2016 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET traction control

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.

Intelligent Technology
Do not tow your veh icle bec ause it cannot be
steered. See an authorized Audi dealer or author ­
ized Audi Service Fac ility for assistance .
,IM Steering: Sy stem fault You can continu e
dri ving
If the indi cator lig ht t urns on , the steering whee l
may be mo re diff icu lt to move o r more sensitive
than usual. The steering wheel may also be a t an
angle when dr iving straight.
D rive s low ly to an authorized A udi dealer or au­
thor ized A udi Se rvice Fa cility to have the m al­
f u nction co rrected.
m Steering lock: sy stem fault! Please contact
Servic e
There is a malfunction in the electronic steering
lock.
Drive to an a uthori zed Aud i dea ler or authori zed
Aud i Serv ice Facility immedia tely to have the
malfunct io n corrected .
A WARNING
Have the system malfunction corrected as
soon as poss ible by an author ized Audi dealer
or au thori zed Aud i Serv ice Fa cili ty, as this in­
c re ases the risk of an accident.
{D Tips
If the . or ,:rM i ndica to r light only turns on
for a short time, you may continue dr iv ing.
All wheel drive (quattro)
Applies to: veh icles with all whee l drive
In all wheel drive, all four wheels are powered .
General information
In all wheel drive, the driving power is divided be­
tween all four wheels. This happens automatical­
ly depe nding on your driving behavior as well as
the c urrent road cond itions . Also see
s>
page 116, Electronic stabilization control
( ES C).
The all wheel drive concept is designed for high
engine power . Your ve hicle is exceptionally pow­
erful and has ex cellent driving characterist ics
120
both under normal d riving conditions and on
snow and ice . A lways read and follow safety pre­
ca utions s>
.&..
Winter tires
By using all wheel dr ive, your veh icle has good
forward motion w it h standard t ires in win ter con­
ditions . However, in winter we recommend using
winter or all season tires on
oil four whee ls, be­
ca use this will improve the
broking effect.
Snow chains
I f there are snow ch ain laws , snow ch ains m ust
a lso be used on veh icles with all wheel drive
s>
page 219 , Snow chains .
Replacing tires
For vehicles with a ll w heel drive, o nly wheels with
t h e same ro lli ng ci rcumfe rence sho uld be used.
Avo id whee ls with diffe rent t read depths
¢ page 211 .
Offroad vehicle?
You r Audi is no t an off road vehicle - there is not
enough ground clearance. For th is reaso n, avoid
difficul t ter rain . Also see s>
page 251.
A WARNING
-Also, in veh icles with all wheel drive, ad apt
your d riving sty le to the cu rren t road and
traffic conditions. Do not let the increased
safety provi ded tempt you into taking r is k s,
because this inc reases the risk of an acc i­
dent.
- The braking abi lity of your vehicle is limited
to the traction of the whee ls. I n this way, it
is not different from a two w heel drive vehi­
cle . Do not be tempted to accelerate to a
hig h speed when the road is slippery, be ­
cause t his i ncreases the r is k of an accident .
- Note that on wet s treets, the front wheels
can " hydrop la ne" if dr iv ing at spee ds that
are too high. Unlike front w heel d rive
veh icles, t he engine does no t rev h ig her sud­
de nly when t he vehi cle begins hydrop lan ing.
F or this reason, pay atte ntion to the road
conditions rega rdless of your speed to re ­
duce t he risk of an accident .

<( co .... N r--­N .... 0 r--­> co
the availab le cargo an d lug­
gage loa d capaci ty o f yo ur vehi­
c le.
.,,. Chec k the tire s idewall
(¢ page 204 , fig. 16 8) to deter ­
min e th e des ig nate d lo ad ratin g
for a speci fic tir e.
Wheel bolts and rims
Wheel b olts
Wheel bolts must be clean and loosen/t ighten
eas ily.
Rims
R ims with a bolted rim ring* or w ith bolted wheel
covers* consist of mu ltip le pieces . These compo­
n ents we re bolted toge ther using specia l bolts
and a specia l procedure . You must not repair or
disassemble them¢
A.
A WARNING
-
Wheel bolts that are tightened or repaired in­
correctly can become loose and result in loss
of vehicle control, which increases the risk of
an acc ident. For the correct tightening specif i­
cation, refer to¢
page 235, After changing a
wheel .
-Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hub clean and free of
grease.
- Only use wheel bolts that fit the rim.
-Always have damaged r ims repaired by an
authorized Audi dealer or authorized Aud i
Service Facility. Never repair or d isassemble
rims yourself, because this increases the risk
of an accident.
Winter tires
W inter tires s ignificantly improve the vehicle's
h andling w hen d riving in w inter condit ions. Be­
cause of the ir constr uction (width, compound,
tread pattern), summe r tires provide less trac­
tion on ice and snow.
Tir es and wheel s
.. Use winter tires on all four wheels.
.. On ly use winter tires that are approved for your
veh icle.
.. Please note that the maximum permitted
speed may be lower with winter tires¢,&. An
author ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Serv ­
ice Facility can inform you about the maximum
perm itted speed for your t ires .
.. Check the tire p ressure afte r insta lling wheels
¢ page 214.
The effectiveness of winter tires is reduced great­
ly when the tread is wo rn down to a depth of
0.157 i nch (4 mm). The characte ris tics of winter
t ir es also decrease g reatly as the ti re ages, re­
gard less of the rema ining t read.
A WARNING
-- Never drive faster than the max imum per­
mitted speed for your tires . This could cause
the t ires to heat up too much. This increases
the risk of an accident because it can cause
the t ire to burst.
- Always adapt your driving to the road and
traffic cond itions. Drive carefully and reduce
your speed on icy or slippery roads . Even
winter t ires can lose tract ion on black ice .
(® For the sake of the environment
Reinstall summer tires at the appropr iate
time, because they prov ide better handling
when roads are free of snow and ice. Summer
tires cause less road no ise, tire wear and fue l
consumpt ion.
(D Tips
You can also use all season tires instead of
winter tires. Please note that in some coun­
tries where winter tires are required, on ly
winter tires w ith the
& symbo l may be per­
mitted.
Snow chains
Snow chains improve traction in the snow.
.. Only install snow chains on the front wheels .
This applies a lso to vehicles with a ll wheel
drive*.
219

<( co .... N r--­N .... 0 ,.__
> co
Reduced performance in winter /cold season
conditions
All tires are designed for certain purposes. The
low aspect ratio, ultra high performance t ires
originally installed on your vehicle are intended
for maximum dry and wet road performance and handling . They are not suitable for cold, snowy or
i cy weather cond it ions. If you dr ive under those
circumstances, you shou ld equ ip your vehicle
with all-season or winter tires, whic h offe r better
traction under those conditions. We suggest you
use the recommended snow or all-season tires
specified for you r vehicle, or their equivalent.
Refer to¢
page 219 for more detailed informa­
tion regarding winter tires.
Uniform tire quality grading
-Tread wear
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable on
the tire side wall between tread shoulder and
maximum section w idth ¢
page 204, fig . 168 .
For example: Tread wear 200, Traction AA, Tem­
perature
A .
All passenger car tires must conform to Federal
Safety Requirements in addition to these grades.
Tread wea r
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under contro lled conditions on a specified gov­
ernment test course.
F or example, a tire graded
150 would wear one
and one ha lf
( 1 1/2) times as well on the govern­
ment course as a tire graded
100.
The relative performance of tires depends upon
the actual conditions of their use, howeve r, and
may depart significantly from the norm due to
variations in driving habits, service practices and
differences in road characteristics and climate.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, B and
C. Those grades represent the tire's
Tires and wheels
ability to stop on wet pavement as measured un ­
der controlled conditions on specified govern­
ment test surfaces of asphalt and concrete. A tire
marked C may have poor traction performance
¢ &.
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (the highest), B,
and
C, representing the tire's resistance to the
generation of heat and its ability to dissipate
heat when tested under controlled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause the mate ­
rial of the tire to degenerate and reduce tire life,
and excessive temperature can lead to sudden
tire failure¢ &.
The grade
C corresponds to a level of perform ­
ance which all passenger car tires must meet un­
der the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
No.
109 . Grades Band A represent higher levels
of performance on the laboratory test wheel than
the minimum required by law.
&, WARNING
The traction gra de assigned to this tire is
based on straight-ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include acceleration, cor­
nering, hydroplaning or peak traction charac­
teristics.
.&_ WARNING
= -
The temperature grade for this tire is estab­ lished for a tire that is properly inflated and
not overloaded. Excessive speed, underinfla­
tion, or excessive loading, either separately or
in comb inat ion, can cause heat buildup and
possible tire failure .
.&_ WARNING
--
Temperature grades apply to tires that are
properly inflated and not over or underinflat­
ed.
221