
Hybrid
Starting the vehicle
Applies to vehicles: with hybrid drive
The vehicle is started and turned off either with
the ignition key~
page 84 or w it h the
I S T AR T ENG INE S TOPI button* ¢ page 87 in the
same way as a conven tional vehicle .
When start ing the veh icle, the needles in the in
s trumen t clus ter move upward briefly . When the
veh icle enters drive ready mode, the status mes
sage
hybrid ready appears briefly in the instru
ment cluster display and the needle in the power
meter points to
READ Y¢ page 98 .
Depending on the operation mode of the hybrid
system, there are two possible drive ready modes
after the vehicle has been started:
Driv e re ady mode with combustion engine
If the operat ing req uirements ¢page l00for
elec tric drive mode are n ot met, the combust ion
Power meter overview
Applies to vehicles: with hybrid drive
engine starts the vehicle as usual. You can start
driving as usual.
Drive ready mod e with the el ectric motor
If the operating requirements ¢ page 100 for
the e lec tric dr ive mode are met, the comb ustion
engine rema ins off after starting the vehicle .
(D Tips
To prevent the 12 volt batte ry from discharg
i ng , never leave the vehicle parked in t he d rive
r eady mode . Remove the key from the igni
tion or press the
I S TAR T ENGINE STOP ! but
ton* . When leaving the ve hicle always take
the key with you.
The power meter shows the hybrid drive condition and the availability of the hybrid system.
Fi g. 11 0 Power meter overv iew
An economica l driv ing and recuperation range is
shown in g reen. A driving range that is not eco
nom ical is shown in o range. In addition , the bat
tery status provides informat ion a bout the h igh
voltage battery charge stat us.
98
@ Fuel efficient dr iv ing within the
combust io n eng ine's pa rtial load
r an ge
@ System lim its for electr ic driving in
the EV mode
@ El ectr ic dr iving o r driving with the
combustio n eng ine ( EFFICIENCY)

,....,
N
co
er::
co
,....,
The combustion engine is operated on ly as need
ed . Gene rally, the combustion engine turns off
when the vehicle is stationary and the high vo lt
age battery powers the electrical vehicle sys
tems.
The purpose of automatica lly shutting the com
bustion engine off in hybrid drive mode is to save
fuel. All of the important vehicle systems, such
as steering, brakes and the A/C system, continue
to rema in active. In some cases, systems may re
qu ire the combustion eng ine to continue running
when the vehicle is stationary . When dr iving in
congested traffic for long periods of t ime, the
combustion engine will cycle on when the veh icle
is stat iona ry to keep the h igh voltage battery
charged.
Gliding
If the gas pedal is not pressed and the D posit ion
is selected, the combustion engine remains
turned off up to speeds of app roximately 99 mph
(160 km/h) . D riving conservat ively like th is can
reduce fuel c:on5umption .
Energy recovery (recuperation )
When braking, the electric motor will act as a
generator creating electr ic energy that is then
sto red in the high voltage battery. This also oc
curs when the ve hicle is coasting or dr iving down
hill. The combustion engine is automatica lly
turned off in this case.
Tips for Driving Efficiently with your Hybrid
A ppl ies to vehicles: with hybr id drive
Driving situa- Conditions
tions
- Shift into the D position .
Starting from a -
Release the brake pedal.
Hybrid
The vehicle is braked with the electric motor by
applying early and even pressure to the brakes
and using short pedal movements~
page 98,
fig. 110 @. By doing this, a large amount of the
kinetic energy is recovered and may be stored as
electric energy in the high voltage battery. Dur
i ng heavy brak ing, the conventional brakes are al
so act ivated
~ page 98, fig . 11 0@ .
The energy recovery is shown in the MMI d isplay
~ page 104 .
Automatic start of the combustion engine
Various operating conditions cause the combus
t ion eng ine to start automatically:
- The high vo ltage battery charge level is low.
- The temperatu re of the combustion engine is
low.
- The temperature of the catalytic converter is
low.
- The power output needed for the A/C system is
high.
- The vehicle speed is high .
- The vehicle acceleration is high .
- The incline is steep .
- High charge level for the high voltage battery
when coasting. In this case, the high voltage battery cannot absorb any more energy and so
the electric motor cannot slow down the veh i
cle . The combust ion engine turns on (engine
brake). In th is situation the high voltage bat
tery will show a Max charge.
Vehicle behavior
In the D posit ion, the hybrid system adapts
to the dr iving situat ion by automatically
stop -
Only press moderately on the ac- switch
ing between the combust ion engine
and e lectr ic dr ive types or by combining
celerator pedal.
them.
101

Hybrid
Driving situa- Conditions Vehicle behavior
tions
- Cautious driving and reserved ac- The kinetic energy of the vehicle is used to
celeration. move the vehicle.
Constant driving - Release the accelerator pedal early When you release the accelerator pedal en-
and coasting
and entirely. tirely, the combust ion engine turns off auto-
(gliding)
matically and is disengaged. The vehicle
g lides without being propelled.
- Brake early and evenly with short The electric motor brakes the vehicle . By do-
Energy recovery pedal movements. ing this, a large amount of the kinetic energy
(recuperation) is recovered and may be stored in the high
voltage battery in the form of electr ic energy .
- Reserved acce leration and early The kinetic energy of the vehicle is used to
and even braking w ith short pedal move the vehicle .
movements.
Driving in city
- Use the
l~I button sparingly. The battery drains quickly when the 1~ 1 but -
traffic ton is turned on, which can increase fuel con-
sumpt ion because electric driv ing is given
priority, even if driv ing with the combustion
engine on would be mo re efficient.
- Intentionally take your foot off of When you release the accelerator pedal en-
the gas pedal to allow for lengthy ti rely, the combustion engine turns off auto-
coast ing . matically and is disengaged. The vehicle
glides w ithout being propelled .
Driving on high- - Reduce
the vehicle speed by re- Fuel consumption can be reduced by coast-
ways and ex- leasing
the acce lerato r peda l and ing.
pressways not
by braking.
- Avoid vehicle speeds above ap -
It is possible to coast up to a vehicle speed of
proximately 99 mph (160 km/h). approximately 99 mph (160 km/h).
- Use the S selector lever posit ion A sporty driving style increases fuel con-
and tiptronic mode sparingly . sumption .
- Do not run the combustion engine
The temperature of the combustion engine
while the vehicle is parked to warm rises very s
low ly and the fuel consumption in-
the engine . creases considerably.
- Use the rear window/exterior
mir-This conserves the energy in the high voltage
Driving in cold ror defroster and the seat
heating battery so that it is available to run the vehi-
sparingly . cle in electric mode .
weather
-Park the vehicle in a garage over- This reduces exposure of the high voltage
night. battery to cold temperatures. The required
temperature range for the high voltage bat-
tery will then be reached more quickly after
you start driving.
102

Automatic transmissio n
Automatic transmission
tiptronic
Introduction
The automat ic transmission is controlled e lec
tron ically . The transmission upshifts or down
shifts automatically depending on wh ich dr ive
p rogram is selected. The powe r is transferred by
a torque converter .
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
transmission se lects the most economical d riving
mode .
It will then change up early and de lay the
downshifts to give better fuel economy .
The transm ission switches to a spo rty mode afte r
a kick-down or when the drive r uses a
sport y
d riv ing sty le
charac ter ized by quick accelerator
pedal movements, heavy acce leration, frequent
changes in speed and traveling at the maximum
speed.
If desired, the dr iver can a lso select the gears
manually ( tiptronic mod e) ¢ page 126.
Selector lever positions
0 ;:t 0 ct CX) a,
Fig. 1 34 Disp lay in the instrument cl uster: selector lever in
position P
The selector lever position engaged appears next
to the selector lever as well as in the instrument
cluster display .
P -Pa rk
In this selector lever position the transmission is
mechanically locked. Engage P only when the ve
h icle is
completely stopped¢.& in Driving the
automatic transmission on page 124 .
122
To shift in or out of pos ition P, you m ust first
press and hold the brake pedal and then press
the release button in the selector lever hand le
while moving the selector lever to or from P. You can sh ift out of this position on ly w ith the igni
tion on .
R -Reve rse
Se lect R only when the vehicle is at a full stop
and the engine is running at idle speed c> .& in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 124.
Befo re yo u move the selector lever to R, press
both the button in the hand le of the se lector lev
er
and the brake peda l at the same time.
When the ignition is on, the backup lights i llumi
nate when the se lector lever is moved into R .
N -Neutral
The t ra nsmission is in neutra l in this position .
S hi ft to this pos it ion for s tand ing wi th the brakes
applied
¢ .&. in Driving the automatic transmis
sion on page 124 .
The vehicle can also ro ll when
the engine is stopped .
When the vehicle is stationa ry o r at speeds be low
1 mph (2 km/h), you must a lways apply the foot
brake before and whi le moving the lever out of N .
D/S -Normal position for driving forward
In the D/5 position, the transmission can be op
erated either in the normal mode Dor in the
spo rt mode 5. To se lect the sport mode 5, p ull
t h e se lecto r lever back briefly. Pulling the leve r
back again will select the normal mode D . The in
strument cluster d isplay shows the se lected driv
i ng mode.
In the
normal mode D, t he transmission auto
matically selects the suitable gear ratio . It de
pends on engine load, vehicle speed and d riving
style.
Se lect t he
sport mode 5 for sporty drivi ng . The
vehicle makes fu ll use of the engine 's power.
Shifting may become noticeable when accelerat
i ng . Hybrid drive* : electric driving is not possible .
When the vehicle is stationary o r at speeds be low
1 mph (2 km/h), you must a lways apply the foot ..,.

,....,
N
co
er::
co
,....,
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 s peeds a re au toma ti
cally reduced. However, t hese rpm limits are
programme d for a n engine well run-i n, not a
n ew engine.
@) For the sake of the environment
D o not dr ive with u nnecessari ly high eng in e
spee ds -up sh ifting ea rly saves fuel, reduces
n oise and pr otects 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.
WARNING
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.
Catalytic converter
Applies to vehicles: wit h gasoli ne e ngi ne
It is very important that your emission control
system (catalytic converter) is functioning prop
erly to ensure that your vehicle is running in an
environmen tally sound manner.
"' Always use lead-free gasoli ne c> page 212,
Gasoline .
"' Never run t he tank down all the way to empty.
"'N ever put too much mo to r oil in yo ur eng ine
c=> page 2 24, Adding engine oil 'l:::r. .
"' Never try to push- or tow-start your veh icle.
T he cat alyt ic co nverter is an efficie nt "cle an-up"
device built into the exhau st sys tem o f the ve hi
cl e. T he catalyt ic converte r burns many of the
po llutants in the exhaust gas before they are re
l eased into the atmosphere.
T he ex clusive use of u nleaded fuel is critic ally im
por tant fo r the life o f the catalytic converte r and
prope r fu nct ion ing of the engine.
A WARNING
=
The temperat ure o f the exhaust system is
hi gh, both when driv ing and after stopping
the eng ine.
-
- Never touch the exhaus t tail pipes once they
have become hot. This cou ld res ult in burns.
- Do not park or operate the vehicle in a reas
where the hot exhaust system may come in
contact w ith dry g rass, brush, fuel sp ill o r
other mate rial wh ich can ca use a fire.
197

Driving and th e en vironm ent
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustproofing on or near the exhaust mani
fold, exhaust pipes, catalytic converter or heat sh ields . During dr iv ing, the substance
used for undercoating could overheat and
cause a fire .
{U) Note
-Be aware that just one tank filling with
leaded fuel will already seriously degrade
the performance of the catalytic co nverter .
- Do not exceed the correct engine oil level
c:>page224 .
-Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
completely empty . The engine could mis
fire. Unburned fuel could also get into the
exhaust system and this could cause the
catalytic converte r to overheat.
- Do not turn off the ignition while the vehicle
. . 1s moving.
- Do not continue to operate your vehicle un
der these cond itions, as otherwise fuel can
r each the catalytic converte r. This could re
su lt in overheating of the converter, requir
i ng its replacement .
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis
s ion Control System:
- Have your vehicle maintained properly and in accordance with the service recommen
dations in your Warranty
& Maintenance
booklet .
- Lack of proper maintenance as well as im
proper use of the vehicle will impair the
function of the em ission control system
and could lead to damage.
@ For the sake of the environment
Even when the Emission Control System is op
erat ing properly, the exhaust gas can have a
sulfur-like exhaust gas smell under some op
erat ing states . This depends on the su lfur
content of the fuel be ing used. Using a differ
ent brand of fue l may he lp, or filling the tank
with lead-free super grade gasoline.
198
Diesel particulate filter
Applies to vehicles: with diesel engine
The diese l particulate filter filters near ly all of
the soot particles out of th e exhaust. The filter
cleans itself automat ically under normal d riving
conditions. If the filter cannot clean itself (for ex
ample, because you are only driving shor t distan
ces), the filter becomes clogged with soot and
the
II symbol for the diesel part iculate filter il
luminates
c:> page 34 .
&_ WARNING
-Do not park your vehicle over flammable
materials such as grass or leaves because
the high temperature of the diesel particu
late filter could start a fire.
-
- Do not apply an underbody protectant in the
exhaust system area or a fire could start.
Avoid damaging the
vehicle
When you are driving on poor roads, or over
curbs, steep ramps, etc., make certain that low
lying parts such as spoilers and exhaust system
parts do no t bottom out and ge t damaged.
This is espec ially true for vehicles with low-s lung
chassis (sports chassis)* and fully loaded
vehicles.
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.
Fuel economy, environmental impact, and wear
on your engine, brakes and tires largely depend
on three factors:
- your personal driving style
- operating conditions
- technical limitations
If you anticipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, you can easily cu t your fuel

..... N
co
er::
co
.....
give you some tips on how you can he lp the envi
ronment and your pocketbook.
(D Tips
T he consumpt ion estimates as published by
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
(EPA) and Transport Canada may not corre
spond to your act ual consumption on the
road, which will vary depending upon vehicle
load and speed, road and weather conditions,
trip length, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are acceler
ating .
.. Avoid unnecessary accelerating and braking.
Vehicles 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
erate less . Let the vehicle coast whenever possi
b le -for example when you see that the next traf
fic light is red .
Avoid full throttle
Driving a t moderate speeds saves fuel and im
proves your mileage .
.. Try and keep well be low your car's max imum
speed.
Accelerating gent ly reduces f uel consumption,
engine wear, and does not disturb the environ
ment.
F ue l cons umption, exha ust emissions and engine
noise increase d isproportionately at high speeds.
If yo u drive at approximately three quarters of
top speed, fuel consumpt ion w ill be reduced by
one ha lf. Never drive faster than the posted
speed limit and weather conditions perm it .
Driving and the envir onment
Reducing unnecessary idling
Even when your car is just idling it burns up fuel .
.. Shut the eng ine off when you are not driving
the vehicle.
.. Do not warm up t he vehicle by lett ing the en-
gine run at idle .
The idling phase is automatically reduced for
vehicles with the Start-Stop-System*. It is effi c ient to sw itch off the engine in veh icles without
the Start-Stop-System* when stopped at ra ilroad
c ross ings and long red lights . T urning the engine
off fo r just 30-40 seconds saves mo re fue l th an is
bur ned by s tarti ng the eng ine again .
It takes a long time for the eng ine to warm up
fully when it is ru nning at id le. However, wea r
and noxious emissions are especially high w hen
t h e engine is war ming up. So yo u should dr ive
aw ay as soon as you star t the eng ine and avoid
runn ing at high rpms w hile the engine is sti ll
warming up .
(D Note
Do not leave eng ine idling unatt ended after
start ing. If wa rning lights sho uld come on to
i ndicate impro per operation, they would go
u nheeded. Extended idling also prod uces
heat, which could result in overheating or
other damage to the vehicle o r othe r proper
ty .
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a lot
of fuel .
.. Have your vehicle serviced at regular interva ls.
By hav ing your vehicle regular ly serv ice d by an
authorized Aud i dea ler helps to ensure that it
runs properly and economically . T he cond ition o f
yo ur vehicle not on ly affects its safety and ability
to hold its value , it also affects
fuel consump
tion .
Check your oil each time you fill your tank.
T he amou nt o f oil used is related to engine load
and speed. .,,.
199

Driving and th e en vironm ent
It is normal for the oil consumption o f a new en
gine to reach its lowest value after a certain mile
age has been driven .
You must drive yo ur vehicle about 3,000 miles
(5,000 kilometers) before you can properly as
sess oi l consumption.
This a lso applies to fuel consumption and engine
outpu t.
@ Note
- Have yo ur vehicle maintained properly and
i n accordance with the serv ice recommenda
tions in yo ur Warranty
& Maintenance book
l et. Lack of proper maintenance as well as
improper use of the vehicle will impair the
funct ion of the emission control system and
could lead to damage.
- Do not a lter or remove any component of
the Emission Control System unless ap proved by the manufacturer.
- Do not alter or remove any device, such as
heat shie lds, switches, ignition wires,
valves, which are designed to protect your
vehicle's Emission Cont rol System and other
i mportant vehicle components.
Fewer short trips
Fuel consumption will always be relatively high
on short trips .
.,. Try to avoid driving short distances with a cold
engine.
The engine and catalytic converter have to reach
their optimal
oper ating temp eratur e to reduce
fuel consumption and noxious emissions effec tively .
Just after starting, a co ld engine in a mid-size car
only achieves a fue l economy of 6-8 miles per
gallon (30-40 l/100 km). After about a half a mile, fuel economy cl imbs to 12 mpg (20 l/100
km). After about
2 .5 miles (4 km), the engine is
at its proper operating temperature and fuel
economy has reached a normal level. So you can
see that you sho uld avoid short t rips whenever
possible.
200
The out side t empe rature is also critica l in this re
gard . Your car consumes more fuel in the winter
than in the summer.