2016 AUDI A3 traction control

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., Automatic transmission S tronic
Introduction
App lies to vehicles: with S tronic transm ission
Your veh icle is equipped with an e lectron ically­
controlled DSG transmiss ion called S tronic. Two
independent clutches transfer the power be­
tween the engine and transmission . It allows the
vehicle to accelerate without a noticeable inter­ ruption in traction.
The transm ission upshifts or downsh ifts auto­
matica lly. The driving sty le continuously influen ­
ces the selection of the driving program.
When a
moderate driving style is used , the
transmission selects the most economical driving
mode. The transmission upshifts at a lower RPM
and downshifts at a higher RPM to improve fuel
efficiency.
The transm ission switches to a sporty mode after
a kick-down o r when the driver uses a
sporty
driving style
characterized by quick accelerator
pedal movements, heavy acce leration , frequent
changes in speed and traveling at the maximum
speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode) ¢ page 94, Shifting
manually (tiptronic mode) .
Selector lever positions
Applies to vehicles: with S tro nic t ra n sm issio n
Fig. 81 Instrument clus te r: selec tor leve r posi tions
-~ 0 > (X) a,
The instrument cluster display shows the current
selector lever position and current gear .
Automatic transmission
P -Park
The wheels are mechan ically locked in this posi­
tion. You can only shi ft into Park when the vehi­
cle is
stationary ¢&. .
To s hift in and out of the P selector lever posi­
tion, press the interlock button in the selector
lever
while pressing the brake pedal.
R- Reverse
Only shift into reverse gear when the vehicle is
stationary and the engine is running at idle
speed¢ ,&..
T o select the R selector lever position, press the
interlock button
while pressing the brake pedal.
T he back- up lights switch on in the R position if
the ignition is switched on.
N - Neutral
The transmission is in idle in this position .
D/S - Normal position for driving forward
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 briefly . Pulling
the lever back again will select the normal D
mode . The instrument cluster display 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 driving
style .
Se lect the
sport mode S for sporty driving. The
vehicle makes full use of the engine's power .
Sh ifting may become noticeable when accelerat­
ing.
To move from selector lever position N to D, you
must press the brake pedal and the vehicle must
be traveling less than 1 mph (2 km/h) or be sta­
tionary ¢&. .
,&. WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS.
- The vehicle can roll even if the ignit ion is
switched off.
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Intelligent Technology
- The braking ability of your vehicle is limited
to the traction of the wheels. In this way, it
is not different from a two whee l dr ive vehi­
cle . Do not be tempted to accelerate to a
high speed when the road is slippe ry th is in­
c reases the risk of an acc ident .
- Note that on wet streets, the front wheels can "hyd roplane" if d riving at s peeds that
are too hig h. Unlike front whee l drive
vehicles , the eng ine does no t rev highe r su d­
denly when the vehicle begins hyd ro planing.
For this reason, pay attention to the road
co ndit ions regar dless of your speed.
Energy management
The starting ability is optimized
The energy management system manages the
electrical energy distribution and optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the
engine .
When a ve hicle w ith a conventional energy sys­
tem is not driven for a long time, the battery is
d rained by equ ipment (for example the immobi l­
i z e r) . In certain circumsta nces, there could may
not be eno ugh en ergy to start the engine.
Your ve hicle is equipped with a n intellige nt ener­
gy management system for d istr ibut ing electric i­
ty . This s ignifica ntly imp roves the starting ability
and increas es the battery life.
The energy management system Is made up of
battery diagnosis , idling current management
and dynamic energy management .
Battery diagnosis
The battery diagnosis determines the battery
charge level. The sensors dete rm ine the battery
voltage, the battery cur rent, and t he battery
temperature . The c urrent charge level and the
pe rformance of the bat tery are dete rm ined based
on this.
Idling current management
The idling current management decreases the
energy used w hile parked . With the eng ine
sw itched off, i t manages the energy dist ribution
164
to the different e lectr ica l components. Date from
batte ry diagnosis is taken into account for this.
De pend ing o n the bat tery charge leve l, elect ric al
equipmen t is switched o ff one item a fter the o th­
er, to prevent the bat tery from drai ning and to
retain the start ing ability .
Dynamic energy management
While driv ing , dynam ic energy manageme nt dis ­
tribu tes the ap propr iate amo unt of energy to t he
electr ical eq uipment. It contro ls the battery
charge level so that more energy is no t used then
i s being generated in order to maintain an opti­
mal batte ry charge level.
(D Tips
- Ener gy management cannot overcome the
laws of p hysics . Note that the charge leve l
and length of the battery life are limited.
- When the sta rting ability is en dangered, the
(•) indicator light t urns on ¢
page 20 .
What you should know
Maintaining the s tarting ability is the highest
priority.
A lo t of st ress is placed on the b attery when dr iv­
i ng sho rt d istances, in t raff ic, and a t cold times
of the year . A lot of energy is used but litt le is
generated. It is also critical whe n the engine is
not running but e lectr ica l equipment is sw itched
on. In th is case, energy is used but none is gener­
ated.
In sit uat ions like th is, ene rgy management w ill
active ly regulated the distrib ution of energy.
Long periods without use
I f you do no t drive yo ur vehicle fo r sever al days o r
weeks, e le ctrica l equ ipment is g radua lly sca le d
back or switched off. This reduces energy use and
ensures th e vehicle will be ab le to start a fter long
per iods of time . Some conven ience f unctions
such as opening w ith the remote control key may
not be available . These convenience functions
will be ava ilable again o nce you swi tch the ig ni-
tion on and sta rt the eng ine. .,..

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., Wheel bolts and rims
Wheel bolt s
Wheel bolts must be clean and loosen/t ighten
eas ily.
Rims
Rims with a bolted rim ring* or with bolted wheel
covers* consist of multiple pieces . These compo­
nents were bolted together using special bolts
and a special procedure . You must not repair or
d isassemble them¢.&, .
A WARNING -
Wheel bolts that are t ightened or repaired in­
correctly can become loose and result in loss
of vehicle control, which increases the risk of
an accident. For the correct tightening specif i­
cation, refer to¢
page 284, After changing a
wheel.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the whee l hub clean and free of
grease.
- Only use wheel bolts that fit the rim.
- Always have damaged rims repaired by an
authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi
Service Facility. Never repair or d isassemble
rims yourself, because this increases the risk
of an accident.
Winter tires
W inter tires significantly improve the veh icle's
handling when driving in winter condit ions . Be­
cause of the ir construction (width, compound,
tread pattern), summe r tires provide less trac­
tion o n ice and snow.
"' Use winter t ires on all fo ur wheels.
"' Only use winter t ires that are approved for your
vehicle.
"' Please note tha t the maximum permitted
speed may be lower with winter tires ¢
_&.. An
authorized Audi dealer o r authorized Audi Serv­
ice Facility can inform you about the maximum
permitted speed for your tires.
"' Check the tire pressure after installing wheels
¢page 263.
Tires and wheel s
The effectiveness of winte r tires is reduced great ­
ly when the tread is worn down to a depth of
0.15 7 inch (4 mm). The characteristics of winter
tires also decrease greatly as the tire ages, re­ gardless of the rema in ing tread.
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 app ropr iate
time, beca use they prov ide bette r handling
when roads are free of snow and ice. Summer
tires cause less road noise, 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 .
"'On ly install snow cha ins on the front wheels.
This applies a lso to vehicles with a ll w heel
drive* .
-
"'Check and correct the seating of the snow
chains if necessary after driving a few feet. Fol­
low the instructions from the manufacturer.
"' Note the maximum permitted speed when dr iv­
ing with snow chains. Do not exceed 30 mph (50 km/h) .
Snow cha ins not o nly improve the
driving in win-
ter road condit ions, but also the
braking. Iii>
269

traction under those conditions. We suggest you
use the recommended snow or all-season tires
specified for your vehicle, or their equivalent.
Refer to
q page 269 for more detai led info rma ­
tion regarding winter tires.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tr ead wear
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable on
the tire side wa ll between tread shoulder and
maximum sect ion w idth
q page 253, fig. 202.
For exampl e: T read wear 2 00 , Traction AA , Tem ­
perature
A .
All passenger car tires must conform to Federal
Safety Requirements in addition to these grades.
Trea d we ar
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.
For examp le, a tire graded
150 would wear one
and one ha lf
(11/2) 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, however, and may d epart significant ly from the norm due to
variations in driving habits, service practices and d ifferences in road characteris tics and climate.
Tracti on
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, B and
C. T hose grades represent the tire's
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
q .&. .
,...., Temp eratur e N
0
ii; The temperature grades are A (the h ighest), B,
and C, representing the tire's resistance to the
generation of heat and its ability to diss ipate
Tir es and wheel s
heat when tested under controlled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained h igh temperatu re can cause the mate­
ria l of the t ire to degenerate and reduce ti re life ,
and excessive temperature can lead to s udden
tire failure
q .& .
The grade C corresponds to a level of perfo rm­
ance which all passenger car tires must meet un­
der the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standa rd
No.
109. Grades Band A represent higher levels
of performance on the laboratory test wheel than
the minim um requ ired by law.
A WARNING
-
The tract ion grade assigned to this t ire is
based on straight -ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include acceleration, cor­ nering, hyd roplaning or pea k traction cha rac­
terist ics.
A WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire is estab­
lished for a tire that is properly infl,;1ted and
not overloaded . Excessive speed, underinfla­
tion, or excessive loading, either separately or i n combination, can cause heat bui ldup and
possib le tire fai lure .
A WARNING
-
-Temperature grades apply to tires that are
p roperly inf lated and not over or under inflat­
ed.
Tire pressure monitoring system
(l) General notes
App lies to vehicles: wi th tir e pressure mo nito rin g syste m
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
shou ld be checked monthly when cold and inflat-
ed to the inflat io n pressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer on the veh icle placard or
t ir e inflation pressure label. (If your ve hicle has
t ir es of a different size than the si ze ind icated on .,..
271