2016 AUDI S4 transmission

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

Automatic transmissio n
A WARNING
-Always adapt your driving to the traffic flow.
- Only use the Launch Control Program when road and traffic conditions allow it and oth­
er drivers will not be endangered or an­
noyed by your driving and the veh icle's ac­
celeration .
- Please note that the dr iving wheels can spin
and the vehicle can break away whe n sport
mode/offroad mode is switched on, espe­
ci al ly when the road is slippery.
- Once you have accelerated, you should
switch spo rt mode/off road mode off by
pre ssing the
l.$ OFFI b utton .
@ Tips
- The transmiss ion temperature may increase
s ignificantly after us ing the Launch Con trol
P rogram. If that happens, the p rogram may
not be available for a few minutes. It w ill be
available again after a cool-down period.
- When a ccele rating using the Lau nch Control
program, all veh icle parts are subject to
heavy loads . This can resul t in inc reased
wear .
Transmission malfunction
Applies to veh icles: w ith multitronic/5 tronic/tiptronic
rm Transmission: P ress brake pedal and select
gear again.
Press the brake pedal and se lect the des ired se ­
lector lever position again. You can then continue
driving .
rm Transmission overheating: Please drive con­
s e rv atively .
The transm ission tempe rature has increased s ig­
n ifican tly due to the spo rty d riv in g manne r. D rive
i n a less sporty ma nner until the temperature re­
turns to the normal range and the indica tor ligh t
switches of.
rm Transmi ssion malfunction: You can continue
driving
There is a system malfunct ion in the transm is­
sion . You may continue driving . D rive to your au-
96 thorized Audi dea
ler or q ualified repair facility
soon to have the malfunction corrected.
rm Tran smission malfun ction: Limited driving
fun ctionality
There is a system malfunction in the transmis­
s io n. The transm ission is switc hing to eme rgency
mode. This mode only s hift s into ce rtain gears or
will no longer sh ift a t all. The eng ine may sta ll.
Drive to your authori zed A udi dealer or qualified
repair facility immediate ly to have the ma lfunc­
t ion co rrected .
rm ffl Transmi ssion malfunction: No rever se
You can continue driving
S tronic transm iss ion: The re is a sys tem ma lfunc­
tion in t he transm ission. The tr ansmission is
swi tching to emergency mode. This mode o nly
shi fts into certain gears or w ill no longer sh if t at
a ll. T he engine may stal l. You cannot engage the
reverse gear. Dr ive to your authorized Audi dea ler
or qualified repair facility immediately to have
the malfunct ion corrected.
DD Tran smission malfunction: Stop vehicle and
shift to pa rk.
Do no t con tinue dr iv ing . Se lec t the P sele ctor lev­
er position and see your au thorized A udi dealer
or q ualified repair facility for assistance .
(D Note
If the transm ission switches to eme rge ncy
mode, you should take the vehicle to an a u­
thorized Audi dealership as soon as possible
to have the condition corrected.

.... N
0
""' CX)
.... I.Cl U"I
.... I.Cl ....
Selector lever emergency release
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/5 tronic/tiptronic
If the vehicle's power supply fails, the selector
lever can be released in an emergency.
Fig. 110 Front center console: Remov ing the ashtray insert
Fig. 111 Selector lever emergency release
~ To access the emergency release mechanism,
remove the ashtray insert@ using the release
switch @~fig.110.
~ Loosen and remove the cap in the ashtray
mount .
~ You now have access to a pin. Using a screw­
driver or s imilar object, press the pin down and
hold it in that position
~ fig. 111 .
~ Now p ress the release button and move the se-
lector lever to the N position .
The selector lever can only be moved from the P
position if the key is in the lock and the ignition is
sw itched on. If the power supply fails (for exam­
p le, the battery is discharged) and the vehicle
must be pushed or towed, move the se lector lev­
e r to the N position first using the emergency re­
l ease .
Automatic transmission
97

,....,
N
0
""' CX) ,....,
I.Cl U"I ,....,
I.Cl ,....,
Audi ada pti ve c ruise contr ol and br akin g gu ard
-For safety reasons, do not use adapt ive
cruise contro l when driv ing on roads with
many curves, when the road surface is in
poor condit ion and/or in bad weather (such
as ice, fog, gravel, heavy rain and hydroplan­
ing) . Us ing the system under these condi­
t ions could result in a collision .
- Switch adaptive cruise contro l off tempora­
rily when driving in turn ing lanes, on ex­
pressway exits or in const ruc tion zones. This
preven ts the vehicle from accelerating to
the set speed when in these situat ions .
- T he adapt ive cr uise con trol system will no t
br ake by i tself if you pu t your foot on the ac­
celerator peda l. Doing so can override the
speed and distance regulation.
- Whe n approaching stat ionary obje cts such
as stopped traffic, adapt ive cruise control
will not respo nd and braking guard will have
limited function .
- The adaptive cruise control system and
brak ing guard do not react to peop le, ani­
ma ls, objects crossing the road or oncom ing
objects.
- The function of the radar sensor can be af­
fected by reflective objects such as guard
rai ls, t he entrance to a tunnel, heavy rain or
ice.
- Never follow a veh icle so closely that you
cannot stop your vehicle safely . The adap­
t ive cr uise control cannot slow or brake the
vehicle safely when you follow another veh i­
cle too close ly. Always remember th at the
au tom atic b raking function ca nnot br ing the
vehicle to a sudden or emergency stop un­
der these conditions .
- T o preven t unintended operation, always
switch AC C off when i t is not be ing used.
(D Note
The sensor can be disp laced by impacts o r
damage to the bumper, whee l housing and
underbody. That co uld affect the adaptive
cru ise con trol sys tem and braking guard.
Have your a uthorized Audi dea ler or author­
ized Aud i Service Facility check their function.
In curves
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
Fig. 113 Ex amp le : d ri ving int o a c urve
When driving into a curve¢ fig. 113 and out of a
curve, the adapt ive cruise control may react to a
vehicle in the next lane and apply the brakes . Yo u
can override or prevent the b raking by press ing
the accelerator pedal b riefly.
Stationary objects
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
Fig. 1 14 Example: object c hang ing lanes a nd st ationary
ob ject
The adaptive cruise control system only reacts to
objects that are moving or that the system has
already detected as moving. For example, if ave­
hicle @, which has already been detected by the
adaptive cruise control, turns or changes lanes
and another stat ionary vehicle @ is located in
front of that vehicle, the system will not react to
t h e stationary veh icle.
Vehicles with manual transmission
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
The ad aptive cr uise con trol is avai lab le from the
2nd gear through the 6th gear in the customary
RPM. ....
99

..... N
0 ::..:: co ..... ..... Audi adapt ive cruis e control and braking gua rd
promptly detected or may not be detected
at all.
- Reflective surfaces including crash barriers
or tunnel entrances may impair the function
of the radar sensor.
(D Tips
- You can cancel the braking that is initiated
by the system by braking yourse lf, by accel ­
erating noticeably or by swerving.
- Braking guard error messages ~page
105 .
-Keep in mind that braking guard can brake
unexpected ly. Always secure any cargo or
objects that you are transporting to reduce
the risk of damage or injury.
Settings in the radio/MM!
A ppl ies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise co ntro l
... Se lect : I CARI funct ion button > C ar s ystem s*
control button > Driver a ssi st > Audi brak ing
guard .
Or
... Select:
~I C-A-R~I funct ion button > A udi braking
g uard .
S ystem -
Switch Audi braking guard On and Off.
When you sw itch the ignition on, the message
Audi bra king gua rd off appears if the system is
switched off.
Ea rly warn ing -The distance and approach warn ­
ings in the display can be switched
On /Off .
(D Tips
-Your settings are automatically stored and
ass igned to the remote control key being
used at the times the sett ings are made.
- If you restrict or sw itch off the ESC, the
braking guard also sw itches itself off
~ page
178 .
- Switch braking guard off when you are load­
ing the veh icle onto a vehicle ca rr ier, train,
sh ip or other type of transportation . This
can p revent undesired warnings from the
braking gua rd system .
Messages
Applies to vehicles: wi th Aud i adapt ive c ruise control
Braking guard : Off
This dr iver message appears if the system is
tu rned off via the radio/MM I*. O therwise, if the
system is turne d off, the information appears ev­
ery time shortly after t he start o f the trip .
T he driver message a lso appea rs if the system is
not avai lab le due to a ma lfunction o r if the ES C i s
not switched on¢ page
178 . If th is is the case,
the system wi ll not provide warnings about a
possib le collision .
Braking guard : A ctivated
This dr iver message appears if sharp brake pres­
su re was applied due to an acute warning .
•••
Three white dots appear if a setting cannot be se­
l ected with the operating lever. For example, this
happens if you want to raise/lower the speed
even though there was no previously saved
speed .
ACC: Deacti vation
The driver message appears in vehicles wi th ma n­
u al transmission. If the clutch pedal was pressed
down for too long , the adaptive cr uise control
tu rns off. A chime sounds as a reminder.
ACC : Sen sor blocked
This message appears if the senso r view is ob­
structed, for examp le by leaves, snow, heavy
spray or dirt. Clean the sensor¢ page
98,
fig. 112 .
ACC : not availa ble
The driver message appears if there is a malfunc­
tion. The adaptive cruise control turns off . A
chime so unds as a reminder . Have the system
c h ecked by an author ized Audi dealer or au thor­
ized Audi Service Facili ty.
A CC: una vailable
The driver message appears if, for examp le, the
brake temperature is too high. The adapt ive .,.
105