
Automatic transmission
Automatic transmission Manual transmission
Gearshift lever
Applies to vehicles: with manual transmiss ion
The clutch pedal must be depressed all the way
before you can start the engine .
The manua l transmission in your Audi is equip
ped with an
interlock-feature.
• Depress the clutch pedal a ll the way.
• Start the engine wit h the gearshift lever in Neu
tral and the clutch pedal depressed.
(D Note
Always depress the clutc h pedal fu lly when
chang ing gears. Do not ho ld the vehicle on a
hill with the clutch pedal partially depressed.
This may cause premature clutch wear or damage.
@ Tips
- Resting your hand o n the gearshift leve r
k nob while driving will cause premature
wear in the transmiss io n.
- The back-up lights go on when you shift into
Reverse w ith the ignition o n.
Gearshift pattern (6-speed manual
transmission)
Applies to vehicles: with man ual transmission
F ig. 84 Gea rshift pattern: 6 -speed manual transmiss io n
Engaging reverse gear (R)
• Move the shift lever all the way to the left,
press it down, then push it forward.
82
Espec ia lly after driving forward, stop the vehicle
completely, shift into
Neutral and rest the shift
l ever br iefly in Neutra l before s hift ing into
Re
verse.
S tronic., tiptronic
Introduction
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic/tip tronic
The au toma tic transmission is con trolled ele c
tronically . The transmission upshifts or down
shifts automatically depending on which drive program is se lected.
When a
moderate driving sty le is used, t he
transm ission selects the most economica l driv ing
mode. It will the n change up early and delay the
downshifts to give better fuel economy.
The tra nsmission sw itches to a sporty mode after
a kick-down or when the driver uses a
s porty
dri ving style
characterized by quick accelerato r
pedal movements, heavy acceleration, frequent
changes in speed and traveling at the max imum
speed .
If desired, the d river can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode ) ~ page 86.
Various automat ic tr ansmissio ns may be insta l
l ed, depending on the model :
S tronic transmission
The S tronic is a dual-clutch transmission . Power
i s transfer red using two clu tches that wor k inde
pendently from one another. They rep lace the
torque conve rter used in conven tiona l automatic
transm iss ions and allow the ve hicle to accelerate
without a noticeable interruption in traction.
tiptronic transmission
In the tiptroni c transmission, power is t ransfe r
r ed by a torq ue conve rter.

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environment
Breaking in
New engine
The engine needs to be run-in during the first
1,000 miles (1,500 km).
For the first 600 miles (1 ,000 kilometer s):
"' Do not use full throttle .
"' Do not drive at engine speeds that are more
than
2/3 of the max imum permitted RPM .
From 600 to 1,000 miles (1 ,000 to 1 ,500
kilometers):
"' Speeds can gradually be increased to the maxi
mum pe rm issib le road or engine speed .
During and after break-in pe riod
"' Do not rev the engine up to high speeds when it
is cold. This applies whether the transmission is
in N (Neutral) or in gear .
After the break-in period
"'Do not exceed maximum engine speed under
any c ircumstances.
"'U pshift into the next higher gear
before reach
ing the red area at the end of the tachometer
sca le
c=>page 10.
During the first few hours of driving, the eng ine's
internal friction is higher than later when all the
mov ing parts have been broken in . How well this
b reak-in process is done depends to a considera
b le exte nt on the way the veh icle is d rive n during
t he first 1,000 miles (1,500 kilometers).
(D Note
Extremely high eng ine speeds a re au toma ti
cally reduced. However, these rpm limits are
programme d for a n engine well run-in, not a
new engine.
@) For the sake of the environment
D o not dr ive with u nnecessari ly high eng in e
spee ds -ups hifting ea rly saves fuel, reduces
noise and pro tec ts the envi ronme nt.
Driving and the envir onment
New tires
If your vehicle is runn ing on new tires, d rive very
car efu lly fo r the firs t 35 0 miles (500 kilometers)
a ft er fit ting.
New tires tend to be slippe ry and must a lso
be "bro ken-in". Be sure to remembe r th is dur
i ng the fi rst 350 m iles (500 kilometers).
Brake gent ly. Avoid following closely behind
other vehicles or other s ituations that m ight
r equire sudden, hard b raking.
Avoid damaging the
vehicle
When yo u are dr iv ing o n poor roa ds, or over
cur bs, stee p ramps, e tc., ma ke cert ain that low
ly ing parts s uch a s spo ile rs a nd exh aust sy stem
parts do no t bottom o ut and get dama ged.
T his is espec ially true for ve hicles with low-s lung
c h ass is (sports c hass is) * and fully loaded
vehicles.
Driving through water on
roads
Note t he following to avoi d ve hicle damage w hen
driv ing through water, for examp le on flooded
roads:
- The water must not be any hig her t han the bot
tom of the vehicle body.
- Do not dr ive faste r than walk ing speed.
A WARNING
= -
Afte r driv ing th ro ugh water, m ud, slush, etc .,
the brakes may be slow to take effect beca use
of wet brake rotors and pa ds. Dry the brakes
f irst by braking carefully to restore the full
b raking effect.
(D Note
Ve hicle compone nts such as the engine,
transmission, suspension o r electrica l system
can be severely damaged by driving throug h
water.
177

Driving and th e en vironm ent
(D Tips
- Check the depth of the water before driving
through it .
- Do not stop the veh icle, drive in reverse or
switch the engine
off when driving through
water.
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles may
create waves that raise the water level and
make it too deep for your veh icle to drive
through safely.
- Avoid driving through salt water because it
can cause corrosion.
Catalytic converter
It is very important that your emission control
system (catalytic converter) is functioning prop erly to ensure that your vehicle is running in an
environmentally sound manner .
~ Always use lead-free gasoline ¢ page 186,
Fuel supply .
~ Never run the tank down a ll the way to empty .
~ Never put too much motor oil in your engine
¢ page 195, 9::?1 Adding engine oil .
~ Never try to push- or tow-start you r vehicle.
The cata lytic converter is an efficient "clean-up"
dev ice bu ilt into the exha ust system of the vehi
cle. The cata lytic conve rter burns many of the
pollutants in the exhaust gas before they are re
leased into the atmosphere.
The exclusive use of unleaded fue l is critica lly im
portant for the life of the catalytic conve rter and
p roper functioning of the engine.
A WARNING ,..____ -
- The temperature of the exhaust system is
high, both when driving and after stopping
the engine.
- Never touch the exha ust tail pipes once they
have become hot. This could result in burns.
- Do not park or ope rate t he vehicle in areas
where the hot exha ust system may come in
contact with dry grass, br ush, fue l spill or
other mater ial which can cause a fire.
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustproofing on or near the exhaust mani-
178
fold, exha ust pipes, cata lytic conve rter or
heat shields. D uring driving, the substance
used for undercoat ing could overheat and
cause a f ire.
Cl) Note
- Be aware that just one tank f illing wit h
leaded fu e l w ill already seriously degrade
the performance of the catalytic converter.
- Do not exceed the correct engine oil leve l
¢page 195.
-Do not drive until the fue l tank becomes
completely empty. The engine could mis
fire. Unbu rned fue l cou ld also get into the
exhaust system and this could cause the
catalytic converter to overheat.
- Do not turn off the ign ition while the vehicle
is moving .
- Do not continue to operate your vehicle un
der these conditions, as otherw ise fuel can
reac h the catalytic converter. T his could re
sult in overheat ing of the converter, requir
ing its replacement.
- T o ass ure eff icient operat ion of the Emis
sion Contro l System:
- Have you r vehicle maintained properly and
i n accordance wit h the service recommen
dations in your Warranty
& Ma intenance
booklet.
- Lack of proper ma intenance as well as im
p roper use of the veh icle will impa ir the
function of the emission control system
and could lead to damage.
(® For the sake of the environment
Even when the Emiss ion Control System is op
erating properly, t he exhaust gas can have a
sulfur-like exhaust gas smell under some op
erating states. Th is depends on the sulfur
content of the fuel being used. Us ing a d iffer
ent brand of fuel may help, or fi lli ng the tank
wi th lead-free super g rade gasoline.
Shutting down vehicle
If you wo uld like yo ur vehicle to remain inopera
tive for a longer pe riod of time, con tact an Audi
o r other spec ia liz ed dealer. They can adv ise you ..,.

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tion, maintenance and storage . Pay attention to
addit ional information concerning the battery .
Refer to¢
page 200 .
Economical and environ
mentally-friendly driving
General
Your personal style of driving will determine the
economy of your vehicle, as well as exhaust and
noise levels.
F ue l economy, environmenta l impact, and we ar
on your engine, brakes and tires la rgely depend
on three factors :
- you r persona l dr iving sty le
- operating conditions
- technical lim itations
If you anticipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, you can eas ily cut your fue l
consumption by
10-15 percen t. This section will
g ive you some tips on how you can help the envi
ronment and yo ur pocketbook .
(!) Tips
The consumpt ion estimates as published by
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) and Transport Canada may not cor re
spond to your actual consumption on the
road, which will va ry depending upon vehicle
load and speed, road and wea ther condi tions,
t rip length, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are acceler
ating.
" Avoid unnecessary accelerating a nd braking .
Veh icles use the most fuel when they are acceler
ating . If you anticipate what is going to happen
next , you will need to brake less and, thus, accel
e rate less . let the vehicle coast wheneve r possi
b le -fo r example when yo u see that the next traf
fic light is red .
Driving and the envir onment
Avoid full throttle
Driving at moderate speeds saves fuel and im
proves your mileage .
"Try and keep well below your car 's maximum
speed.
Acce lerating gently reduces fuel consumption,
engine wear, and does not disturb the environ
ment.
Fuel consumption, exhaust emissions and engine
noise increase disproport ionately at high speeds.
If you drive at approximately three quarters of
top speed, fuel consumption will be reduced by
one half. Never drive faster than the posted
speed limit and weather cond itions permit .
Reducing unnecessary idling
Even when your car is jus t idling it burns up fuel.
" Shut the eng ine off when you are not driving
the vehicle.
" Do not warm up the vehicle by lett ing the en-
gine run
at idle.
It makes sense to shut off the engine in traffic
jams, when waiting for trains to pass at railroad cross ings, or at traff ic lights that have long waits
on red . Turning the engine off for just
30 -40 sec
onds saves more f uel than is burned starting the
. . engine again.
It takes a long time for the eng ine to warm up
fully when it is running at idle . However, wear
and noxious emissions are especially h igh when
the engine is warming up . So yo u should dr ive
away as soon as you start the eng ine and avoid
runn ing at high rpms w hile the engine is st ill
warming up .
(D Note
Do not leave eng ine idling unattended after
s tart ing. If wa rning lights sho uld come on to
i ndicate improper operation, they would go
unheeded . Extended idling also prod uces
heat, which could resu lt in overheating or
other damage to the vehicle or other proper
ty.
179

Driving and th e en vironm ent
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a lot
of fuel.
.,. Have your vehicle serviced at regular intervals.
By having your vehicle regu larly serviced by an
author ized Audi dealer he lps to ensure that it
runs properly and econom ically . The condition of
your veh icle not only affects its safety and ability
to hold its value, it also affects
fu el consump
tion .
C he ck your oil e ach t ime you fill you r ta nk .
The amount of oil used is re lated to engine load
and speed.
It is normal for the oil consumpt ion of a new en
g ine to reach its lowest val ue afte r a certa in mile
age has been driven .
You must d rive you r vehicle about 3 ,000 miles
(5,000 k ilome ters) before you can p roperly as
sess o il cons umption .
This a lso applies to fuel consumption and engine
outpu t.
(D Note
- Have your vehicle maintained properly and
in accordance with the service recommenda
tions in you r Warranty
& Maintenance book
l et . La ck of p roper main tenance as well as
i mproper use of the vehicle will impa ir the
f u nct ion of the emission control system and
could lead to damage.
- Do not al ter or remove any component of
the Emission Control System unless ap proved by the manufacturer.
- Do not a lter or remove any device, such as
heat shie lds, switches, ignition wires,
valves, which are designed to protect your
vehicle's Emission Control System and other i mportant vehicle components.
180
· Fewer short trips
Fuel consumption will always be relatively high
on short trips .
.,. Try to avoid driving short distances with a cold
eng ine .
T he eng ine and catalytic converter have to reac h
their opt imal
operating temper atu re to reduce
fuel consumpt ion and noxious emiss ions effec
tively .
Just after start ing, a cold engine in a mid-size car
on ly achieves a fuel economy of 6-8 miles per
gallon (30-40 l/100 km) . After about a half a
mile, fuel economy climbs to 12 mpg (20 l/100
km) . After about
2 .5 m iles (4 km), the engine is
at its proper operating temperatu re and fuel
economy has reached a no rma l level. So you can
see that you should avoid sho rt tr ips wheneve r
possible .
The
out sid e temperatur e is also cr it ica l in th is re
gard. Your car cons umes more fue l in the winter
than in the summer.

Fuel and Refueling
Fuel and Refueling
Fuel
Fuel supply
Using the right fuel helps keep the environment
clean and prevents engine damage.
Fuel recommendation
The fuel recommended for your vehicle is unlead
ed premium
grade gasoline. Audi recommends
using TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline with a mini
mum octane rating of 91 AKI (95 RON). For more
information on TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline,
p lease go to the official website
(www.toptiergas.com).
The recommended gasoline octane rating for
your engine can also be found on a label located
on the ins ide of the fuel filler flap . This rating
may be specified as AKI or RON.
Your vehicle may also be operated using unlead
ed regular gasoline with a minimum octane rat
ing of 87 AKl/91 RON . However, using 87 AKI/91
RON octane fuel w ill slightly reduce engine per
formance.
Use unleaded gasoline only. Unleaded gasoline
is available throughout the USA, Canada, and in
most European countries . We recommend that
you do not take your vehicle to areas or countries
where un leaded gaso line may not be available.
For more information on refueling your vehicle,
see r::;,
page 188.
Octane rating
Octane rating indicates a gasoline's ability to re
sist engine damaging "knock" caused by prema
ture ignit ion and detonation . Therefore, buy ing
the correct grade of gasoline is very important to
he lp prevent poss ible engine damage and a loss
of engine performance.
Gasoline most commonly used in the United
States and Canada has the following octane rat
i n gs that can usually be found on the filler pump:
- Premium Grade: 91 - 96 AKI
- Regular Grade: 87 -90 AKI
186
Explanation of the abbreviations:
AKI= Anti Knock Index= (R+M)/2 = (RON +MON)/
2
RON = Research Octane Number
MON = M otor Octane Number.
CJ) Note
- Do not use any fue l with octane ratings low
er than 87 AKI or 91 RON otherwise expen
sive engine damage will occur.
- Do
not use leaded gasoline. The use of lead
ed gasoline will severely damage your vehi
cle's catalytic converter and its ability to
control exhaust emissions.
Blended gasoline
Use of gasoline containing alcohol or MTBE
(methyl tertiary butyl ether)
You may use unleaded gasoline blended with al
cohol or MTBE (commonly referred to as oxygen
ates) if the blended mixt ure meets the following
criteria:
Blend of gasoline methanol (wood alcohol or
methyl alcohol)
- Anti-knock index must be 87 AKI or higher.
- Blend must contain no more than 3% metha-
nol.
- Blend must contain more than 2% co-solvents.
Blend of gasoline and ethanol (grain alcohol or
ethyl alcohol)
-Anti-knoc k index must be 87 AK I or higher.
- Blend must not contain more than 15% etha-
nol.
- Vehicles with flexib le fue l eng ine: blend must
not contain more than 85% ethanol.
Blend of gasoline and MTBE
-Anti-knock index must be 87 AKI or higher.
- Blend must contain not more than 15% MTBE.
Seasonally adjusted gasoline
Many gasoline grades are blended to perform es
pecially well for winter or summer dr iv ing . Dur-
i ng seasonal change-ove r, we suggest that you .,.

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adjustm ent is mor e likely to be made in time .
(D Note
-Fu els con taining a high pe rcentage of etha
no l such as ESQ and EBS may only be used in
vehicles with flexible fuel engines. Using high ethanol f uel in veh icles not equ ipped
with flexib le fue l engines can cause severe
engine damage.
- Methanol fuels which do not meet these re quirements may cause corros ion and dam
age to plast ic and rubber components in the
fuel system.
- Do not use fuels that fail to meet the spec i
fied c riter ia in this chapter .
- If you are unable to determine whether or
not a particular fuel blend meets the spec i
fications, ask your service station o r its fuel
supplier .
- Do not use fue l for wh ich the contents can
not be identif ied .
- Fuel system damage and performance prob
lems result ing from the use of fuels differ
ent from those specif ied a re not the respon
s ibility of Audi and are not covered under
t h e New Veh icle o r the Emiss io n Control
Syste m Wa rra nt ies.
- If yo u experience a loss of fue l economy o r
driveability an d pe rform ance pr oble m s du e
to t he use of one of these fuel blends we
,
recommend that you switch to unb lended
fuel.
Ethanol fuel (Bio-ethanol)
Applies to vehicles: with flex ible fuel engine
You can recognize vehicles wi th a flexible fuel
engine by looking at the lab el on the inside of
the fuel filler flap.
Ve hicl es w ith flex ible f uel engines may be oper
ated w ith b io -e thanol fuels such as EBS (85%
ethano l and 15% gasoline) or with un leaded gas
oline (91 AKI/ROZ 95) . The ve hicle may a lso b e
operated with a mixtu re of these fuels.
Fuel and R efueling
Your fuel consumpt ion w ill increase when using
bio-ethano l fue ls due to th e lower amount of en
ergy conta ined per un it vol ume in ethanol.
Warming up the flexible fuel engine in low
temperature s
Due to the chemica l composition of b io -ethanol ,
a certa in amount of fue l ends up in the engine o il
when driving short distances in very low temper
atures . This fuel evaporates again when the en
gine is warmed up.
II Please warm up engine .
If the drive r message appears in the instr ume nt
cluster disp lay, drive with a warm engine to re
duce the oil leve l.
(D Note
- N ever fill wi th metha no l o r with a higher
percentage of b io -ethanol than 85% (E85).
A highe r percentage of bio-ethanol in the
fuel can cause damage to the engine or to the fuel system.
- If you use on ly E85, it is recommende d to
fill the fue l tank complete ly w ith unleaded
premium g rade gasoline every 5,000 mi les.
- If you expe rience starting, rough id le or hes
itat ion d riveab ility prob lems, f ill the fuel
tank complete ly w ith unleaded p remium
grade gaso line and drive it norma lly until
t he gaso line is used. See your author ized
Audi dea ler if the problem persists.
- Inform your author ized Audi dealer that you
are ope rating o r have operate d the vehicle
w ith EBS.
- Read and follow the i nfo rmat ion and tips
abou t gasoli ne
c::> page 186 .
(D Tips
It may take longer to start the engine when
the outs ide temperat ure is very cold . If possi
ble, use w inte rize d fue l if tempe ratures are
below free zing .
187

Fuel and Refueling
Gasoline additives
A major concern among many auto manufactur
ers is carbon deposit build-up ca used by the type
of gasoline you use .
Although gasoline grades d iffer from one manu
facturer to another, they have certain things in
common. All gasoline grades contain substances
that can cause deposits to collect on v ital engine
parts, such as fuel injectors and intake valves. Al
though most gasoline brands include additives to
keep engine and fuel systems clean, they are not
equally effective.
Audi recommends using TOP TIER Detergent Gas
oline. For more information on TOP TIER Deter
gent Gasoline, please go to the official website (www.toptiergas.com).
After an extended period of using inadequate
fue ls, built-up carbon depos its can rob your en
g ine of peak performance.
CD Note
- Damage or malfunction due to poor fuel
quality is not covered by the Audi New Vehi
cle Limited Warranty .
- Do not add aftermarket fuel additive prod
ucts to yo ur fuel tank.
Refueling
Fuel filler neck
The fuel filler neck is located on the right rear
side panel behind the fuel f iller flap .
If the power locking system should fail, you can
still open the flap manually -for detailed instruc
tions see
c> page 190 .
You can find the fuel tank capacity of your vehicle
in
<=>page 242 .
The label on the inside of the fuel filler flap tells
you the correct fue l for your vehicle. For more in
formation about fuel specifications , see
<=> page 186 .
Your veh icle fuel tank has an on-board refuelling
vapor recovery system. This feature he lps to pre
vent fuel vapors from escaping from the tank and
188
polluting the environment whi le you refuel your
veh icle. In order to fill the tank proper ly while
protecting the env ironment, please follow th is
refueling procedure carefully.
A WARNING
Under normal operating conditions, never car
ry additional fuel containers in your car. Gas
can isters and other containers used to trans
port fue l can be dangerous. Such containers,
full or empty, may leak and could cause a fire
in a col lision.
If you must transport fuel to
use for your lawn mower , snow blower , etc.,
be very careful and always observe local and
state laws regarding the use, transportation
and storage of such fuel containers. Make cer
tain the container meets industry standards (ANSI/ASTM F852 -86) .
CD Note
Never drive your vehicle until the fuel tank is
complete ly empty. The irregular supply of
fuel can cause misfiring. Gasoline could enter the exhaust system and damage the catalytic
converte r.
Refuelling
Fig. 154 R ight rea r vehicle side: Ope ning the fuel filler flap
Fig. 155 Fuel fille r flap w ith att ach ed fuel c ap