
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

At speeds above about 1 mph (2 km/h) the Auto
matic Shift Lock is automatically deactivated in
the N position.
A time delay element prevents the selector lever
from locking when it is moved through the N po
sition (going from R to D/S). The locking e lement
will lock the se lector lever if the lever is left in N
(Neutral) for more than approx imately 2 sec
onds, without the brake pedal being pressed.
Release button
The release button on the se lector lever prevents
the lever from being accidentally sh ifted into cer
tain positions. Depending on the d irection of the
shift, the selector lever locks at d ifferent posi
tions . The positions are highlighted in the illus
tration ¢
fig. 96 .
Ignition key safety interlock
The key cannot be removed from the ignition un
less the selector lever is in the P park posit ion.
When the ignit ion key is removed, the selector
lever will be locked in the P pos ition .
Driving the automatic transmission
App lies to: ve hicles with multitro nic/S tronic/tiptronic
Fig . 97 S hift gate o n the ce nte r conso le: selecto r leve r w ith
release button
Starting the engine
~ The selector lever must be in P or N.
Starting off
~ Press and hold the brake pedal.
~ Press and hold the release button in the selec-
a:,
a:, tor lever handle, select the des ired selector lev-......
~ er position such as D/S and release the button. N ...... 0
0
LL 00
Automatic transm ission
~ Wait briefly unti l the transmission has shi fted
(you will feel a slight movement).
~ Remove your foot from the brake pedal and ac
celerate.
Stopping temporarily
~ Keep the vehicle stationary using the braking
pedal, for examp le at traffic lights.
~ Do not press the acce lerator pedal when doing
this .
~ To prevent the veh icle from rolling when you
start driv ing, set the parking brake when stop
p in g on steep incl ines ¢.&_ .
~ The parking brake will release automat ically
and the vehicle will start moving once you press
the acce le rator pedal.
Stopping/parking
If the selector lever is not in the P position when
you open the driver's door, the vehicle could roll.
The message
Transmission: Car may roll! Shift
to park!
appea rs.
~ Press and hold the brake pedal until the vehicle
has come to a complete stop .
~ Apply the parking brake ¢ page 76, Parking.
~ Select the P selector lever position ¢ .&_ .
Stopping on an incline
~ Always press the brake pedal to hold the vehi
cle in place and prevent it from "rolling back"
¢ .&_ . Do
not try to prevent the vehicle from
"rolling back" when a gear is engaged by in
creas ing the engine speed
¢0.
Starting on an incline
~ Activate the parking brake.
~ With the driving gear selected, press the accel
erator pedal carefully . The park ing brake will
release automatically if your seat belt is fas
t ened.
Under certain circumstances, such as driving in
the mountains , it may be useful to switch tempo
rarily to the manual shift program in order to ad
just the gears to the driv in g conditions by hand
¢page 85.
On slopes, act ivate the park ing brake first and
then move the selecto r lever to the P position.
83

a:,
a:,
...... N
" N ...... 0
0
LL co
Hill descent control switches off once the decline
levels out or you press the accelerator pedal.
On vehicles w ith the cruise control system*
¢ page 79, hill descent control is also activated
when the speed is set.
&,_ WARNING
H ill descent control cannot overcome physical
limitations, so it may not be able to maintain
a constant speed under all conditions. Always
be ready to apply the brakes.
Manual shift program
A ppl ies to: ve hicles w ith mul titronic/S tronic/tip troni c
Using the manual shift program you can man
ually select gears.
Fig. 98 Cente r console: shifting the gea rs manua lly
Fig. 99 Steering wheel: shift paddles•
Gear selection with selector lever
The tiptronic mode can be selected either with
the vehicle stationary or on the move.
• Push the selector lever to the right from D/5.
"' N N N ,.:i
~
An M appears in the instrument cluster display
as soon as the transmiss ion has shifted.
• To upshift, push the selector lever forwa rd to
the plus posit ion
0 ¢ fig . 98.
Automatic transmission
• To downshift, push the lever to the minus posi-
tion
0 .
Gear selection with shift paddles*
The shift paddles are activated when the selector
lever is in D/5 or the tip tronic manual shift pro
gram.
• To upshift, touch the sh ift paddle on the right
0 ¢fig. 99.
• To downshift, touch the shift paddle on the left
0-
• If you do not press a shift paddle within a short
time while in the 0/5 position, the transmission
wi ll return to automatic mode. To keep shifting
using the shift paddles, move the selector lever
to the right out of the D/S position.
The transmission automatically shifts up or down before critical engine speed is reached .
The transmission only allows manual shifting
when the engine speed is within the permitted
range.
@ Tips
- When you shift into the next lower gear, the
transmission will downshift on ly when there
is no possibility of over-revving 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.
- Tiptronic is inoperative when the transmis
sion is in the fail-safe mode.
Kick-down
Applies to : vehicles wi th mult itro nic/S tro nic/t ipt ronic
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
Applies to vehicles with a multitronic
transmission
When you depress the acce lerator pedal beyond
the resistance point, the transmission downshifts
into a lower gear ratio depending on the vehicle
speed and engine speed. As long as the accelera
tor pedal is depressed, the engine speed is auto-
matically regulated for maximum acceleration.
Ill>
85