2018 AUDI A3 SEDAN brake light

Driving
- If the vehicle sti ll does not move in the de ­
sired direction, there is a system malfunc­
tion. See an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thori zed Audi Service Facility for assistance
to have the system checked.
(D Tips
Plug -in hybrid drive* : the transmission
switches automatically to the normal mode
" D" if the
l.,,f' I button ¢ page 98 is pressed
while i n sport mode "S" .
Driving tips
Applies to: ve hicles with a utomat ic transmissions
F ig . 9 2 Sect io n of the cente r co nso le: se le cto r lever w it h
i nte rlock butto n
Starting the engine
• Select the "P" or "N" selector lever position . At
low temperatu res (be low 14 °F ( -10 °C)), the
engine can only be started when t he se lec to r
l ever is in the "P " posit io n.
Starting from a stop
• Press and hold the brake pedal.
• Press and hold the interlock button in these­
lector lever handle, se lect the des ired sele ctor
lever posit io n such as "D" ¢
page 84 and re­
lease the loc k bu tton.
• Wait a moment unti l the transmission shifts.
Yo u w ill not ice a slight movement when the
gear engages.
• Release the brake pedal and press the accelera­
tor
pedal ¢,&. .
Various convenience functions are avai lab le for
starting on hills ¢
page 83.
86
Stopping temporarily
• Keep the vehicle st ationary using the bra kin g
peda l, for examp le a t traffic ligh ts.
• Do not press the acce le rato r pedal when doing
this.
• To prevent the vehicle from rolling when you start driving, set the pa rking brake when stop­
ping on steep
hills ¢.&. and ¢(Q).
• The parking brake will release a utomat ica lly
and the vehicle will start moving once yo u press
the acce le rato r pedal. Requirement: the d riv­
er's doo r mus t be closed.
Stopping/parking
If the selector lever is not in the "P" pos ition
whe n you open the d river's door, the vehicle
could roll. In vehicles with a conven ience key *,
the message :
Shift to P, otherwise vehicle can
roll away. Door s do not lock if lever is not in P
appe ars . A wa rning tone wi ll also sound.
• Press and hold the brake peda l¢ ,&. .
• Set t he par king brake.
• Select the "P" se lector lever posi tion .
Un der certai n circumstances, (such as dr iving in
the mo unta ins or towi ng a trailer), it may be use­
ful to switch temporar ily to the m an ual shift pro­
gr am in or der to ad ju st t he gears to the driv ing
cond it ions by hand ¢
page 88.
When parking on a level surface, s imp ly place the
se le ct or lever i n the "P" pos ition. On inclines, a c­
tivate the par king b rake first and then move the
se lector lever to the "P " posit ion ¢
page 81. Thi s
prevents the locking mechanism from being
l oaded too heavily and will make it easier to
move the selector lever out of the "P" position.
A WARNING
- The vehicle can roll even whe n the engi ne is
sw itched off .
- Unintended vehicle movement can lead to
serio us injuries.
- Never leave your veh icle with the engine
r u nning while in gear. If you must leave
your veh icle when the eng ine is r unning, set
t he par king brake and move the se lecto r lev ­
er to the "P " posi tion .

u. 00 .-< N l'­ N .-< 0 N > 00
-Power is still transferred 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
the "D", "S" or "R" position or "tiptronic"
mode is selected.
- Do not inadvertently press the accelerator
peda l when the vehicle is stopped if a gear is
engaged. Otherwise the risk of an accident
increases because the vehicle will start to
move immediately, even if the parking brake
is set.
- To reduce the risk of an accident, do not
press the acce lerator pedal when changing
the selector lever position while the vehicle is stationary and the engine is running.
- Never engage the "R" or "P" selector leve l
positions while driving. It could cause a
crash.
- Before driving down a steep slope, reduce
your speed and shift into a lower gear with
"ti ptron i c".
- Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
pedal too often or too long when driving
downhill. 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.
- If you must stop on an incline, always hold
the vehicle in p lace with the foot brake or
park ing brake to prevent it from rolling
back.
- Never hold the veh icle on an incline with a
sl ip ping clutch. The clutch opens automati­
cally when it becomes too hot from the
overload. The
ml indicator light turns on
and a message appears
¢ page 89 when
the clutch is over loaded .
{LlJ) Note
- When stopping on an incline, do not try to
ho ld the vehicle in place by pressing the ac­
ce lerator pedal while a driving gear is se ­
l ected. This can cause the automatic trans ­
mission to overheat and can damage it. Set
Driving
the parking brake or press the brake pedal
to prevent the vehicle from rolling.
- Allowing the vehicle to roll when the engine
is stopped while the selector lever is in the
"N" position will damage the automatic
transmission, because it is not lubricated
under those circumstances
¢ page 3 78,
Towing with a tow truck.
- The transmission can overheat and be dam­
aged under certain driving and traffic condi­
tions such as frequent starts, creeping for a
long time, or stop-and-go traffic. When the
ml or. indicator light turns on, stop the
vehicle at the next opportunity and let the
transmission cool¢
page 89.
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the park ing brake only re­
l eases automatically when the driver's door is
closed.
Hill descent control
App lies to : vehicles wi th automatic transmiss ions
The hill descent control system assists the driver
when driving down hills.
Hill descent control is act ivated when the selec­
tor lever is in the "D" or "S" posit ion and you
press the b rake pedal. The transmission auto ­
matically se lects a gear that is suitab le for the
hill. Hill descent contro l tries to ma inta in the
speed achieved at the time of braking, within
physical and technica l limitations. If may still be
necessary to adjust the speed with the brakes.
Because hill descent control cannot shift down
farther than 3rd gear, it may be necessary to
shift into tiptronic mode in very steep areas . In
th is case, shift into 2nd or 1st gear in t iptronic
mode to use the engine's braking force to rel ieve
the brakes.
Hill descent control switches
off once the hill lev­
els out or you press the accelerator pedal.
On vehicles with a cruise control system*
¢ page 120, hill descent control is also activated
when the speed is set .
.,,.
87

u. co ... N l'­ N
A WARNING
Please note that the wheels could spin on
slick or slippery roads when kick-down is ac­
tive .
Launch control program
App lies to: ve hicles with S tro nic tra nsm issio n an d La unch
Co ntrol P rogram
-
The launch control program provides the best
possible acceleration when starting from a stop .
Requirement: the eng ine must be at operating
temperature and t he steer ing whee l must not be
turned.
.,. Deact ivate l) the S tart/Stop system*
~ page 81. The L ED in the ~ button turns on .
.,. Wi th the engine runn ing, p ress the I.!, O FF ! but­
ton briefly one time . The
11 indicator light
turns on and the message
Stabili zation control
( ESC ): s port. W arning! Rest ricted st a bilit y
ap­
pears in the instrument cluster display.
.,. Pull the selector lever back out of the "D/S" po­
s it ion br iefly to select the S pos it ion, or press it
toward the right into the t iptronic pos ition or
select the
Dynamic d riving mode in d rive se­
lect* ~ page 140.
.,. Press t he b rake peda l firmly with you r left foot
and hold it all the way down for at least one
second .
.,. At the same time, press the gas pedal a ll the
way down with your right foot unt il the engine
reaches and stays at a high RPM level.
.,. Remove your left foot from the brake pedal
within five
seconds ~,&. .
A WARNING
-Always adapt yo ur driv ing to the traffic flow.
- Only use Launch Control when road and traf-
fic cond itions allow it and other dr ivers will
not be endangered or impacted by you r driv­
ing and the vehicle 's accele ration.
- Please note tha t the drive whee ls can sp in
and the vehicle can break away when sport
8 l ) It is n ot poss ib le to deac tiv ate t he system wit h all ve rs io n s N &j of th e tran sm iss ion.
Driving
mode is switched on, especially when the
road is slippery.
- Once the vehicle has started moving, press
the !.!> OFF I button briefly to turn the sport
mode off.
(D Tips
- The transmission temperat ure may increase
significant ly after using the launch control
program. If that happens, the program may
not be ava ilable for a few minutes. It will be
availab le aga in after a cool-down period.
- When accelerating using the launch contro l
program, all vehicle parts are subject to
heavy loads . This can lead to increased
wear .
Transmission malfunction
Applies to: vehicles wit h automatic transmissions
• Transmis sion : malfunction! Pl eas e s top ve ­
hicle and shift to P
There is a malfunction in the transmission . Park
the vehicle securely and do not cont inue driv ing .
See an author ized Audi dealer or author ized Audi
Se rvice Facility for assistance .
• Transmission o verhe ating! Plea se stop th e
vehicle!
The transmission is too hot and can become dam­
aged. Stop and let the transmiss ion cool w ith the
engine running (at idle) i n the "P" selector lever
pos ition . T hen the ind icator light and the mes­
sage turn off, d rive to an authorized Aud i dealer
o r auth o rized Aud i Serv ice Facility immediately to
have t he malfunct ion cor rected . If the indicato r
light and the driver message do not turn off, do
not continue driving . See an authorized Audi
dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility for as­
s istance.
[O] Tran smission: malfunction! You can contin-
u e dri ving. See owne r's manual
.,.
89

Driving
Drive to an authorized Audi dealer or authorized
Audi Service Facility immediately to have the
malfunct ion corrected .
[i1 Transmission: malfunction! You can contin­
ue driving with limited function. No reverse
gear
There is a system malfunction in the transm is­
sion. The transmission is switching to emergency
mode. This mode only shifts into certain gears or
will no longer shift at all. The engine may stall.
You cannot engage the reverse gear. Drive to an
authorized Audi dealer or author ized Audi Service
Facility immediately to have the malfunction cor­
rected .
[i1 Transmission: malfunction! You can contin­
ue driving in
D until engine is off
Drive the vehicle away from movi ng traffic and
park. See an authorized Audi dealer or authorized
Aud i Serv ice Facility for assistance.
[i1 Transmission: too hot . Please adapt driving
style
The transmission tempe rature has increased s ig­
n ificant ly. Dr ive very cautiously or take a break
from driving unt il the temperature returns to the
normal range and the indicator light turns off.
[O] Transmis sion: please press brake pedal and
select gear again
If the transmission malfu nctions because the
temperature is too high, a message appears
when the transmission is cooled .
90
Selector lever emergency release
Applies to : vehicles wi th automatic transmissions
If the vehicle's power supply fails, the selector
lever can be released in an emergency .
Fig. 95 Selector leve r: remov ing the shifter boot
Fig. 96 Selector lever: using the emergency release to
move out of the Pa rk posit ion
To maneuver or tow the vehicle, the emergency
release must be used to move the selector lever
from the P position .
The emergency release mechanism is located in
the right area under the selector lever shift gate .
Using the emergency release can be complicated .
We recommend contacting an authorized Audi
dealer or authorized Aud i Service Facility for as­
s is tance, if necessary.
The screwdr iver from the vehicle tool kit located
i n the luggage compartment is needed to for the
emergency re lease
c::> page 360 . Use the flat side
of the reversible screwdriver blade.
Removing the shifter boot
.,. Set the park ing brake(®) ¢.& to secure your
veh icle from rolling. If this is not possible, se­
cure your vehicle from rolling using another
method .
.,. Switch the ignit ion off.

u. 00 ... N l'­ N ... 0 N > 00
~ To loosen the s hifter boot, carefu lly insert the
flat side of the screwdriver sideways into the s li t near the shifter
boot ¢ fig. 95 .
~ Carefully pry the shifter boot out with the
screwdriver while gr ipping the boot at the fold
and pulling it upward and out -arrow -until all
four corners are released .
~ Fold the shifter boot up aro und the shifte r knob
¢ fig. 96.
Selector le ver eme rgenc y release
~ Press and hold the yellow re lease button with
the
screwdriver ¢ fig. 96 .
~ Press the release button in the selector lever @
and move the leve r into the "N" position .
~ Clip the shift cover back i nto t he shift gate after
us ing t he emergency release .
A WARNING
-Only activate the emergency re lease while
on a level s urface or a slight slope.
-Only move the se lec tor lever out of the "P"
position when the parking brake is set . If it
is not functioning, sec ure t he vehicle from
rolling using the brake peda l or other su ita­
ble means, such as block ing a front and a
rear wheel. An unsecured ve hicle may ro ll
away, wh ich increases the risk of an acc i­
dent .
-
Driving
91

e-tron
for the high voltage battery can lead to seri­
ous damage and/or a decrease of the capacity
void coverage under the New Vehicle Limited
Warranty.
Starting/driving the vehicle
A pp lies to: ve hicles w ith plug- in hybrid drive
The vehicle is started and stopped with the
IS TAR T ENGINE STOP I button . Please also read
the information under
Q page 76, Starting the
engine.
Establishing drive ready mode
See Q .& in Introduction on page 92.
Requirement: a charging cable must not be con­
nected to the vehicle
Qpage 115 and the selec ­
tor lever must be in the "P" or
"N" position.
- Press the brake peda l.
- Press th e
I START ENGINE STOPI button .
When the veh icle enters drive ready mode, the
status message
e-tron READY appears briefly in
the instrument cluster display and the needle in
the powe r meter points to
READY Q page 95.
Driving
The vehicle starts with the electr ic motor after
establishing the dr ive ready mode and if the con­
ditions for electric drive mode have been met
Qpage98.
The cond itions to drive are essentially the same
as for the automat ic transmission
Q page 83 .
You and your passengers should anticipate the
possibility of a sporty acceleration.
Ending drive ready mode
- Place the selector lever in the P position.
- Switch the ign ition off with the
I START ENGINE STOP ! button.
Vehicle sound1>
The vehicle generates an electronic engine sound
so that you r vehicle can be heard from the out­
side when in electr ic drive mode. The veh icle
l) Not available in all markets.
94
sound automatically fades out at higher speeds
when the sounds from the tires and wind start in­
creasing .
Switching the ignition on/off
You can switch the ignition on without establish­
in g drive ready mode.
- To switch the ign ition on or off, press the
!START ENGINE STOPI button. Do not press the
brake pedal while do ing this.
When the ignition is switched on, the needle
stays pointed at
OFF CD Q page 95, fig. 98 or
OFF is displayed CD~ page 95, fig. 98.
No indicator lights stay turned on when the igni­
tion is switched off.
Ignition is switched off automatically
To prevent the vehicle battery from draining, the
i gnition will switch off automatically under the
follow ing cond it ions:
- The vehicle has already been driven.
- The vehicle is stationary.
- The gasoline engine is not runn ing.
- The driver's door is opened.
- The driver's safety belt is unbuckled .
- The brake pedal is not pressed.
In this case, the activated low beam is replaced
by the parking light. The message
Side marker
lights will switch off automatically in 30 mi­
nutes. See owner 's manual
appears in the instru­
ment cluster display . The parking lights will
switch off after approximately 30 minutes or
when you lock the veh icle.
If the gasoline engine was not stopped, the mo­
tor continues running and the ignition does not
automat ically switch off
Q & .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of poisoning, never allow
the engine to run in confined spaces .
-

e-tron
For additional information, see ¢ page 17, Trip
computer (Audi virtual cockpit).
~ Applies to: vehicles with analog instrument
cluster: Open the
Tachometer display by turn­
ing the left thumbwheel on the multifunction
steering wheel.
When opening the driver's door, the charge level is shown in the instrument cluster when the igni­
tion is switched on, or the charge level and the
remaining charge time for the high -voltage bat ­
tery is displayed when charging .
The power meter gives feedback about the partic­ ular accelerator pedal position and shows the
current demand
(%) for electricity or fuel regard­
less of which engine is active.
An economical driving and recuperation range is
shown in green
¢ page 99, Energy recovery (re­
cuperation) .
A driving range that is not economi­
cal is shown in orange .
(D Vehicle not drive ready (OFF)
@ Recuperation (CHARGE)
@ Vehicle ready to drive (READY) or
coasting
© Efficient driving with electric motor
and/or gasoline engine (EFFICIEN­
CY)
® Economic driving while the electric
motor or gasoline engine is in the
partial power range
@ Driving in full power range
0 100% output
@ BOOST: the electric motor supports
the combustion engine
® High-voltage battery charge level
@ EV mode: active a=,v, standby, a=,v
or currently unavailable. ~v
@ Speed limit for electric driving in EV
mode (80 mph/ 130 km/h)
Indicator lights and messages
Applies to: vehicles with plug -in hybr id drive
Also note the indicator lights in¢ page 20.
The gasoline engine is active when the II'§] indica­
tor light turns on.
96
•• Drive system: system fault! Safely park
vehicle
There is a malfunction in the plug-in hybrid sys­
tem. The brake booster and the power steering
may stop working. Stop the vehicle immediately
or as soon as possible. Park the vehicle in a safe place outdoors that is not near buildings, roof
overhangs, carports or similar structures. Switch
the ignition off. Have the problem corrected by
an authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi
Service Facility.
•• Electric drive: overheated! Safely stop
vehicle and check coolant
The coolant level is too low or the coolant tem­
perature is too high.
Stop the vehicle in the outdoors as soon as it is
safely possible. Switch the ignition off.
Read the important safety
precautions ¢.& in
Coolant on page 103
and check the coolant level
¢page 102.
If the coolant level is OK, the malfunction may be
caused by the system overheating. Let the vehi­
cle's electric drive system cool down for some
time .
If the message turns off after cooling down and
switching the ignition back on, you can continue
driving. Contact an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility immediately to have
the malfunction corrected.
If the indicator light stays on, contact an author­
ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facili­
ty.
lltll Drive system: system fault! Please con­
tact workshop
There is a malfunction in the plug-in hybrid sys­
tem . Drive to an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility immediately to have
the malfunction corrected.
1/1111 Drive system: system fault! Restart not
possible. Please contact workshop
There is a malfunction in the plug-in hybrid sys­
tem. Do not open the hood. Drive to an author- ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service
.,,_

Outside mirrors
If yo u cannot see the traffic behind the tra iler
with the standard exterior mirrors, then you
must attach additiona l exterior mirrors . Adj ust
them so you have a sufficient visibility behind
you .
Exterior lighting
Follow the legal regulat ions regard ing the light­
ing equipment on your trailer . Contact an author ­
ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facili­
ty for more information.
Before starting to drive, check all lighti ng equip­
ment on the hitched trailer.
The headlight range contro l adjusts automatical­
l y to the light range of the headl ights.
Safety chains
Make sure the safety chains are correctly applied
when pull ing a trailer . The chains should hang
enough so that the trailer can dr ive around
curves. However, they must not touch the
g ro und .
(D Tips
-Use chocks whe n parking on incl ines if the
trailer is load ed.
- We recommend also hav ing the veh icle in­
spected between the inspect ion intervals if
you are towing a trailer frequently.
- Avo id driving with a trailer during the vehi­
cle break- in period .
Driving with a trailer
Driving with a trailer requires extra caution.
Speed
Adhere to the legal speed limits. Follow the legal
regulations specific to the country.
As the speed increases, the driving stability of
the trai ler decreases. Therefore you should not
exceed the maximum legal speed limit when
u. there are unfavorable road, weather and/or wind 00
~ conditions . This especially applies when driving
~ downhill.
0 N > 00
Trailer towing
You m ust always reduce your speed as soon as
you notice even the slightest swinging motion of
the tra iler. Never try to "stra ighten out" the tra il­
er by acce lerating.
T he weight distribution is very poor if the vehicle
is empty and the trai ler is loaded . However if you
must drive under these circumstances, then dr ive
especially slowly .
Brakes
Brake in a timely manner. Downshift before driv ­
ing down hill so that t he engine can assist with
braking ~.&. .
When using a trailer w it h overrun brakes, first
brake gently then quickly. This reduces the r isk of
jerking while braking if the trailer wheels lock up .
Engine coolant temperature
Pay attention specifically to the coo lant tempera­
ture display when there are high outside temper­
a tur es, and when driving on long inclines
~page 11. Shift to a hig her gear in a timely man­
ner .
A WARNING
= -
Constant braking causes the brakes to over-
heat and substantially reduces braking per­
formance, increases braking distance or caus­
es complete failure of the brake system.
119