2016 AUDI Q3 service indicator

Driving
When start ing from a stop
- T he in tegr al hi ll sta rt as sis t helps y ou when
driving by automatically releasing the park ing
brake¢
page 72, Starting from a stop.
- When starting on incl ines, the hill start assist
prevents the vehicle from unintentionally roll ­
ing back . The braking force
of the parking brake
is only released if sufficient drive power has
been built up at the wheels.
Em erg enc y bra ke f unction
An emergency braking functions ens ures that the
vehicle can be s lowed down even if the
normal
brakes fail¢ page 73, Emergency braking
function.
,&. WARNING
- Do not press the accelerator pedal inadver­
tently when the veh icle is stationary and the
engine is running and a gear is selected.
Otherwise t he vehicle w ill start to move im­
med iate ly and could result in a c rash.
- If the power supply fa ils, the released park­
ing bra ke can no longe r engage. In th is
case, pa rk the veh icle on leve l ground and
sec ure it by placing the selector lever in the
P position. See an author ized Audi dealer or
authorized Aud i Service Faci lity for assis ­
tance .
(D Tips
-If the parking b rake is set while the ignition
i s sw itched off, the. indicator light in the
b utton and -(USA models) /. (Cana­
da models) will turn off after a certain
amount of time.
- Occasiona l noises when the parking brake is
set and re leased are normal and are not a
cause for concern.
- When the vehicle is parked, the parking
brake goes thro ugh a self-test cycle at reg u­
l ar intervals. Any no ises assoc iated with this
are normal.
- If there is a power fa ilure, the parking brake
will not set if it is re leased, and it will not
release if it is set¢,&. See an authorized
72
-
Audi dealer or author ized Audi Service Fa ­
cility for assistance.
Parking
.. Press the brake pedal to stop the veh icle.
.. To set the park ing brake, pull on the© switch.
.. Select the P position .
.. Turn the engine off¢,& .
.. Turn the steering wheel when par king on in­
cl ines so that the wheels w ill roll into the cu rb
if the vehicle starts moving.
,&. WARNING
- Always take the veh icle key with yo u when
leaving the vehicle, even for a short period
of time. This applies part icularly when chil­
dren remain in the vehicle. Otherwise chil­
dren could start the engine, release the
parking brake or operate electrical equip­
ment such as power w indows, which in­
creases the risk of an accident.
-
- No one should remain in the veh icle w hen it
is locked, especially ch ild ren. Locked doors
make it more difficult for emergency work­
ers to get into the veh icle, wh ich puts lives
at risk.
Starting from a stop
The start assist function ensures that the park­
ing broke is released automatically upon start­
ing.
Stopping and setting the parking brake
.. To set the park ing brake, pull on the(®) switch.
Starting and automat ically r elea sing the
parking brake
.. When you press the acce lerator pedal, the
parking brake is automat ica lly re leased and
your vehicle beg ins to move .
When stopping at a traffic signa l or stopping in
c ity traff ic, the parking brake can be applied . The
vehicle does not have to be held with the brake pedal. The park ing brake elim inates the tendency
to c reep when a se lector lever position is engag-
ed. As soon as yo u press t he accelerator pedal,
1J1>

Automatic transmission
Shifting with the shift paddle s*
You can operate the shift padd les in the D, Sor M
selector lever posit ions.
• To sh ift up one gear, tap the
0 shift paddle
¢fig. 93.
• To shift down one gea r, tap the O sh ift paddle.
• If you do not press a shift button within a short
time whi le in the D/S position, the transmission
will return to automatic mode. To keep shifting
using the shift buttons, move the selector lever
to the right out of the D/S position.
The transmission automatically shifts up or down
before critical engine speed is reached.
The transm ission only a llows manual shift ing
when the engine speed is within the permitted
range.
@ Tips
- When you shift into the next lower gear, the
transmission wi ll downshift only when there
is no possibility of over-revving 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.
- Tiptronic is inoperative when the transmis­
sion is in the fai l-safe mode .
Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
When you press the accelerator peda l down be­
yond the resistance point (called kick-down), the
automatic transmission downshifts into a lower
gear, depending on vehicle speed and engine RPM. It shifts up into the next higher gear once
the maximum specified engine RPM is reached.
A WARNING
Please note that the wheels could spin on
slick or slippery roads when kick-down is ac­
tive.
Transmission malfunction
• Transmission overheating! Please stop the
vehicle!
86
The transmission is too hot and can become dam­
aged. Stop and let the transmission coo l with the
engine running (at idle) in the P se lector lever po­
sition. Then the indicator light and the message
turn off, drive to an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility immediately to have
the malfunct ion corrected.
If the indicator light
and the driver message do not turn off, do not
continue driving. See an authorized Audi dea ler
or authorized Audi Service Facility fo r assistance.
Selector lever emergency release
In order to tow a vehicle due to power failure,
the selector lever emergency release must be ac­
tivated .
Fig. 94 Selector lever: remov ing t he cover
Fig. 95 Selector lever: emergency release
The emergency release mechanism is located in
the right area under the selector lever shift gate.
Using the emergency release can be complicated .
We recommend contacting an authorized Audi
dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility for as­
s istance, if necessary.
A maintenance tool from the vehicle tool kit
must be used to release
¢ page 211 .

Airbag syste m
with these requirements and we recommend
that you have your dealer perform this service
for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag System
performs in a crash. For examp le, using t ire-r im
comb inat ions not approved by Audi, lower ing the
veh icle, changing the stiffness of the suspens ion,
including the springs, suspension struts, shock
absorbers etc . can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
electronic control unit. Some suspension changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in crashes in wh ich it would not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas ured by
the sensors and prevent the airbag from deploy­ ing when it should.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
change Advanced Airbag performance and in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that
do not have the same performance charac­
teristics as the components originally instal­
led o n your veh icle .
- Never use tire-rim comb inations that have
not been approved by Audi.
A WARNING
Items stored between the safety belt buckle
and the center console can cause the senso rs
in the buckle to send the wrong info rmation
to the electronic control module and prevent
t he Advanced Airbag System from wor king
properly.
- Always make sure tha t noth ing can interfere
with the safety be lt buck les and that they
are not obstructed.
126
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig. 125 S ide a irbag locat io n in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests ¢
fig. 125 facing the doors.
They are identified by the word "AIRBAG".
The sid e airbag system ba sically con sis t s o f:
- the electronic control module and external side
impact sensors
- the two a irbags located in the s ides of the front
backrests
- the airbag warning light in the instrument clus -
ter.
The airbag system is monitored electronica lly to
make certain that it is functioning properly at a ll
t imes. Each time you turn on the ignition, the air ­
bag system indicator light w ill come on for a few
seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side airbag system supplements the safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of injury to
the driver's and front passenger's upper torso on
the side of the vehicle that is struck in a side co l­
li sion. The a irbag deploys only in side impacts
and only when the vehicle acceleration registered by the control unit is high enough. If this rate is
below the reference val ue programmed into the
contro l unit, the side airbags will not be trig-
gered, even though the car may be badly dam-
aged as a result of the collision. It is not possible
to define an airbag triggering range that will cov­ er every possible angle of impact, si nce the c ir­
cumstances w ill vary conside rably between one
collision and another . Important factors include, .,,.

Intelligent Technology
Electromechanical
steering
The electromechanical steering sup ports the
driver's steering movements .
Power steering adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed .
Indicator lights and mess ages
• Steering fault! Do not drive veh icle!
If thi s ind ic a tor light t urns o n and stays o n and
this message appears, the power steering may
have fa iled.
S top the veh icle in a safe lo cat io n as soo n as pos­
sib le. Do
not c on tinue driving. See an author ized
Aud i dea ler o r authorized Aud i Serv ice Facility fo r
assistance.
If the ind icator lig ht t urns on, the steer ing wheel
may be mo re diff icu lt to move o r more sensitive
than usual. The stee ring wheel may also be at a n
angle when dr iving straight .
Dr ive s low ly to your author ized A udi dealer or au­
thor ized Audi Se rvice Facility to have the ma l­
f u nction co rrected.
E£-ij St eering lock: System fault! Plea se contact
deal er.
There is a malfunction in the electronic steering
lock.
D rive to an a uthorized Audi dea le r or a uthorized
Audi Service Facility immediately to have the
malfunct ion corrected.
@ Tips
If the . or Erj indicato r light on ly stays on
for a short time, you may continue driv ing.
All wheel drive (quattro)
Applies to vehicles: with all wheel drive
In oil wheel drive, oil four wheels ore powered .
General information
In a ll w heel d rive, the d rivi ng power is divided be­
tween a ll four wheels . This happens au tomatical-
156
ly depending on yo ur driv ing behavior as we ll as
the cur rent road conditions . Refer to
Q page 151.
The all whee l dr ive concep t is designed fo r high
engine power. Yo ur vehicle is except ion ally pow­
erf ul and has excellent drivin g charac teristics
both un der normal driving conditions and on
snow and ice . Always read and follow safety pre ­
cautions
c:> .&, .
Winter tires
By using all whee l dr ive, your ve hicle has goo d
f orward motion wi th standard tires in w inte r con ­
ditions . However, in winte r we recommend using
winter or all-season tires on all four wheels, be­
cause this will improve the brak ing effect
c:> page 206, Winter tires .
Snow chains
If there are snow chain laws, snow chains m ust
also be used o n veh icles with all wheel drive
c:> page 206, Snow chains.
Replacing tires
Fo r vehicles with all wheel drive, on ly wheels with
t h e same ro lli ng circ umfe rence sho uld be used .
Avoid whee ls with different t read depths
Q page 198 , New tires or wheels .
A WARNING
-Also, in vehicles with all wheel drive, adapt
your driving sty le to the current road and
traffic conditions. Do not let t he increased
safety prov ided tempt you in to taking r isks,
because this inc reases t he risk of an acc i­
dent.
- The braking ab ility o f your vehicle is limited
t o th e trac tion of th e wh eels. I n this way, it
is no t differe nt from a two wheel drive vehi ­
cle. Do no t be tempte d to accelerate to a
hi gh speed when the ro ad is slip pery this in­
creases the risk of an accident .
- N ote tha t on wet s tree ts, the front wheels
can " hydrop lane" i f driv ing at spee ds tha t
are too high. Unlike front wheel drive
veh icles, t he engine does not
rev higher sud­
de nly when t he vehicle begins hydroplan ing.
For this reason, pay attention to the road

Check ing and F illing
Audi oil quality standard
Gas olin e
VW 502 00 or
engi ne vw 50400
Using the proper engine oil is important for the
functionality and service life of the engine. Your
engine was factory-filled with a high-quality oil
which can usually be used throughout the entire
year .
Q) Note
Your Limited New Vehicle Warranty does not
cover damage or malfunctions due to failure
to follow recommended maintenance and use
requirements as set fo rth in the Audi Owner's
Manual and Wa rranty
& Maintenance booklet.
- Use only a high qua lity eng ine oi l th at ex-
pressly complies with the Audi oil qua lity
stan dard specified for your vehi cle's engine.
Using any o ther oil can cause serious engine
damage .
- Do not mix any lubricants o r other addit ives
i nto the engine oil. Doing so can cause en­
gine damage.
(D Tips
I f you nee d to add oi l and there is none availa­
ble that meets the Audi o il qu ality st andard
your engine requires, you may ad d a total of
no more than 0 .5 quart/liter of a high-quality
"synthet ic"oil that meets the following speci­
fications.
- ACEA A3 o r API SM with a viscosity g rade of
SAE OW-30, SAE 5W-30 or SAE 5W-40.
- For more information about engine oi l that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact either your authorized Audi dea ler
or Audi Custome r Relat ions at
1 (800) 822-2834 or visit our web site at
www.audiusa.com or www .aud icanada .ca.
Engine 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 effective lubrication and cool­
ing of internal engine components, all internal
180
combust ion engines consume a certa in amo unt
of oil. Oil consumption varies from engine to en­
gine and may change significantly over the life of
the engine. Typically, engines w ith a specified
break-in period (see
c:::;, page 159) consume more
o il dur ing the break-in per iod than they consume
af ter o il consumption has stab ilized .
Under normal conditions, the rate of oil con­
sumption depends on the quality and viscos ity of
the oil, the RPM (revo lutions per m inute) at
wh ich the engine is operated, the amb ient tem­
perature and road condit ions. Further factors a re
the amount of o il di lution from wate r co ndensa­
tion or fue l resid ue an d the oxidation level of the
o il. As any engine is sub ject to wear as mileage
builds up, the oi l cons umption may increase over
time unt il replacement of worn components may
become necessary.
With a ll these variab les coming into p lay, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be estab­
li shed or specified. The re is no alternative to reg­
u lar and frequent checking of the oi l level, see
Note.
If the yellow engine oil level warning symbo l Ell
in the instrument cluster lights up, you sho uld
check the oil level as soon as possible
c:::;, page 181. Top off the oil at your earliest con­
venience
c:::;,page 181.
A WARNING
Before you check anyth ing in the e ng ine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
I NGS
c:::;, .&. in Working in the engin e compart­
ment on page 177.
(D Note
Driving w ith an insuffic ient oil level is likely to
cause severe damage to the eng ine.
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warn ing d isplay. is not
an indicator of the oil level. Do not rely on
it. Instead, check the oil level in your en­
g ine at regular int ervals , pr eferably each
time you refuel, and alway s before going
on a long trip .

Wheels
-Have an authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facili­
ty check the wheel alignment if
there is unusual wear .
-Have the wheels rebalanced if an
imbalance is causing noticeable
vibration in the steering wheel. If you do not, the tires and other
vehicle components could wear more quickly.
Tread wear indicator
The original tires on your vehicle
have 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high
wear indicators
c:::> fig. 157 run­
ning across the tread. Marks on
the tire sidewall (for example
"TWI" or other symbols) indicate
the positions of the tread wear in­
dicators.
The tires have reached the mini­ mum tread depth
l) when they
have worn down to the tread wear
indicators. Replace the tires with
new ones
c:::>,1i..
Wheel rotation
Rotating the wheels regularly is
recommended to ensure the tires
wear evenly . To rotate wheels, in­
stall the wheels from the rear
1> Obey any applicable regulations in your
country.
200
axle on the front axle and vice
versa. This will allow the tires to
have approximately the same
length of service life.
For unidirectional tires, make
sure the tires are installed accord­
ing to the running direction indi­
cated on the tire sidewall
c:::> page 218.
Hidden damage
Damage to tires and rims can of­
ten occur in locations that are
hidden. Unusual vibrations in the
vehicle or pulling to one side may indicate that there is tire damage .
Reduce your speed immediately .
Check the tires for damage. If no
damage is visible from the out­
side, drive slowly and carefully to
the nearest authorized Audi deal­
er or authorized Audi Service Fa­
cility to have the vehicle inspect­
ed.
WARNING
Tread that has worn too low or
different tread depths on the
tires can reduce driving safety.
This can especially have a nega-
tive effect on handling, on the ,..

Wheels
Chec k/co rrec t the p ress ures o f all four tires and
sto re the pressure a gain in the Infotainment sys­
tem
¢ page 210.
mm (Ti re Pressure Moni to ring System) Tire
pressure: S ystem malfunction !.
Ifm:im appears
after switc hing the ignition on or whi le driving
and the
RI] i ndicator light in the instrument cl us­
ter blinks for approximate ly one minute and then
stays on, there is system malfunction. Try to
store the correct tire pressures¢
page 210 . If
the ind icator light does tur n off or turns on again
after a short period of t ime, dr ive to you r auth or­
ized A udi dealer o r autho riz ed Aud i Service Faci li­
ty immedia tely to have the malfunct ion corre ct­
ed .
A WARNING
- If the ti re pressu re indicator appears in the
display, reduce your speed immediate ly and
avoid any hard steering or braking maneu­
vers. Stop as soon as possib le and check the
t ires and t heir pressu re.
- The driver is responsib le for maintaining the
correct tire pressure. You must check the
t ire pressure regu larly .
- Under certain conditions (such as a sporty
dr iv ing style, winter cond itions o r unpaved
roads), the tire pressure mo nitoring system
indicator may be delayed.
- Do not use r un-flat tires on your vehicle. Us­
ing them when not permitted can lead to
vehicle damage or accidents.
(D Tips
- The t ire pressure monitoring system can al­
so stop work ing when there is an ESC mal­
funct io n.
- Using snow chains may result in a system
malfunction.
- The t ires with the identification "AO" or
"RO" ¢
page 198 have been matched with
your Audi tire pressure monitoring system .
W e recommend that you use these t ires.
210
· Storing tire pressures
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure mo nitoring system
If the tire pressure changes or a tire is replaced,
it must be confirmed in the Infotainment sys­
tem .
.,. Make sure before stor ing that the t ire pressures
of all four tires mee t the specified values and
are adap ted to the load ¢
page 201 .
.,. Sw itch the ignit io n on .
.,. Sele ct: the
I CARI f u nct ion bu tton > (Car) sys­
tems *
control b utt on > Servicing & c heck s >
Tire pressure monitoring .
(D Tips
Do not s to re t he tire pressures if snow ch ains
a re ins talled .

The spare tire is intended for short-term use on­
ly. Have the damaged tire checked and replaced,
if necessary, by an author ized Audi dealer or au­
thor ized Audi Service Facility as soon as possib le.
There are some restrictions on the use of the
compact spare tire . The compact spare tire has
been designed specif ically for your type of veh i­
cle . Do not replace it with the spare tire from an­
other type of vehicle.
R emo ving th e spar e tire
... Remove the cargo floor .
... Remove the wing bolt and then remove the re-
tainer underneath it.
... Remove the subwoofer*
¢ page 212.
... Remove the spare tire.
Snow cha in s
For technical reasons, the use of snow chains on
the compact spare tire is not permitted.
If you have to drive with snow chains and a front
tire fails, mount the spare wheel in place of a
rear tire. Install the snow chains on the rear tire
that you removed, and install that in p lace of the
front tire that failed.
A WARNING
- Never use the spare t ire if it is damaged or if
it is worn down to the tread wear indicators.
- If the spare tire is more than 6 years o ld,
use it only in an emergency and with ex­
treme caution and carefu l dr iving.
- The spare tire is intended on ly for tempora­
ry and short-term use. It shou ld be replaced
as soon as possible with the normal wheel
and t ire.
- After mounting the compact spare t ire, the
t ire pressure must be checked as soon as
poss ible. The t ire pressure of the compact
spare tire must be 4.2 bar; otherwise, yo u
risk having an accident.
- Do not d rive faster than 50 mph (80 km/h).
Yo u risk hav ing an accident.
- Avoid full-throttle accelerat ion, heavy b rak­
ing, and fast cornering. You risk having an
acc ident.
Em ergenc y ass is tanc e
-Never drive using more than one spare
wheel and tire. You r isk having an accident.
- Normal summer or winter tires must not be
mounted on the compact spare wheel rim.
- For technical reasons, the use of tire chains
on the spare tire is not permitted. If it is
necessary to drive w ith tire chains, the spare
wheel must be mounted on the front axle in
the event of a flat in a rear t ire. The newly
ava ilable front wheel must then be installed
in place of the rear wheel with the flat tire.
I nstalling the tire chain befo re mounting
the wheel and tire is recommended .
- Loose items in the passenger compartment
can cause se rious personal injury during
ha rd bra king or i n an accident. Never store
the spare tire or jack and tools in the pas­
senger compartment.
Replacing wheels
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your own
and your passenger's safety when changing a
wheel.
... After you experience a tire failure, pull the car
well away from moving traffic and try to reach
lev el ground before you stop¢ page 211,
¢ .&_.
... All passengers should le av e the car and move
to a safe location (for instance, behind the
gua rdrail)
c:::> .lll ·
... Engage the parking brake to prevent your veh i­
cle from rolling unintentiona lly
c:::> .&_ .
... Move the selector le ver to the P po sit ion .
... If you are towing a trai ler: unhitch the trailer
from your vehicle.
... Take the
jack ¢ page 211 and the spa re ti re
¢page 212 out of the luggage compartment.
A WARNING
You or your passengers could be injured while
changing a whee l if you do not follow these
safety pre caut ions:
- If you have a flat tire, move a safe distance
off the road. Turn off the eng ine, turn the
213