chance . Advances in tech­
no logy have made a va riety of features available
to help red uce the risk of inj ury in an accident.
The following is a lis t of jus t a few of the safe ty
fea tures in yo ur Audi :
- sophisticated safety be lts fo r drive r and all pas-
senge r seat ing pos itions,
- safety belt pretensioners,
- safety bel t force lim ite rs fo r the front seats,
- front airbags,
- knee airbags for the front seats*
- side airbags in the front seats,
- special LATCH anchorages fo r child res trai nts,
- head rest raints fo r each seati ng position,
- adjustab le steering column.
- pre sense bas ic * (preventative passenger pro-
tect ion)
These ind iv idual safety features, can work to­
gether as a system to he lp protect you and your
passengers i n a wide range of acc idents. These
fea tures cannot wo rk as a system if they are not
always correctly adjusted and cor rect ly used.
Safet y is e verybody's responsibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job! Vehicle and occupant
safety always depends on the informed and care­
ful driver .
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers,
be fo re dri ving always:
.. Make sure that a ll lights and signals a re operat­
ing correctly.
.. Make sure that the tire pressure is correct.
.. Make sure that all windows are clean and afford
good vis ibility to the outs ide .
.. Secu re all luggage and other items carefully
,=;,page 58, ,=;,page 57 . .,.

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> co
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly.
~ Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death .
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically im­
paired persons must also use safety belts.
Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not
wear safety belts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -throughout
the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of four seating positions:
two in the front and two in the rear. Each seating position has a safety belt .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt.
It is espe­
cially dangerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on your lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
Safety belts
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
belt or child restraint.
~ Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle hos o warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger (on USA models only)
to remind you about the importance of buckling­
up .
Fig. 127 Safety belt warn ing light in the instrument clus ­
te r -enlarged
Before driving off, always:
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
.,, N
"' 0 ..:, ., m
~ Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts .
~ Protect children w ith a ch ild restraint system
appropr iate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignit ion is on as a reminder to
fasten the safety belts. In addition, you wil l hear
a warning tone for a certain period of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts.
A WARNING
-
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
F or your protection and that of your passen­
gers, a lways correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.
135

Check ing and F illing
Audi oil quality standard
Gas olin e
VW 502 00 or
engi ne vw 50400
A udi reco mmend s
~Castrol I jgl[J,'fE{g ?r,w.:..~J ri, '.IA!,
Audi rec ommends Longlif e high perform ance
engi ne oil from Au di Genuin e Parts
Using the proper engine oil is important for the
functionality and service life of the engine. Your
engine was factory-filled with a h igh-quality oil
which can usually be used throughout the entire
yea r.
(D Note
Your Limited New Vehicle Warranty does not
cover damage or malfunctions due to failure
to follow recommended maintenance and use
requirements as set forth in the Audi Owner's
Manual and Warranty & Maintenance booklet .
- Use only a high qual ity eng ine oil that ex-
pressly complies with the Audi oil quality
standard specified for your vehicle's engine .
Using any other oil can cause serious engine
damage.
- Do not mix any lubricants or other additives into the engine oil. Doing so can cause en­
gine damage.
@ Tips
If you need to add oil and there is none availa ­
ble that meets the Audi oil quality standard
your engine requires, you may add a total of
no more than 0.5 quart/liter of a h igh-quality
"synthet ic"oil that meets the following speci­
fications.
- Vehicles w ith gasoline eng ine: ACEA A3 or
API SM with a viscosity grade of SAE OW-30,
SAE 5W-30 or SAE 5W-40.
- For more information about engine o il that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact either your authorized Audi dea ler
or Aud i Custome r Relat ions at
1 (800) 822- 2834 or visit ou r web site at
www.audiusa.com or www .aud icanada.ca.
192
· Eng ine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all of
its moving parts.
In order to provide effect ive lubricat ion and cool­
i ng of internal engine components, all internal
combust ion eng ines consume a certa in amount
of oil. Oil consumption var ies from engine to en­
gine and may change sign ificantly over the life of
the engine . T ypically, engines w ith a specified
break -in period (see¢
page 65) consume more
oi l during the break-in period than they consume
after oil consumption has stabilized.
U nder normal cond itions, the rate of oil con­
sumption depends on the quality and viscosity o f
the oil , the RPM (revo lutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient tem­ perature and road conditions. Further factors are
the amount of o il dilution from water condensa­
tion or fuel residue and the oxidation level of the
o il. As any engine is subject to wear as mileage
builds up, the o il consumption may increase over
ti me unt il replacement of wo rn compo nents may
become necessary.
With all these variables coming into play, no standard rate of o il consumption can be estab­
li shed or spec ified . T he re is no alte rnative to reg­
u la r and freq uent checki ng of the oi l level, see
Note.
If the yellow engine oil level warning symbo l II
in the instrument cluster lights up, you sho uld
chec k the o il level as soon as possible
¢
page 193. Top off the o il at your earlies t con­
venience
¢ page 193.
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
INGS
¢page 188.
(D Note
Driving with an insufficient oil level is likely to
cause severe damage to the engine.
IJII,

Check ing and F illing
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal of
brake fluid as we ll as the special tools re­
quired and the necessary expertise, we rec­
ommend that you have the b rake fluid
changed by your author ized Audi dealer .
Battery ( 12 V)
General information
All work on the battery requires expert knowl­
edge .
Read and follow the WARNINGS
before check­
i n g a nyth ing in the engine compartment
c::> page 188, Working in the engine compart­
ment.
The batte ry in you r Aud i does not need any main­
tena nce unde r
normal operating cond itions. A udi
re commends hav ing the e lectro lyte level check
by an au thor ized A udi dealer or au thori ze d Audi
Serv ice Facility when there a re
high outs ide tem ­
peratures or when driving a ll day. The elect rolyte
level sho uld a lso be checked each time the bat­
tery is charged
c::> page 200.
Have the battery checked when you bring your ve ­
hicle in for an inspection. It is a good idea to re­
p lace the battery if it is more than 5 years old .
T he batte ry is located in the eng ine compar tment
and is practically
maintenance-free .
Disconnecting the battery terminals
The battery shou ld not be d isconnected. Severa l
veh icle functions (power w indows, for example)
w ill be lost w hen the b attery is disconne cted. The
f u nctions mus t be reprog rammed after connect­
in g the battery. To avo id th is, the battery shou ld
only be disconn ecte d from the vehicle e lectrica l
system when it is abso lutely necessary.
T o reprogram the func tions, proceed as follows:
198
Function Reprogramming
Power window one-c::> page 35, Correcting
touch up/down func-power window malfunc-
tion tions
Remote control key o r If the vehicle does no t
Convenience key react to the key, it must
be synchronized
c::> page29
Dig ita l cl ock c::>page 10
ESC indicator light The ind icator light goes
o ut after driving a few
meters
Not running the vehicle for long period s of
time
If you do not drive your vehicle for severa l days o r
weeks, electrical components are gradually re­ d u ced or switched off . This reduces energy con­
s u mp tion and mai ntain s the vehicle's ability to
st art over a long perio d of time
c::> page 1 21.
Some conven ien ce f unctions, such as inter ior
li ght ing o r power seats* may not wor k. T hese
convenience functions will be availab le aga in
once you sw itch the ignition on and start the en­
gine.
Winter operation
D ur ing the winte r mon ths, it is common for the
batte ry capac ity to decrease as the temperatures
become lower . This is because more power is
needed to start the vehicle and components such
as the headlights and the rear window defogger
a re used more freque ntly .
Avoid using power unnecessa rily, espec ia lly in
c ity dr iving o r on short t rips. Have your author­
i z ed Audi dealer or author iz ed Audi Se rvice Facili­
ty check the battery capacity be fore the start of
winter
c::> page 200 . A well -cha rged battery will
not only reduce sta rting prob lems in cold wea th­
e r, bu t it will a lso l ast longer.
.&_ WARNING
- W ork on the b attery requires e xper t knowl­
e d ge. Con tact an a uthor ized Audi dealer or
author ized Audi Se rvice Facility for info rma ­
tion rega rding the vehicle batte ry. There is a
-
ris k for chemical burns or e xplosions . ..,.