Automatic transmission
-If you accidenta lly select N while driving,
take your foot off the accelerator pedal im
mediately and wa it for the engine to slow
down to idle before select ing 0/5 .
- If there is a power fa ilure, the selecto r lever
will not
move out of the P pos it ion. T he
emergency release can be used if this hap
pens
c:;, page 97.
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL)
App lies to veh icles: w ith multitronic/S tronic/tiptronic
The Automatic Shift Lock safeguards you against
accidentally shi~ing into a forward or the re
verse gear and causing the vehicle to move unin
tentionally.
F ig. 106 S hi ft gate : selector leve r loc k pos it io ns and re
l ease butto n high lig hte d
The selector lever lock is released as follows :
.. Turn the ign it ion on .
a, 0 ~ N ~ OJ ID
.,. Step on the b rake pedal. At the same time
press and hold the release button on the side of
the gear selector knob
c:;, fig . 106 with your
th umb until you have
moved the selector lever
to the des ired posi tion .
Automatic selecto r lever lock
The se lector lever is locked in the P and N pos i
tions when the ignition is tur ned on. You must
press the brake pedal and the release b utton to
selec t anothe r pos ition. As a reminder to the
d river, the following warning appears in t he in
s tru men t clus ter display when the sele ctor is in P
a nd N :
When stationary apply brake pedal while select
ing gear
92
The Au tomatic Shift Lock o nly functions whe n the
veh icle is stationa ry o r at speeds be low 1 mph
(2 km/h).
A t spee ds above abou t 1 mp h (2 km/ h) the A uto
m at ic Shift Lock is automatically deact ivated in
the N pos ition .
A time de lay ele men t pr event s the se lec tor lever
fr om lo cking whe n it i s
move d through the N po
s ition (going from R to 0/5) . T he locking eleme nt
will lock the selector leve r if the lever is left i n N
(Ne utral) for mo re than approximate ly 2 sec
onds, witho ut the brake peda l being pressed .
Release button
The release butto n on the sele ctor lever p reve nts
the leve r from being accidenta lly shifted into cer
tain positions. Depend ing on the direction of the
shi ft, the selector lever locks at different pos i
tions. The positions are highlighted i n the ill us
tration
c:;, fig. 106.
Ignition key safety interlock
The key cannot be removed from the ignition un
l ess the se lector lever is in the P park position.
When the ignition key is removed, the selector
l ever wi ll be locked in the P posit ion.
Driving the automatic transmission
Applies to vehicles: with mult itro nic/S tro nic/ti ptronic
Fig. 107 Sh ift ga te o n th e ce nter co nso le : se lec tor leve r
w it h re lease b utton
Starting the engine
.,. The se lector lever must be in P or N.
Starting off
.. Press an d hold the brake peda l.
..... N
0 ::..:: co .....
tor lever handle, select the desired selector lev
er position such as D/5 and release the button.
~ Wait briefly until the transmission has shifted
(you w ill fee l a slight movement) .
~ Remove your foot from the brake pedal and ac
celerate .
Stopp ing tem pora ril y
~ Keep the vehicle stationary using the braking
pedal, for example at traffic lights.
~ Do not press the accelerator pedal when doing
th is .
~ To prevent the vehicle from rolling when you
start driving, set the park ing brake when stop
ping on steep inclines ¢
,&.
~ The pa rking brake w ill release automatically
and the vehicle will start moving once you press
the accelerator pedal.
Stopping /park ing
If the se lecto r lever is not in the P position when
you open the d river 's door, the vehicle could roll.
The message
Tr an smi ssion: Car ma y roll! Shift
t o pa rk!
appears .
~ Press and hold the brake pedal unt il the vehicle
has come to a comp lete stop.
~ Apply the pa rking brake ¢ page 86, Parking .
~ Select the P selector leve r position ¢ .&,.
Stopp ing on an incline
~ Always press the brake peda l to hold the vehi
cl e in place and prevent it from "rolling back"
¢
,& . Do not try to prevent the vehicle from
"ro lling back" when a gear is engaged by in
c reasing the eng ine speed ¢(!).
Starting on an incline
~ Activate the parki ng b rake .
~ With the driving gea r se lected, press the acce l
erator pedal caref ully. The parking b rake will
r e lease automatically if your seat belt is fas
tened .
Unde r ce rtain c ircumstances, suc h as dr iv ing in
the mountai ns, it may be usef ul to switch tempo
rari ly to the manua l shift program in order to ad-
Autom atic tran sm iss ion
just the gears to the driv ing conditions by hand
¢ page 94.
On slopes, act ivate the park ing brake first and
then move the selec to r l ever to the P posi tion .
T his prevents too m uch stress from being placed
on the locking mechanism .
Vehicles with mult itro nic tr ansmission : Your ve
hicle is equipped wi th
hill hold assist allowing
you to start whi le on an incl ine. The system is ac
tivated when the brake peda l is pressed down
and held
for a few second s. The brake pressure
will ho ld for
a momen t after the brake peda l
loosens to prevent the veh icle from rolling back
wards while starting up .
A WARNING
--The vehicle can also ro ll when the eng ine is
stopped .
- Unintended vehicle movement can cause se rious injury .
- Never leave your veh icle with the engine
running while in gear .
If you must leave
your ve hicle when the eng ine is running, ac
tivate t he pa rking brake and move the selec
tor lever to P.
- Power is still transmi tted to the wheels
when the engine is runn ing at idle. To pre
vent the vehicle from "creepi ng", yo u m ust
keep your foot on the brake when the en
gine is running and the selector lever is in D/
Sor R or "tiptronic" mode is se lected .
- Do not press the acce le ra t or peda l when
changing the se lector lever position while
the vehicle is stationary and the engine is
running.
- Never sh ift into R or P whi le driving.
- Before driving down a steep slope, reduce your speed and sh ift into a lower gear w ith
"t i ptronic".
- Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
pedal too often or too long when driving
down a hi ll. Constant brak ing causes the
brakes to overheat and substant ially re
duces brak ing performance, increases brak
ing d istance or causes comp lete failure of
the brake system.
~
93
Automat ic t ra nsm iss io n
-To prevent the vehicle from rolling back
when stopping on inclines, a lways hold it in
place with the brake pedal or parking brake.
- Never hold the vehicle on an incline with a
s li pping clutch. The clutch opens automati
cally when it becomes too hot from the
overload . An indicator lamp
mJ illuminates
and a driver message appears
~ page 96
when the cl utch is overloaded.
- If the engine must remain running, never
have any dr iv ing pos ition engaged when
checking under the hood. Make sure these
lector lever has secure ly engaged and is
locked in P with the parking bra ke set
~ page 203. Otherwise, any increase in en
gine speed may set the vehicle in motion,
even with the parking brake applied.
- S tronic- and tiptron ic transmission: When
stopping on an incline, do not try to ho ld
the vehicle in place by pressing the acce lera
tor pedal while a driving gear is selected.
This can cause the transm ission to overheat
and can damage it. Activate the parking brake or press the brake pedal to prevent
the vehicle from rol ling .
- S tronic- and tiptron ic transmission: Allow
i ng the veh icle to roll when the eng ine is
stopped and the selector leve r is in N will
damage the transmission because it is not
l ub ricated under those c ircumstances .
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re
leased automatically only when the driver's
safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Hill descent control
Applies to vehicles: with multitro nic/5 tronic/tip tronic
The hill descent control system assists the driver
when driving down declines.
H ill descent control is activated when the selec
tor lever is in D/S and you press the brake pedal.
The transmission au tomatically selects a gear
that is suitable for the in cl ine. Hill descent con-
94
trol tries to maintain the speed achieved at the
time of braking, within physica l and techn ical
li mitations .
It may still be necessary to adjust the
speed with the brakes .
Hill descent control switches off once the decline
l evels out or you press the accel erator pedal.
On vehicles with the cruise control system*
~ page 88 , hill descent control is a lso activated
when the speed is set.
./1. WARNING
Hill descent control cannot overcome physical
limitations, so it may not be able to maintain
a constant speed under all conditions . A lways
be ready to apply the brakes .
Manual shift program
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/5 tronic/tiptronic
Using the manual shift program you con man
ually select gears.
Fig. 108 Cente r co n sole: s hift in g the gea rs m anually
Fig. 109 Stee ring whee l: shift paddle s•
Gear selection w ith selector lever
The tiptronic mode can be se lected either w ith
the veh icle stat ionary or on the move .
"' N N
N
"' CD m
N ~ N ><'. co m
..... N
0 ::..:: co .....
An M appears in the instrument cluster display as soon as the transmiss ion has shifted.
~ To upshift, push the selector lever forward to
the p lus position
0 ¢ fig. 108.
~ To downshift, push the lever to the minus posi -
t ion
0 .
Gear selection with shift paddles*
The shift paddles are act ivated when the se lector
lever is in D/S or the tiptronic manual shift pro
gram.
~ To upshift, touch the shift padd le on the right
G) ¢fig.109 .
~ To downshift, touch the shift paddle on the left
0.
~ If you do not press a shift paddle within a short
t ime while in the D/S position, the transmission
will return to automatic mode. To keep shift ing
using the sh ift paddles, move the selector lever
to the right out of the D/S position.
The transm ission automatically shifts up or down
before critical engine speed is reached.
The transm ission only allows manual shifting
when the engine speed is within the permitted
range.
{O) Tips
- When you sh ift into the next lower gear, the
transmission will downsh ift only when there
i s no poss ibility of over-rew ing the engine.
- When the kick-down comes on, the trans
mission will shift down to a lower gear, de
pending on vehicle and engine speeds.
- Tiptron ic is inoperative when the transmis
s ion is in the fail-safe mode.
Kick-down
Appl ies to vehicles: with multitronic/S t ronic/tiptronic
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration .
Applies to vehicles with a multitronic
transmission
When you depress the accelerator pedal beyond
the res istance point, the transmission downshifts
in to a lower gear rat io depending on the vehicle
Automatic transm ission
speed and engine speed. As long as the accelera
tor pedal is depressed, the engine speed is auto
matically regulated for maximum accelerat ion .
Applies to vehicles with a S tronic-/ tiptronic
transmission
When you depress the accelerator pedal beyond
the resistance point, the automat ic transmission
downsh ifts into a lower gear, depending on vehi
cle speed and engine speed. The upsh ift into the
next higher gear takes place once the maximum
specified engine speed is reached .
A WARNING
Please note that the drive wheels can spin if
kick-down is used on a smooth slippery road -
there is a risk of skidding.
Launch Control Program
Applies to vehicles: wi th S tronic
The Launch Control Program provides the best
acceleration possible when starting from a stop .
Requirement: The engine must be at operating
temperature and the steering wheel must not be
turned .
~ Sedan: Press the I~ OF FI button¢ page 178
while the eng ine is running. The II indicator
light illuminates in the instrument cluster and
Stabilization control (ESC): Sport. Warning!
Restricted stability
appears in the driver infor
mation system display.
~ allroad: Press the I~ OFFI button¢ page 178
while the engine is ru nning . The II indicator
light illuminates in the instrument cluster and
Stabilization control (ESC): Offroad . Warning!
Restricted stability
appears in the driver infor
mation system display .
~ Move the selector lever to the D/S posit ion to
select sport mode (S) or select the
dynamic
driving mode in drive select*¢ page 112.
~ Press the brake pedal strongly w ith your left
foot and hold i t down for at least 1 second.
~ At the same time, press the accelerator pedal
down comp lete ly with your right foot unti l the
engine reaches and maintains a h igh RPM.
~ Remove your foot from the brake peda l within
S seconds¢ ,&. ..,.
95
Automatic transmissio n
A WARNING
-Always adapt your driving to the traffic flow.
- Only use the Launch Control Program when road and traffic conditions allow it and oth
er drivers will not be endangered or an
noyed by your driving and the veh icle's ac
celeration .
- Please note that the dr iving wheels can spin
and the vehicle can break away whe n sport
mode/offroad mode is switched on, espe
ci al ly when the road is slippery.
- Once you have accelerated, you should
switch spo rt mode/off road mode off by
pre ssing the
l.$ OFFI b utton .
@ Tips
- The transmiss ion temperature may increase
s ignificantly after us ing the Launch Con trol
P rogram. If that happens, the p rogram may
not be available for a few minutes. It w ill be
available again after a cool-down period.
- When a ccele rating using the Lau nch Control
program, all veh icle parts are subject to
heavy loads . This can resul t in inc reased
wear .
Transmission malfunction
Applies to veh icles: w ith multitronic/5 tronic/tiptronic
rm Transmission: P ress brake pedal and select
gear again.
Press the brake pedal and se lect the des ired se
lector lever position again. You can then continue
driving .
rm Transmission overheating: Please drive con
s e rv atively .
The transm ission tempe rature has increased s ig
n ifican tly due to the spo rty d riv in g manne r. D rive
i n a less sporty ma nner until the temperature re
turns to the normal range and the indica tor ligh t
switches of.
rm Transmi ssion malfunction: You can continue
driving
There is a system malfunct ion in the transm is
sion . You may continue driving . D rive to your au-
96 thorized Audi dea
ler or q ualified repair facility
soon to have the malfunction corrected.
rm Tran smission malfun ction: Limited driving
fun ctionality
There is a system malfunction in the transmis
s io n. The transm ission is switc hing to eme rgency
mode. This mode only s hift s into ce rtain gears or
will no longer sh ift a t all. The eng ine may sta ll.
Drive to your authori zed A udi dealer or qualified
repair facility immediate ly to have the ma lfunc
t ion co rrected .
rm ffl Transmi ssion malfunction: No rever se
You can continue driving
S tronic transm iss ion: The re is a sys tem ma lfunc
tion in t he transm ission. The tr ansmission is
swi tching to emergency mode. This mode o nly
shi fts into certain gears or w ill no longer sh if t at
a ll. T he engine may stal l. You cannot engage the
reverse gear. Dr ive to your authorized Audi dea ler
or qualified repair facility immediately to have
the malfunct ion corrected.
DD Tran smission malfunction: Stop vehicle and
shift to pa rk.
Do no t con tinue dr iv ing . Se lec t the P sele ctor lev
er position and see your au thorized A udi dealer
or q ualified repair facility for assistance .
(D Note
If the transm ission switches to eme rge ncy
mode, you should take the vehicle to an a u
thorized Audi dealership as soon as possible
to have the condition corrected.
Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard
cruise control is temporarily unavailable. A chime
sounds as a reminder.
Engine speed!
This driver message appears in vehicles w ith
manual transm ission if the driver had not up
shifted or downshifted in t ime wh ile using adap
tive cruise control braking or accelerating, caus
ing the vehicle to exceed or not reach the permit
ted limit speed. The adaptive cruise control turns
off. A chime sounds as a reminder.
Shift lever position!
Veh icles with an automatic transmission: the
driver message appears if the selector lever is
shifted to the N position. T he adaptive cru ise
control is not available while in this position.
Veh icles with manual transmission : the driver
message appears for vehicles w ith manual trans
miss io n if there is no fo rwa rd gear engaged,
meaning if the reverse gear or the 1st gear is en
gaged o r if the selector lever is in the neutral po
sition. The adaptive cruise control is not available
while in this position .
Stabilization control (ESC)
This message appears if the electronic stab iliza
tion contro l (ESC) is taking action to stabil ize the
veh icle. Th e adapt ive cruise control tu rns off. A
chime sounds as a reminder.
Speed too low
This message appears if the current speed is too
low
to set or to maintain the des ired speed.
The speed being saved must be at least 20 mph
(3 0 km/h). The cru ise control is t urned off for
speeds lower than 12 mph (20 km/h). The adap
tive cruise control remains turned on for speeds
above 95 mph (150 km/h) (override) . It will sta
b ili ze aga in at 95 mph (150 km/h) when the driv
er takes his foot off of the gas pedal.
Parking brake!
The driver message appears when the parking
brake is activated. Adaptive cruise control is
turned off. A chime sounds as a reminder.
106
..... N
0 ::..:: co .....
Introduction
Applies to vehicles: with Audi drive select
Drive select provides the possibility to experience
d iff erent types of vehicle settings in one veh icle.
F or instance, using the three
Comfort, Auto and
Dynamic modes, the driver can switch from a
sporty to a comfortab le driving mode with the
press of a button.
Addit ionally, in vehicles with MM I*, the vehicle
setup for
Individual* mode can be customized by
you. This makes it possible to combine settings
such as a sporty engine tuning with comfortable
steering.
A WARNING
-
Improper use of the Audi drive select can
cause collisions, other accidents and serious
personal injury .
Description
Applies to vehicles: with Audi drive select
The vehicle setup in each mode depends on the
veh icle's features . However, the engine, auto
matic transmission* and steering are always in
volved.
Engine and automatic transmission*
Depending on the mode, the engine and the au
tomatic transm ission respond quicker or in a
more balanced manner to accelerator pedal
movements . In the sporty dynamic mode, the au
tomatic transmission shifts at higher RPMs.
Steering
The steering adapts in terms of steering effort
and steering ratios. Indirect steer ing that moves
eas ily, like the steering in comfort mode, is best
suited to long drives on a highway. In contrast,
dynamic mode provides sporty, direct steering.
The follow ing applies to vehicles with dynam ic
steer ing*: the steering rat io changes based on
vehicle speed in order to maintain optimum
steer ing effort for the driver at all times. This
Audi drive select
sets the steering to be less sensitive at higher
speeds in order to provide improved vehicle con
trol. At reduced speeds, however, steering is
more direct in order to keep the steering effort as
minimal as possible when the driver is maneuver
ing the vehicle. At low and average speeds, dy
nam ic steering additionally prov ides more re
spons ive steering performance .
Adaptive dampers*
The adaptive dampers* use sensors to record in
formation regarding steering movements, brak
ing and acceleration operations by the driver,
road surface, driving speed, and load . This makes
it possible to adapt damping to the driving situa
tion virtua lly in real time. Drive select also makes
it possible to sat isfy the desire for sporty suspen
sion (Dynamic) and comfortable suspension
(Comfort) without giving up balanced tuning (Au
to).
Sport differential*
As a component of the all whee l dr ive system
(quattro)
c::> page 182, the sport different ial* dis
tributes the driving power to the rear axle de
pending on the situation. The distribution of
power varies depending on the mode selected.
The goal is a high level of ag ility and ability to ac
celerate on curves. The vehicle is very responsive
to steering.
Audi adaptive cruise control*
The behavior when accelerating can be adjusted
from comfortable to sporty, depending on the
drive select mode. Adaptive cruise control also
responds to the driving behavior of the vehicle
ahead in a more conservative or sporty manner .
Engine sound*
The sound of the engine is adapted to the select
ed mode and ranges from subtle to sporty.
(D Tips
- In some models, the maximum vehicle
speed can only be reached in the
Auto and
Dynamic modes.
- For vehicles with an automatic transmis-
sion, se lecting the
Dynamic mode resu lts in ...,
111
Audi drive select
sporty shifting characteristics . The S gear
position engages automatically.
- In vehicles that have dynamic steering*, op
erating noise is heard when starting or stop
ping the engine. This does not ind icate a
problem.
Selecting the driving mode
Applies to veh icles: w ith Aud i d rive select
You con choose between Comfort, Auto , Dynam
ic and Individual * modes.
N N 0
0
'l::=====:::: 1-'gi
drive I sel,.c,ct _ J -~-
F ig . 128 Ce nter console : Co ntrol for Aud i dr ive select
Fig . 129 MMI*: A udi drive select
Adjusting the Individual mode
Applies to vehicles : w ith MMI a nd Audi drive select
.,. To set the mode, press the ~:i:a button
c::> fig. 128 multiple times until the desired
mode is displayed in the instrument cluster. Or
.,. In the MMI* , select: ICARlfunction button>
Comfort, Auto, Dynamic or Individual".
In vehicles without the MMI*, the ~:/:a button is
found underneath the shift/selector lever.
You can change the driving mode when the vehi
cle is stationary or while driving. If traff ic per
mits, after changing modes, briefly take your
foot off the accelerator pedal so that the recently
selected mode is also activated for the engine
and transm iss ion.
Comfort -provides a comfort-oriented vehicle
setup and is suited for long drives on highways.
Auto -provides an overall comfortable yet dy
namic driving feel and is suited for every day use.
Dynamic -gives the drive r a sporty driving fee l
and is suited to a sporty driving style .
Individual* -c::, page 112.
&_ WARNING
Pay attention to traffic when operating drive
select to prevent potential risk of an accident.
You can personally specify the vehicle setup in the MMI* .
.,. Select the ICAR I function button > Set individu
al
control button. Once you select the menu,
you w ill automatically drive in the
individual
mode.
Systems Comfort
Engine/Transmission
ba lanced
Steering comfortable
Dynamic steering* comfortab le/indi rect
112
The equipment in you r vehicle will determine
which settings you can adjust. The following ta
ble provides an overview of the characteristics of
each driving mode.
Auto Dynamic
balanced
sporty
balanced sporty
ba lanced/d irec t sporty/direct