2016 AUDI S4 automatic transmission

Driving
- Occasional noises when the parking brake is
applied and released are normal and are not
a cause for concern.
- When the vehicle is parked, the parking
brake goes through a self-test cycle at regu­
lar intervals. Any associated noises are nor­
mal.
Parking
.,. Press the brake pedal to stop the vehicle .
.,. Pull the switch @¢
page 85, fig. 100 to set
the parking brake.
.,. Automatic transmission: Move the selector lev-
er to P.
.. Turn the engine off¢.&, .
.. Manual transmission: Shift into 1st gear.
.. When on inclines or declines, turn the steering
wheel so that the vehicle will roll into the curb
if it begins to move.
A WARNING
-
-When you leave your vehicle -even if only
briefly -always remove the ignition key. This
applies particularly when children remain in
the vehicle. Otherwise the children could
start the engine, release the parking brake
or operate electrical equipment (e.g. power
windows). There is the risk of an accident.
- When the vehicle is locked, no one -particu­
larly not children should remain in the vehi­
cle. Locked doors make it more difficult for
emergency workers to get into the vehicle -
putting lives at risk.
Starting from rest
The starting assist function ensures that the
parking broke is released automatically upon
starting .
Stopping and applying parking brake
.. Pull the switch @¢ page 85, fig. 100 to apply
the parking brake.
86
Starting and automatically releasing the parking brake
.. When you start to drive as usual, the parking
brake is automatically released and your vehicle
begins to move.
When stopping at a traffic signal or stopping in city traffic on vehicles with an automatic trans­
mission, the parking brake can be applied. The
vehicle does not have to be held with the foot­ brake. The parking brake eliminates the tendency
to creep with a drive range engaged . As soon as
you drive off as usual, the parking brake is re­ leased automatically and the vehicle starts to
move .
Starting on slopes
When starting on inclines, the starting assist pre ­
vents the vehicle from unintentionally rolling back. The braking force of the parking brake is
not released until sufficient driving force has
been built up at the wheels.
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re­
leased automatically only when the driver's
safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Starting off with a trailer
To prevent rolling back unintentionally on an in­
cline, do the following:
.. Keep the switch @¢ page 85, fig . 100 pulled
and depress the accelerator. The parking brake
stays applied and prevents the vehicle from
rolling backward.
.,. You can release the switch @once you are sure
that you are developing enough driving force at
the wheels by depressing the accelerator.
Depending on the weight of the rig (vehicle and
trailer) and the severity of the incline, you may
roll backwards as you start. You can prevent roll­
ing backwards by holding the parking brake
switch @pulled out and accelerating -just as
you would when starting on a hill with a conven­
tional hand brake .

-For reasons of safety, cruise control should
not be used in the city, in stop-and-go traf­
fic, on twisting roads and when road condi­
t ions are poor (such as ice, fog, gravel,
heavy ra in and hydroplan ing) -risk of acci­
dent .
- Turn
off the cruise control temporar ily when
enter ing turn lanes, h ighway exit lanes o r in
construction zones.
- Please note that inadvertently "rest ing"
your foot on the accelerator pedal causes
the cruise control not to brake. This is be­
cause the cruise cont rol is overridden by the
dr iver's acceleration.
- If a brake system ma lf u nction such as over­
heating occu rs when the c ruise contro l sys­
tem is switched on, the braking function in
the system may be switched
off . The other
cruise contro l functions remain active as
long as the indicator light
[lj;(i )~i~ (US mod­
els)/ .. (Canadian models) is on .
(D Tips
-Vehicles with manual transmission: You can
attain the set speed only if the gear that is
currently engaged will allow it, or if it does
not tax the engine and allows it to run
smooth ly. Therefore sh ift into a higher or
lower gear in a timely ma nner.
- The brake lights illuminate as soon as the
brakes apply automatically .
Changing speed
.,. To inc rease/decrease the speed in increments,
tap the lever in the
0 10 direction r:!> page 88,
fig. 102.
.,. To inc rease/decrease the speed qu ickly , ho ld
the leve r in the
0 10 direction until the de­
si red speed is displayed .
You can a lso press the accelerator pedal down to
increase yo ur speed, e.g. if you want to pass
someone . The speed you saved earlier wi ll re -
,.... sume as soon as you let
off of the acce lerator N
~ pedal.
co
I f, however, you exceed your saved speed by
6 mph
( 1 0 km/h) for longer than 5 minutes, the
D riv ing
cruise contro l wi ll be turned off temporarily. The
green symbol in the display turns white. The
saved speed remains t he same.
Presetting your speed
You can preset your desired speed while the vehi­
cle is not moving.
.,. Switch on the ign ition.
.,. Pull lever into position
(D r:!> page 88, fig . 102.
.,. Press the lever in the 0 or 0 direction to in-
crease or decrease your speed.
.,. Release the lever to save that speed.
This function makes it possible, for example, to save the speed you want before driving on the
highway . Once on the highway, activate the
cruise contro l by pull ing the lever toward
(D .
Switching off
Temporar y de acti vation
.,. Press the brake pedal, or
.,. Manual transmission: Keep the clutch pedal
pressed down
longer, or
.,. Press the lever into position @ (not clicked into
place)
~ page 88, fig. 102, or
.,. Dr ive fo r longer than 5 m inutes a t more than
6 mph (1 0 km/h) above the s to red speed.
Switching off completely
.,. Press lever into posit ion @ (clicked into p lace),
or
.,. Switch the ignit ion
off .
T he speed you saved will be retained if the cruise
control has been switched off temporarily . To re­
s u me the saved speed , let up on the bra ke or
cl utch pedal and pull the lever to position
(D .
Switch ing the ignition off erases the saved speed .
A WARNING
--
You should only return to the saved speed if it
i s not too fast for the current t raffic condi ­
tions -ris k of an accident!
89

Automatic transmission
Automatic transmission Manual transmission
Gearshift lever
A pp lies to veh icles: w ith manu al transmiss ion
The clutch pedal must be depressed all the way
before you can start the engine .
The manual transmission in your Audi is equip­
ped with an
interlock-feature.
• Depress the clutch pedal a ll the way.
• Start the engine w it 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)
Ap plies to veh icles: w ith man ual transmiss ion
F ig . 104 Gears h ift pattern: 6-speed manual transm iss io n
Engaging reverse gear (R)
• Move the shift lever all the way to the left,
press it down, the n push it forward.
90
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.
multitronic, S tronic,
tiptronic
Introduction
Applies to vehicles : wi th mult itro nic/S tro nic/ tip tronic
The automatic transmission is controlled elec­
tronically. The transmission upshifts or down­
shifts automatically depend ing o n which drive
program is se lected .
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
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 transmission switches to a sporty mode after
a kick-down or when the driver uses a
sporty
dri ving style
characterized by quick accelerator
pedal movements, heavy acceleration, frequent
c hanges in speed and traveling at the maxim um
speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode ) ¢ page 90.
Various automatic transmissions may be insta l­
l ed, depending on the model :
multitronic transmission
The mu ltitron ic t ransm iss ion is a continuously
variable transmission. Power is transferred using
a multidisk cl utch . In contrast to conventional
automat ic transmissions using shifting opera­
tions, the transmission ratio in the continuously
variable transmission is changed continuously.
This opt imizes the comfort leve l and conserves
fuel.
S tronic t ran smission
The S tronic is a d ua l-clutch transmission. Power
i s transferred using two clutches that work inde­
pendently from one another . They rep lace the
torque converter used in convent io nal automatic
transm issions and allow the vehicle to accelerate
withou t a noticeable inte rru pt io n in traction. ..,.

,....,
N
0
""' CX) ,....,
I.Cl U"I ,....,
I.Cl ,....,
tiptronic transmission
In the tiptron ic tr ansmission, power is transfer ­
red by a torque converter.
Selector lever positions
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/S tronic/tiptronic
Fig. 105 Display in the instrume nt clus ter: selector lever in
pos it io n 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 pos ition the transmission is
mechanically locked. Engage P only when the ve­
hicle is
completely stopped¢ A in Driving the
automatic transmission on page 93.
To shift in or out of position P, you must first
press and ho ld the brake pedal and then press
the re lease button in the selector lever handle
while moving the selector lever to or from P. You can shift out of this position only with the igni­
tion on .
R - Reverse
Select R only when the vehicle is at a full stop
and the engine is running at idle speed ¢&. in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 93 .
Before you move the se lector lever to R, press
both the release button in the handle of these­
lector lever
and the brake pedal at the same
time.
When the ignition is on, the backup lights illumi­
nate when the selector lever is moved into R.
Automatic transmission
N -Neutral
The transmission is in neutra l in this position.
Shift to this position for stand ing with the brakes
applied
c:> A in Driving the automatic transmis­
sion on page 93.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds below
1 mph (2 km/h), you must always apply the foot­
brake before and whi le moving the lever out of N.
DIS -Normal position for driving forward
In the D/S position, the transmission can be op­
erated either in the normal mode Dor in the
spo rt mode S. To select the sport mode S, pull
the selector lever back briefly. Pulling the lever
back aga in will select the normal mode D. The in­
strument cluster display shows the selected driv­
ing mode.
In the
normal mode D, the transmission auto ­
matically selects the suitable gear ratio.
It de­
pends on engine load , vehicle speed and driving
style.
Se lect the
sport mode S for sporty driving. The
vehicle makes fu ll use of the engine 's power.
Shifting may become noticeable when accelerat­
ing.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds be low
1 mph (2 km/h), you must always apply the foot
brake before and whi le moving the lever to D/S
out of N.
A WARNING
-Read and follow all WARNINGS¢ & in Driv-
ing the automatic transmission on
page 93 .
(D Note
Coasting downhill with the transmission in N
and the engine not running w ill result in dam­
age to the automatic transmiss ion and possi ­
bly the catalytic converter.
@ Tips
-On vehicles with dr ive select*, you can ad­
just the sporty shift characteristics in the
Dynamic driving mode.Swill appear in the
instrument cluster display instead of D.
91

Automatic transmission
-If you accidenta lly select N while driving,
take your foot off the accelerator pedal im­
mediately and wa it for the engine to slow
down to idle before select ing 0/5 .
- If there is a power fa ilure, the selecto r lever
will not
move out of the P pos it ion. T he
emergency release can be used if this hap­
pens
c:;, page 97.
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL)
App lies to veh icles: w ith multitronic/S tronic/tiptronic
The Automatic Shift Lock safeguards you against
accidentally shi~ing into a forward or the re­
verse gear and causing the vehicle to move unin­
tentionally.
F ig. 106 S hi ft gate : selector leve r loc k pos it io ns and re­
l ease butto n high lig hte d
The selector lever lock is released as follows :
.. Turn the ign it ion on .
a, 0 ~ N ~ OJ ID
.,. Step on the b rake pedal. At the same time
press and hold the release button on the side of
the gear selector knob
c:;, fig . 106 with your
th umb until you have
moved the selector lever
to the des ired posi tion .
Automatic selecto r lever lock
The se lector lever is locked in the P and N pos i­
tions when the ignition is tur ned on. You must
press the brake pedal and the release b utton to
selec t anothe r pos ition. As a reminder to the
d river, the following warning appears in t he in­
s tru men t clus ter display when the sele ctor is in P
a nd N :
When stationary apply brake pedal while select­
ing gear
92
The Au tomatic Shift Lock o nly functions whe n the
veh icle is stationa ry o r at speeds be low 1 mph
(2 km/h).
A t spee ds above abou t 1 mp h (2 km/ h) the A uto­
m at ic Shift Lock is automatically deact ivated in
the N pos ition .
A time de lay ele men t pr event s the se lec tor lever
fr om lo cking whe n it i s
move d through the N po­
s ition (going from R to 0/5) . T he locking eleme nt
will lock the selector leve r if the lever is left i n N
(Ne utral) for mo re than approximate ly 2 sec ­
onds, witho ut the brake peda l being pressed .
Release button
The release butto n on the sele ctor lever p reve nts
the leve r from being accidenta lly shifted into cer ­
tain positions. Depend ing on the direction of the
shi ft, the selector lever locks at different pos i­
tions. The positions are highlighted i n the ill us­
tration
c:;, fig. 106.
Ignition key safety interlock
The key cannot be removed from the ignition un­
l ess the se lector lever is in the P park position.
When the ignition key is removed, the selector
l ever wi ll be locked in the P posit ion.
Driving the automatic transmission
Applies to vehicles: with mult itro nic/S tro nic/ti ptronic
Fig. 107 Sh ift ga te o n th e ce nter co nso le : se lec tor leve r
w it h re lease b utton
Starting the engine
.,. The se lector lever must be in P or N.
Starting off
.. Press an d hold the brake peda l.

..... N
0 ::..:: co ..... ..... ~ Press and hold the release button in the selec­
tor lever handle, select the desired selector lev­
er position such as D/5 and release the button.
~ Wait briefly until the transmission has shifted
(you w ill fee l a slight movement) .
~ Remove your foot from the brake pedal and ac ­
celerate .
Stopp ing tem pora ril y
~ Keep the vehicle stationary using the braking
pedal, for example at traffic lights.
~ Do not press the accelerator pedal when doing
th is .
~ To prevent the vehicle from rolling when you
start driving, set the park ing brake when stop­
ping on steep inclines ¢
,&.
~ The pa rking brake w ill release automatically
and the vehicle will start moving once you press
the accelerator pedal.
Stopping /park ing
If the se lecto r lever is not in the P position when
you open the d river 's door, the vehicle could roll.
The message
Tr an smi ssion: Car ma y roll! Shift
t o pa rk!
appears .
~ Press and hold the brake pedal unt il the vehicle
has come to a comp lete stop.
~ Apply the pa rking brake ¢ page 86, Parking .
~ Select the P selector leve r position ¢ .&,.
Stopp ing on an incline
~ Always press the brake peda l to hold the vehi­
cl e in place and prevent it from "rolling back"
¢
,& . Do not try to prevent the vehicle from
"ro lling back" when a gear is engaged by in ­
c reasing the eng ine speed ¢(!).
Starting on an incline
~ Activate the parki ng b rake .
~ With the driving gea r se lected, press the acce l­
erator pedal caref ully. The parking b rake will
r e lease automatically if your seat belt is fas­
tened .
Unde r ce rtain c ircumstances, suc h as dr iv ing in
the mountai ns, it may be usef ul to switch tempo­
rari ly to the manua l shift program in order to ad-
Autom atic tran sm iss ion
just the gears to the driv ing conditions by hand
¢ page 94.
On slopes, act ivate the park ing brake first and
then move the selec to r l ever to the P posi tion .
T his prevents too m uch stress from being placed
on the locking mechanism .
Vehicles with mult itro nic tr ansmission : Your ve­
hicle is equipped wi th
hill hold assist allowing
you to start whi le on an incl ine. The system is ac­
tivated when the brake peda l is pressed down
and held
for a few second s. The brake pressure
will ho ld for
a momen t after the brake peda l
loosens to prevent the veh icle from rolling back­
wards while starting up .
A WARNING
--The vehicle can also ro ll when the eng ine is
stopped .
- Unintended vehicle movement can cause se­ rious injury .
- Never leave your veh icle with the engine
running while in gear .
If you must leave
your ve hicle when the eng ine is running, ac­
tivate t he pa rking brake and move the selec­
tor lever to P.
- Power is still transmi tted to the wheels
when the engine is runn ing at idle. To pre­
vent the vehicle from "creepi ng", yo u m ust
keep your foot on the brake when the en ­
gine is running and the selector lever is in D/
Sor R or "tiptronic" mode is se lected .
- Do not press the acce le ra t or peda l when
changing the se lector lever position while
the vehicle is stationary and the engine is
running.
- Never sh ift into R or P whi le driving.
- Before driving down a steep slope, reduce your speed and sh ift into a lower gear w ith
"t i ptronic".
- Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
pedal too often or too long when driving
down a hi ll. Constant brak ing causes the
brakes to overheat and substant ially re­
duces brak ing performance, increases brak­
ing d istance or causes comp lete failure of
the brake system.
~
93

Automat ic t ra nsm iss io n
-To prevent the vehicle from rolling back
when stopping on inclines, a lways hold it in
place with the brake pedal or parking brake.
- Never hold the vehicle on an incline with a
s li pping clutch. The clutch opens automati­
cally when it becomes too hot from the
overload . An indicator lamp
mJ illuminates
and a driver message appears
~ page 96
when the cl utch is overloaded.
- If the engine must remain running, never
have any dr iv ing pos ition engaged when
checking under the hood. Make sure these ­
lector lever has secure ly engaged and is
locked in P with the parking bra ke set
~ page 203. Otherwise, any increase in en ­
gine speed may set the vehicle in motion,
even with the parking brake applied.
- S tronic- and tiptron ic transmission: When
stopping on an incline, do not try to ho ld
the vehicle in place by pressing the acce lera­
tor pedal while a driving gear is selected.
This can cause the transm ission to overheat
and can damage it. Activate the parking brake or press the brake pedal to prevent
the vehicle from rol ling .
- S tronic- and tiptron ic transmission: Allow­
i ng the veh icle to roll when the eng ine is
stopped and the selector leve r is in N will
damage the transmission because it is not
l ub ricated under those c ircumstances .
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re­
leased automatically only when the driver's
safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Hill descent control
Applies to vehicles: with multitro nic/5 tronic/tip tronic
The hill descent control system assists the driver
when driving down declines.
H ill descent control is activated when the selec ­
tor lever is in D/S and you press the brake pedal.
The transmission au tomatically selects a gear
that is suitable for the in cl ine. Hill descent con-
94
trol tries to maintain the speed achieved at the
time of braking, within physica l and techn ical
li mitations .
It may still be necessary to adjust the
speed with the brakes .
Hill descent control switches off once the decline
l evels out or you press the accel erator pedal.
On vehicles with the cruise control system*
~ page 88 , hill descent control is a lso activated
when the speed is set.
./1. WARNING
Hill descent control cannot overcome physical
limitations, so it may not be able to maintain
a constant speed under all conditions . A lways
be ready to apply the brakes .
Manual shift program
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/5 tronic/tiptronic
Using the manual shift program you con man ­
ually select gears.
Fig. 108 Cente r co n sole: s hift in g the gea rs m anually
Fig. 109 Stee ring whee l: shift paddle s•
Gear selection w ith selector lever
The tiptronic mode can be se lected either w ith
the veh icle stat ionary or on the move .
"' N N
N
"' CD m
N ~ N ><'. co m

..... N
0 ::..:: co ..... ..... ~ Push the selector lever to the right from D/S.
An M appears in the instrument cluster display as soon as the transmiss ion has shifted.
~ To upshift, push the selector lever forward to
the p lus position
0 ¢ fig. 108.
~ To downshift, push the lever to the minus posi -
t ion
0 .
Gear selection with shift paddles*
The shift paddles are act ivated when the se lector
lever is in D/S or the tiptronic manual shift pro­
gram.
~ To upshift, touch the shift padd le on the right
G) ¢fig.109 .
~ To downshift, touch the shift paddle on the left
0.
~ If you do not press a shift paddle within a short
t ime while in the D/S position, the transmission
will return to automatic mode. To keep shift ing
using the sh ift paddles, move the selector lever
to the right out of the D/S position.
The transm ission automatically shifts up or down
before critical engine speed is reached.
The transm ission only allows manual shifting
when the engine speed is within the permitted
range.
{O) Tips
- When you sh ift into the next lower gear, the
transmission will downsh ift only when there
i s no poss ibility of over-rew ing the engine.
- When the kick-down comes on, the trans­
mission will shift down to a lower gear, de­
pending on vehicle and engine speeds.
- Tiptron ic is inoperative when the transmis­
s ion is in the fail-safe mode.
Kick-down
Appl ies to vehicles: with multitronic/S t ronic/tiptronic
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration .
Applies to vehicles with a multitronic
transmission
When you depress the accelerator pedal beyond
the res istance point, the transmission downshifts
in to a lower gear rat io depending on the vehicle
Automatic transm ission
speed and engine speed. As long as the accelera­
tor pedal is depressed, the engine speed is auto­
matically regulated for maximum accelerat ion .
Applies to vehicles with a S tronic-/ tiptronic
transmission
When you depress the accelerator pedal beyond
the resistance point, the automat ic transmission
downsh ifts into a lower gear, depending on vehi­
cle speed and engine speed. The upsh ift into the
next higher gear takes place once the maximum
specified engine speed is reached .
A WARNING
Please note that the drive wheels can spin if
kick-down is used on a smooth slippery road -
there is a risk of skidding.
Launch Control Program
Applies to vehicles: wi th S tronic
The Launch Control Program provides the best
acceleration possible when starting from a stop .
Requirement: The engine must be at operating
temperature and the steering wheel must not be
turned .
~ Sedan: Press the I~ OF FI button¢ page 178
while the eng ine is running. The II indicator
light illuminates in the instrument cluster and
Stabilization control (ESC): Sport. Warning!
Restricted stability
appears in the driver infor­
mation system display.
~ allroad: Press the I~ OFFI button¢ page 178
while the engine is ru nning . The II indicator
light illuminates in the instrument cluster and
Stabilization control (ESC): Offroad . Warning!
Restricted stability
appears in the driver infor­
mation system display .
~ Move the selector lever to the D/S posit ion to
select sport mode (S) or select the
dynamic
driving mode in drive select*¢ page 112.
~ Press the brake pedal strongly w ith your left
foot and hold i t down for at least 1 second.
~ At the same time, press the accelerator pedal
down comp lete ly with your right foot unti l the
engine reaches and maintains a h igh RPM.
~ Remove your foot from the brake peda l within
S seconds¢ ,&. ..,.
95