
Automatic transmission multitronic, S tronic,
tiptronic
Introduction
Applies to: vehicle s with multitronic/S tronic/tiptronic
The automatic transmission is cont rolled e lec
tronica lly. The transmission upshifts or down
shifts automatically depending on which drive program is selected.
When a
moderate drivi ng style is used, the
transmission selects the most economical driving
mode. It will then change up early and delay the
downshifts to give better fuel economy.
The transm ission switches to a sporty mode afte r
a kick -down or when the driver uses a
s po rt y
d riv ing sty le
characterized by quick accelerator
pedal movements, heavy acce leration, frequent
changes in speed and traveling at the maximum
speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually { tip tron ic mode) 9 page 81.
Various automatic transmissions may be instal
led, depending on the model :
multitronic transmission
The multitronic transmission is a cont inuous ly
va riable t ransmiss ion. Power is transferred using
a mu ltidisk clutch. In contrast to conventiona l
automatic transmissions using shifting opera
tions, the transmission ratio in the continuous ly
variable transmiss ion is changed continuously.
This optimizes the comfort level and conserves
fuel.
S tr onic transmi ssion
The S tronic is a dua l-clutch transmiss ion . Power
is transferred using two clutches that work inde
pendently from one another. They replace the
torque converter used in conventional automatic
transmissions and allow the vehicle to accelerate
without a noticeable interruption in tract ion.
a:,
a:,
...... tip tron ic tran smis sion N r--.
~ In the tiptron ic transmission, power is transfer-
fi:' red by a torque converter. 00
Autom atic tran sm iss ion
Selector lever positions
Applies to: vehicles wit h mult itron ic/S tro nic/t iptronic
F ig. 95 Display in the instrument cl uste r: se lector lever in
posit ion P
T he selector leve r pos ition engaged appea rs next
to the se lector lever as well as in the instrument
cluster disp lay .
P -Park
In this se lector lever position the transmission is
mechan ica lly locked. Engage P only when the ve
hicle is
completely stopped~.&. in Driving the
automatic transmission on page 84.
T o s hift i n or out of pos it ion P, you must first
press and hold the brake pedal and then press
t h e release button in the se lec tor lever ha ndle
whi le mov ing the selector lever to o r from P. Yo u
can shift out of this position on ly with the igni
tion on.
R -Reverse
Se lect R on ly when the vehicle is at a full stop
and the engine is runn ing at idle speed C? .&. in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 84 .
Before yo u move the selector leve r to R, p ress
both the release b utton in the handle of these
l ector lever
and the brake pedal at the same
time.
When the ignition is on, t he backup lights illumi
na te when the selector lever is moved into R.
N -Neutral
The transmiss ion is in neutral in this position .
S hi ft to this posit io n for standing with the brakes
applied
~ .&. in Driving the automatic transmis-
sion on page 84. ..,
81

Automatic transmission
This prevents too much stress from being placed
on the locking mechanism.
Vehicles with multitronic transmission: Your ve hicle is equipped with
hill hold assist allowing
you to start while on an incline. The system is ac
tivated when the brake pedal is pressed down
and held
for a few seconds. The brake pressure
will hold for
a moment after the brake pedal
loosens to prevent the vehicle from rolling back
wards while starting up.
A WARNING
- The vehicle can also roll when the engine is
stopped.
- Unintended vehicle movement can cause se rious injury.
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running while in gear. If you must leave
your vehicle when the engine is running, ac tivate the parking brake and move the selec
tor lever to P.
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is running at idle. To pre
vent the vehicle from "creeping", you must
keep your foot on the brake when the en
gine is running and the selector lever is in 0/
Sor R or "tiptronic" mode is selected.
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when changing the selector lever position while
the vehicle is stationary and the engine is
running.
- Never shift into R or P while driving.
- Before driving down a steep slope, reduce
your speed and shift into a lower gear with
"tiptronic".
- Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
pedal too often or too long when driving
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substantially re
duces braking performance, increases brak
ing distance or causes complete failure of
the brake system.
- To prevent the vehicle from rolling back
when stopping on inclines, always hold it in
place with the brake pedal or parking brake.
- Never hold the vehicle on an incline with a
slipping clutch. The clutch opens automati-
84
cally when it becomes too hot from the
overload. An indicator lamo
[O ] illuminates
and a driver message appears
c::;, page 86
when the clutch is overloaded.
- If the engine must remain running, never
have any driving position engaged when
checking under the hood. Make sure these
lector lever has securely engaged and is
locked in P with the parking brake set
¢page 193. Otherwise, any increase in en
gine speed may
set the vehicle in motion,
even with the parking brake applied.
(D Note
- S tronic- and tiptronic transmission: When
stopping on an incline, do not try to hold
the vehicle in place by pressing the accelera
tor pedal while a driving gear is selected.
This can cause the transmission to overheat
and can damage it. Activate the parking
brake or press the brake pedal to prevent
the vehicle from rolling.
- S tronic- and tiptronic transmission: Allow
ing th@ vehicle to roll when th@ engine is
stopped and the selector lever is in N will
damage the transmission because it is not
lubricated under those circumstances.
(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
App lies to: vehicles with mult itron ic/S tron ic/t iptronic
The hill descent control system assists the driver
when driving down declines .
Hill descent control is activated when the selec
tor lever is in D/S and you press the brake pedal.
The transmission automatically selects a gear
that is suitable for the incline. Hill descent con
trol tries to maintain the speed achieved at the
time of braking, within physical and technical
limitations. It may still be necessary to adjust the
speed with the brakes. ..,..

a:,
a:,
...... N r--. N ...... 0
0
LL 00
A WARNING ,~
- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of scald ing
from hot coolant by following these steps.
- Turn
off the engine and allow it to coo l
down.
- Protect you r face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by cover ing the
cap with a large, thick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in a
counter-clockwise d irection while applying
light, downward p ressure on the top of
the cap.
- To avoid being burned, do not spill anti
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system or
hot engine parts. Under certa in cond i
tions, the ethylene glycol in eng ine cool
ant can catch fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store anti
freeze in its orig inal container and well out
of the reach of children.
- If you dra in the coolant, it must be caught
and safely stored in a proper conta iner
clearly marked "poison".
- Do not add coolant if the expansion tank is
empty. Air cou ld enter the cooling system
and damage the eng ine. If this is the case,
do not continue driving . Seek professional
ass istance.
- Coolant pollutes the env ironment and could
cause an eng ine fire. Excess coolant will be
fo rced o ut through the pressure relief valve
i n the cap when the e ng ine be comes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only wate r can be add
ed, the co rrect r atio betwee n wate r and an
tifree ze
Q page 199 must be res to red as
soon as possib le.
{® For the sake of the environment
Dra ined coolant sho uld not be reused. Always
disp ose of used coolant while obse rving all
env ironment al regulat ions.
-
Ch eck ing and Filling
Rad iator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by it
self .
The radiator fan is driven by the engine via the V
belt. The viscous clutch regulates th e speed of
the fan accord ing to the temperature of the cool
ant .
An auxiliary e lectr ic radiator fan* switches on and
off depending on coo lant temperature and other
vehicle operating conditions.
After you switch the engine
off, the auxiliary fan
can continue running for up to 10 m inutes -even
with the ignition
off. It can even switch on aga in
later by itself
Q .& , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises due
to the heat build-up from the engine in the en
gine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up beca use the
veh icle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
- To reduce the r isk of persona l injury neve r
touch the radia to r fan .
- The auxiliary e lectr ic fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on s uddenly even
when the engine is not ru nning .
- The a uxiliary radiator fan sw itches on auto
mat ically when the eng ine coolant reaches a
certa in temperature a nd will continue to run
until the coolant temperature d rops.
201

a:,
a:,
...... N
" N ...... 0
0
LL co
Fuse panel @ (black)
No . Consumer
1 Dynamic steering
2 Electronic Stabilization Cont rol (mod ule)
A/C system press ure sensor, elect rome -
chan ica l park ing brake , Homelink, auto-
3 mat
ic dimming interior rear v iew mirror,
air q uality/outside a ir sensor, Electronic
Stabili zation Cont rol (button)
5 Sound actuator
6 Headlight range control/
headlight (cor-
ne ring light)
7 Headlight (cornering light)
Con trol modules (e lectrom echan ica l par k-
8 ing brake, s hock ab so rbe r, q uattro s port),
DCDC converter
9 Adapt ive cru ise control
1 0 Shift ga te/clu tch se nsor
1 1 Side assist
12 Headlight range control
, p arkin g sys tem
13 Airbag
14 Rear wiper (a
llroad)
1 5 Auxiliary fuse (instrument panel)
1 6 Auxiliary fuse terminal 15 (engine area
)
Fuse panel@ (brown)
No . Consumer
2 Brake light senso r
3 Fuel pump
4 Clutch sensor
5
Left seat heating w it h /w it h out seat venti-
l a tion
6 Electronic Stabili zation Cont rol (e lectr ic)
7 Ho rn
8
Front left door (window regulator, central
locki ng, mirror, switch, lig hting)
9 Windshield wiper moto r
10 Electronic Stabilization Cont rol (va lves)
Fuses and bulbs
No . Consumer
Two-door mode ls: rear left w indow reg ula-
1 1 tor; Four-door mode
ls: rear left door (w in-
dow regu lator, central locking, switch,
li ght ing)
1 2 Rain and
light sensor
Fuse panel © (red)
No . Consumer
3 Lumbar support
4 Dynam ic steering
5 Inter
io r ligh ting ( Cabr io let)
6 W
indshie ld washer system, headlight
wash er system
7 Vehicle e lectrica l system control module 1
8 Ve hicl e e lec trica l sy stem con trol module 1
9
Left rear window regu lator motor (Cabr io-
l et)/s unroof
1 0 Vehicle e lec tric al system con trol module 1
1 1 R
ight rear window regulator (Cabriolet)/
su n shade motor
1 2 A
nti- theft alarm warning system
Right cockpit fuse assignment
Fig. 194 R ig h t cockp it : f use pane l wit h plast ic cl ip
235