2016 AUDI Q3 Owners Manual

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Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road ho ld ing and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of skid­
d ing and loss of vehicle control. It works only
when the engine is runn ing . E SC detects certain
d ifficult dr iving sit uat ions, including when t he
ve hicl e is begin ning to spin (yaw) out of contro l
and helps you to ge t the veh icle back under con­
tro l by se lective ly braking the wheels, and/or re ­
ducing engine powe r and provid ing steering as­
sistance to help hold the vehicle on the dr iver's
intended course. The indicator light
GJ in the in­
strument cluster blinks when ESC is taking action
to help you co ntrol the vehicle.
ESC has limitations. It is important to remember
that ESC cannot overcome the laws of physics. It
will not a lways be able to help out under all con­
d itions you may come up aga inst. For example,
ESC may not always be able to help you master
situations where there is a sudden change in the
coeff icient of friction of the road surface. When
there is a section of dry road that is sudde nly cov­
e red with water, slush o r snow, ESC cannot pe r­
form the same way it wo uld on the dry s urface . If
the vehicle hydrop lanes (rides on a cushion of wa­
ter i nstead of the road su rface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because contact
with the pavement has been interrupted and the
ve hicle cannot be braked or steered. Dur ing fast
cornering, pa rticula rly on w inding roads, ESC
cannot always deal as effect ively w it h difficult
d riving si tuations tha n at lowe r speeds. When
tow ing a t raile r, ESC is not able to help you re­
ga in con trol as it would if you we re not towing a
tra iler .
A lways adjust yo ur speed and driving sty le to
road, traffic and weathe r cond itions. ESC cannot
override the vehicle's physical lim its, increase the
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available t ract ion, or keep a vehicle on the road if
road departure is a resu lt of driver inattention .
Instead, ESC improves the possib ility o f keeping
the vehicle under contro l and on the road d uring
extreme maneuvers by us ing the driver's steer ing
i nputs to help keep the veh icle go ing in the in ­
tended direction.
If you are traveling at a speed
that causes you to run off the road before ESC c an p rovide any assistance, you may not exper i­
en ce the benefi ts of ESC.
ESC is switched o n all the time . In certa in s itua­
t ions when you need less tract ion, you can sw itch
off AS R by press ing the button
[fil c:> page 152,
fig. 141. B e sure to switc h ASR on again whe n
you no longer need less tract ion .
T he following systems are integrated in the ESC:
Anti-lock brak ing system (ABS )
ABS prevents the wheels from locking when brak­ ing . The vehicle can still be steered even dur ing
hard braking. Apply steady pressure to the brake
pedal. Do not pump the pedal. A pulsing in the
brake pedal ind icates that the system is acting to
stab ilize the ve hicle.
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease braking dis­
tance. It increases braking powe r when the dr iver
presses the brake peda l quickly in emergency sit­
uat io ns. You must press a nd ho ld the bra ke pedal
u nt il the dange rous situation is over.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power whe n the dr ive wheels
begin spin ning and adapts the force to the road
co ndit ions. This makes it eas ier to s tart, acce ler­
ate and d rive up incl ines.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other dr ive
wheel or wheels if the vehicle is equ ipped with all
whee l drive*) . This function is not available a t
highe r speeds .
In extreme cases, EDL automat ica lly switches off
to keep t he brake o n the braked wheel from over­
hea ting . T he veh icle is still working co rrectly. EDL.,.
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will switch on again automat ically when condi­
tions have returned to normal.
Steering recommendation
The ESC helps to stabilize the veh icle by changing
the steering torque.
Selective wheel torque control
Selective wheel torque control is used when driv ­
i n g on curves . The front wheel on the inside of
the c urve or both wheels on the inside of the
curve are braked selectively as needed. This al­
lows more precise driving in curves.
Automatic post-collision braking system
The "Automatic post-collision brak ing system"
can help to reduce the r isk of slid ing and of other
coll is ions after an accident . If the airbag control
module detects a collision above a certain vehicle
speed, the vehicle is braked by the ESC.
The vehicle does not brake automatically if :
- the driver presses the accelerator pedal, or
- the braking force generated by the pressed
brake pedal is greater than the braking force
that would be initiated by the system, or
- the ESC, the brake system or the vehicle electri­
cal system are not functioning.
A WARNING
- The ESC and its integrated systems cannot
overcome the limits posed by natural physi-
Switching on and off
cal laws. This is especially important on slip­
pery or wet roads. If the systems beg in act­
ing to stabilize your vehicle, you should im­
mediately alter your speed to match the
road and traffic conditions. Do not let the
increased safety provided tempt you into
taking risks. This could increase your risk of
a collision.
- Please note the risk of a collision increases
when dr iv in g fast, especially through curves
and on slippery or wet roads, and when dr iv­
ing too close to objects ahead. The ESC and
its integrated systems cannot always pre­
vent collisions -there is still a risk of acci­
dents!
- Press the accelerator peda l carefully when
accelerating on even, slippery surfaces such
as ice and snow. The drive wheels can spin
even when these control systems are instal­
led and this can affect driving stability and
increase the risk of a collision .
@ Tips
-ABS and ASR only function correctly when
all four wheels are equipped with identical
tires. Different tire sizes can lead to a reduc­
tion in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems de­
scribed are working.
£SC turns on automatically when you start the engine .
Fig. 141 Center console: OFF rJ. button
152
The ESC is designed to function in levels. Depend­
i ng on the level that is selected, the stabilization
function of the ESC is limited or switched off. The amount of stabilization control will differ de­
pending on the level.
The following examples are unusual situations
where it may make sense to switch offroad mode
on to allow the wheels to spin:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Dr iving in deep snow or on loose ground

.... N
c:i ::J CX)
.... I.Cl U"I
N I.Cl ......
- Driving on rough terrain when much of the car's weight is lifted off the wheels (axle articu la­
t ion)
- Driving downhill whi le brak ing on loose gro und
ESC levels
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For yo ur safe ty, switch off the ESC offroad mo de
in advance.
Offroad mode on ESC/ASRoff Offroad mode off or
ESC
/ASRon
Behavior
The ESC and ASR stabiliza -
The stabiliza tion f unction is The f
ull stabiliza tion fu nc-
tion functions are limited not available
Q .&. . ESC and
tion of the ESC and ASR is
~ &. ASR are switched off . available again.
Operation Press the IJJ button briefly. P ress and ho ld the IJJ but- Press the IJJ button aga in.
ton longer than th ree sec-
onds.
Indicato r fl turns on. fil and !;ill•)H turns on. II turns off or II and
lights !;ill•)H turn off .
Driver mes- Stab ilization control (ESC ): Stabil ization control (ESC): Stabilization control (ESC ):
sage s Offroad Warning! Reduced Off Warning! Reduced sta-
On
st ability
bility
A WARNING
You should only switch offroad mode on or
switch ESC/ASR off if your driving ab ilities
and the t raffic conditions perm it. Th ere is a
r is k of sli ding.
- The stabilization function is limited when
offroad mo de is switched on. Th e dr iving
w heels co uld spin and the vehicle cou ld
swe rve, e speci ally on s lick o r slip pery r oad
s u rfaces.
- T here is no veh icle s tabilizat ion whe n ESC/
ASR are swi tched off .
-
Hill descent assist
Applies to vehicles: with hill descent assist
The hill descent assist makes it possible to drive
down an incline at a constant speed .
Fig. 142 Ce nte r console: hill descent ass ist button
.. To switch on the hill descent assist, p ress the
~ butto n in the center co nsole Q fig. 142 . The
LED in the button turns on .
.. Press the button again to switch it off. The LED
in the button turns off .
Hill descent assist brakes all four wheels auto­
matically in order to limit speed when driving ei­
ther forward or reverse on hills with a grade up to
approximately 50%. ..,_
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When the hill descent assist is on, the current
driving speed, when your vehicle entered the in­
cline is maintained. It is only possible to switch
on the assist when driving slower than 37 mph (60 km/h). The assist works between approxi­
mately 2 and 19 mph (4 and 30 km/h). The driver
can increase or decrease the vehicle speed within
these limits by depressing the accelerator or brake pedal.
There must be however sufficient ground adhe ­
sion . The hill descent assist
cannot do its job if
the incline is icy or if the incline ground is loose
¢ ,&.
Active assistance at a specific speed up to about 19 mph (30 km/h) is shown in the instrument
cluster through a blinking indicator light •. The
indicator light shines continuously when in the
ready mode.
The system does not work at speeds between 19
and 37 mph (30 and 60 km/h) . The system is
then in the ready-mode. This is shown through
the LED turned on in the button . The system au­
tomatically switched off when you drive faster
than 37 mph (60 km/h). The LED will also go out
in this scenario.
Hill descent assist is automatically activated un­
der the following conditions:
- The LED in the button turns on ,
- the vehicle speed is lower than 19 mph (30 km/
h) ,
-the incline angle is at least around 10% .
A WARNING
-Always adapt your speed to the weather ,
road and traffic conditions . Do not let the
increased safety provided tempt you into
taking risks, because this increases the risk
of an accident.
- The hill descent assist system cannot over­
come the laws of physics. Your driving style
must always be adapted to the current road
and traffic conditions.
- The hill descent assist may not be able to
hold your vehicle at a constant speed under
all conditions while driving on an incline (for
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example if ground under the vehicle is
loose).
Brakes
New brake pads
New brake pads do not achieve their full braking
effect during the first
250 mi (400 km). They
must be "broken in" first¢& . However, you can
compensate for the slightly reduced braking
force by pressing firmly on the brake pedal. Avoid heavy braking during the break-in period.
Operating conditions and driving habits
The brakes on today's automobiles are still sub­
ject to wear, depending largely on operating con­
ditions and driving habits¢,& . On vehicles that
are either driven mostly in stop-and-go city traf­
fic or are driven hard, the brake pads should be checked by your authorized Audi dealer more of ­
ten than specified in the
Warranty & Mainte­
nance booklet.
Failure to have your brake pads
inspected can result in reduced brake perform­
ance.
On steep slopes, you should use the braking ef­
fect of the engine. This way, you prevent unnec­
essary wear on the brake system. If you must use
your brakes, do not hold the brakes down contin­
uously. Pump the brakes at intervals.
Operating noise
Noises may occur when braking depending on the
speed, braking force and outside conditions such
as temperature and humidity.
Effect of water or road salt
In certain situations, for example after driving
through water, in heavy rain, after overnight con­ densation or after washing your car , the braking
effect can be reduced by moisture or ice on the
brake rotors and brake pads. The brakes must be
"dried" first with a few careful brake applica­
tions.
At higher speeds and with the windshield wipers
turned on, the brake pads press against the brake
rotors for a short amount of time. This action
which is not felt by the driver happens at regular .,.

intervals and fac ilitat es a better reaction time for
the brak es in wet weather.
The braki ng effect can also be red uced if you are
driving on salted roads and you do not apply the b rakes for long periods of time . The layer of salt
on th e brake rotors and brake pads must be worn
off first when the brakes are applied~&, .
Cor ro sion
Leaving the vehicle par ked for long periods of
time, low m ileage and avo iding heavy brak ing
can contribute to corros ion on the brake rotors
and dirty brake pads.
If you usually avo id heavy b raking or if there is
cor ros io n present , occasional heavy braking at
high speeds is recommended to clean the brake
rotors and pads~&, .
Brake system malfunct ion
if you notice that the bra ke pedal travel has sud­
denly
go tten larger , the n a brake circu it may have
failed ~&. .
Low brake fluid level
When the brake flu id level is low , malfunct ions in
the brake system may occ ur. The brake flu id leve l
i s elect ronically mo nitored .
Brake booster
The brake booster amplifies the pressure you ap­
p ly to the brake pedal.
It only works when the en ­
g ine is running ~&, .
Brak e lining we ar status
Brake lining wea r may be checked by visual in­
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the open ings in the wheel. If necessary,
the wheel may be removed for this inspection
~ page 213, Replacing wheels .
.8, WARNING
-New bra ke pads don 't have the best stop­
ping power and must be "bro ken- in" dur ing
the init ial 250 m iles ( 400 km). Yo u can
compensate for this by p ressing the brake
peda l more firm ly . T his also applies later
when new pads are installed .
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- You shou ld pe rform braking maneuvers for
the purpose of cleaning the brake system
only if road condit ions permit . Other road
users must not be put at r isk -you may
cause an accident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and sh ift tra nsmission in to a lower
gea r or lower dr iving range . Do not r ide the
b rakes or hold the pedal down too long or
too often. Th is co uld cause t he b rakes to ge t
hot and dim inish b raking effic ien cy.
- D o not " ride the bra kes " by rest ing you r foot
on the ped al when you do no t intend to
brake . T his may ca use the brakes to ove r­
heat, premature wear and increased stop ­
ping distance .
- Under cer tain clima tic and ope rating condi­
tions such as passing t hrough water, driving
in heavy rain o r after washing the vehicle,
the effectiveness of the brakes can be re­
duced. In winter, ice can accumu late on the
brake pads, lin ings, discs and drums . Care­
fully apply brakes for a test . Brakes will d ry
and ice coat ings will be cleaned off after a
few ca refu l bra ke applications .
- Driving for an extended period of t ime on
salt-covered roads without using your b rakes can also affect braking eff icien cy.
Clea n off acc umulated salt coat ing fr om
b rake discs an d pads w ith a few careful
brake applicat ions .
- If you damage the front s poile r, or if you in­
s t all a different spoiler, be s ure the a ir flow
to the front brakes is not obstructed. Other­
wise the brake system could overheat reduc­
ing the effectiveness of the ent ire brake sys­
tem.
- Fai lu re of one brake circ uit w ill impa ir the
braking capability resulting in an increased
stopping distance . Avoid driving the vehicle
and have it towed to the nearest authorized
Aud i deale r or qualified worksho p.
- Never let the ve hicle roll to a stop with the
e ngine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not working, the
brake pedal must be pressed cons iderab ly
harder to make up for the lack of booster
assis tance .
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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

conditions regar dless of your speed to
reduce the risk of an accident.
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 vehicle w ith a conventional energy sys ­
tem is not dr iven for a long time, the battery is
d rained by equ ipme nt (for example the immobi l­
iz er) . In certain circumstances, there could may
not be eno ugh energy to start the engi ne.
Your veh icle is equipped with an inte lligent ene r­
gy managemen t system for d istr ibut ing electrici­
ty . This significant ly imp roves the starting ab ility
and inc reases t he battery life.
The energy management system Is made up of
batt ery diagno sis, idling curr ent management
and dynami c en ergy managemen t.
B attery diagnosis
The battery diagnosis determines the battery
charge level. The senso rs determ ine the battery
voltage, t he battery cur rent, and the battery
temperature. The cu rrent charge level a nd the
pe rformance of the bat tery are dete rm ined based
on this .
Idling current management
The idling cu rrent management dec reases the
energy used wh ile parked . With the eng ine
sw itched off, it manages the energy dist ribution
t o the different elect rical componen ts. Date from
battery d iagnosis is taken into account for this.
D epending on the battery cha rge level, e lectr ica l
equ ipment is swi tched off one item after the oth­
e r, to p revent the ba tte ry from d raining and to
r etain the s tarting ab ility.
Dynamic energy management
Wh ile driving, dynamic energy management dis­
tr ib utes the approp riate amount of energy to the
e lectr ica l equipment. It controls the battery
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charge level so that more energy is not used then
is being generated in order to maintain an opti ­
mal battery charge level.
(D Tips
- Energy management cannot overcome the
laws of physics . Note that the charge level
and length o f the battery life are limited.
- When the sta rting ability is endangered, the
(•) indicator lig ht turns on
¢page 15.
What you should know
Maintaining the starting ability is the highest
priority.
A lo t of st ress is p laced on t he b attery when dr iv­
ing shor t distances, in traff ic, and at cold t imes
of the year . A lot of energy is used but litt le is
generated. It is also critical when 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 situations like this, energy management wi ll
active ly regulated the distr ibut ion of energy.
Long periods without us e
If you do not drive your vehicle for sever al days o r
weeks, electrical equ ipment is gradua lly scale d
back or sw itched off . This reduces energy use and
ensures the vehicle will be ab le to start after long
per iods of time . Some conven ience functions,
such as interior lig hting or power seat ad just­
ment, may not be ava ilable under certain circum­
stances. These conven ience functions wi ll be
available again once you sw itch t he ignition on
and sta rt the eng ine.
With the engine switched off
The battery w ill dra in if you use Infotainment
funct ions such as listening to the radio while the
engi ne is switched off .
The vehicle's ab ility to start may be impa ired by
the energy use, a message will appear in the In­
fota inment system display .
The message indicates that the system wi ll
switch off automatically soon. If you would like
lill'
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to continue using the funct ions, you must start
the engine .
With the engine running
Although elect rical energy is genera ted whi le
d riving, the ba tte ry can d rain. Thi s can happe n
when little energy is gene rated, and much is used
and the charge leve l of the battery is not op tima l.
T o restore the balance of energy, components
that re q ui re la rge amou nts of energy a re tempo­
rar ily sca led bac k or swi tched off . Heating sys­
tems in particu lar require a grea t deal of energy.
If you notice, for examp le, that the seat heating*
or rear window defroster is not wo rking, then it
has been tempo rarily reduced or switched off.
These systems are available again as soon as the
energy supp ly has been restored.
In addition, you may notice that the idle speed
has slightly increased. That is norma l and no
cause for concern. Due to the increased idling
speed, the add itiona l req uir ed energy wi ll be
generated and the battery will be cha rged.
158