2018 AUDI A3 SEDAN stop start

Drivin g
~ Brake the vehicle to a stop . The engine stops
shortly before the vehicle comes to a stop or if
the ve hicle is stationary
1>. Keep your foot on
the brake pedal. The
D] ; D] ind icator light ap ­
pears in the display. The need le in the tachome­
ter also moves into the
READ Y position .
~ The engine starts again when you take your
foot off the brake pedal. The ind icator light
tu rns off.
Add ition al informa tion
The engine stops in the "P", "N" and "D" selector
lever positions .
If you select the "R" selector lever position during
a Stop phase, the engine will start again.
Shift to "P" quickly to prevent the engine from
starting unintentiona lly when shifting t hrough
IIRII.
You can determ ine for you rself if the engine will
stop or not by reducing or increasing the amount
of force you use to press the brake pedal. For ex­
ample, if you only light ly press on the brake ped­
al in stop-and-go traff ic or when turning, the en­
g ine will not switch off when the vehicle is sta­
tionary . As soon as you press the brake down
harder, the eng ine will switch off .
(D Tips
-Press the brake pedal during a Stop phase
to keep the veh icle from roll ing.
- The ignition will turn off if you press the
I STAR T ENGINE ST OP ! button* during a
stop phase . The needle in the tachometer
moves into the
OFF pos it ion .
General information
App lies to: ve hicles w ith Sta rt/Stop system
Engine does not switch off
Before and during each stop phase, the system
checks if certa in cond itions have been met. If the
fjj i ndicato r light appears in the instr ument clus­
t er d isp lay, the engine w ill no t be s topped, for
examp le in the fo llowing situations:
1) Ma rket -spe cific
80
- T he engine has not reached the minim um re­
quired temperature for Start/Stop mode.
- The interior temperature selected by the cli-
mate control system* has not been reached.
- The ou tside tempe rat ure is extremely high/low.
- The windsh ield is being
defrosted® .
-The parking system* is switched on .
- The vehicle battery charge level is too low .
- The steering wheel is turned at a sharp angle or
is moving.
- After engaging the reverse gear.
- On sharp inclines .
- At high altitudes .
Engine automaticall y restarts
The standard Start/Stop mode w ill be canceled
d u ring a stop p hase in the following situat ions.
The eng ine res tarts witho ut any act ion by the
drive r.
- The vehicle ro lls, for example while on a slope .
- The interior temperature differs from the tem -
peratu re selected in the A/C system .
- The windsh ield is being
defrosted® .
-The brake pedal is pressed several times in a
row.
- The vehicle battery charge level is too low.
- Power consumption is hig h.
The eng ine ca n tur n off aga in when the cond i­
t ions for Sta rt/S top mode a re met
l ).
Ignition is switched off automaticall y
To prevent the vehicle battery from dra ining, the
i gnition will sw itch off
a ut omaticall y under the
fo llow ing cond it ions:
- The Start/Stop system has stopped the engine .
- The vehicle is stationary.
- You exited the vehicle .
In this case, the activated low beam is rep laced
by the pa rking light . The parking lights wi ll
switch off after approximately 30 minutes or
when you lock the veh icle.
.,.

LL co .... N
" N .... 0 N > co
If the Start/Stop system has not turned off the
engine or if you have switched the Start/Stop sys­
tem off manually, the ignition will not be auto­ mat ically switched off and the engine w ill contin­
ue to run
c:> ,1. .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of poisoning, never allow
the engine to run in confined spaces.
(D Tips
If you select the "D" or "N" selector lever pos i­
tion in a veh icle with an automatic transmis­
sion after shifting into reverse, the vehicle
must be dr iven faster than 6 mph (10 km/h)
in order for the engine to sw itch off again.
Manually switching the Start /Stop system
on /off
Appl ies to: ve hicles with Sta rt/Stop system
If you do not wish to use the system, you can
switch it off manually.
F ig. 88 Center co nsole: Start/Stop system button
-
.. To switch the Start/Stop system off/on man­
ually, press the
l(A) ~I button. The LED in the but­
ton turns on when the system is sw itched off .
(D Tips
If
you switch the system off during a stop
phase, the engine will start again automati­
cally.
Messages in the instrument cluster display
App lies to: ve hicles with Start/Stop system
ma Sta rt /s top sy ste m: dea ctivated. Plea se sta rt
e ngine manually D
rivi ng
This message appears when spec ific conditions
are not met du ring a stop phase . The Start/Stop
system will
not be ab le to restart the engine. The
engine must be started manua lly.
ma Sta rt/stop sy stem : ma lfunction! Function
una vailable
T he re is a m alfu nction in the Start/Stop system.
Drive the vehicle to an authorized Aud i dea ler or
authorized Service Facility as soon as possible to
have the malfunction corrected.
Electromechanical
parking brake
F ig . 8 9 Cen ter console : park ing brake
ra 0 > (IO m
Your vehicle is equipped with an electromechani ­
ca l parking brake
(D c:> fig. 89 . The parking brake
is des igned to prevent the veh icle from rolling
unintentionally and replaces the hand brake.
Sett ing /manuall y releasing the parking
brake
.. Pull the(®) switch to set the parking brake. The
LED in the switch turns on. The
-(USA mod­
els)/ . (Canada models) ind icator light also
turns on in the instrument cluster disp lay .
.. To release the park ing brake man ually, press
the bra ke or accelerator peda l wh ile the ign i­
tion is sw itched on and press the
(®) switc h at
the same time. The LED i n the bu tton and the
ind icator light in the d isplay turn off.
Releas ing the parking brake automatically
Requireme nt: the driver's door must be closed
and the parking brake must be se t.
81

Drivin g
~ To start driving and re lease the parking brake
automatica lly, press the acce lerator pedal as
usua l.
I n addition to re leasing the par king brake auto ­
matica lly, other convenience and sa fety functions
are available when you start driving
r=;, poge 83,
Starting from a stop.
Pre venting th e automatic parking bra ke
r el eas e
The vehicle could begin ro lling unintentiona lly,
dep ending on the hill or if towing a trailer .
~ To preve nt the parking b rake from releasing au­
tomatica lly, pull and hold the
®l switch and
press the acce lerator pedal. The parking brake
remains set and pr events the vehicle from ro ll­
ing backward.
~ You can re lease the(®) switch again once you
are sure that you are g iv ing enough dr iv ing
force to the wheels by pressing the accelerator pedal.
Emergenc y bra king function
You can use the emergency brak ing funct ion in an
emergency situation, or if the standard brake op­
eration malfunctions or is disabled .
~ Pull and hold the(®) switch.
~ As soon as you release the (®) switch or acceler-
ate, the brak ing stops .
Pu lling and holding
the(®) switch while driving
the vehicle activates the emergency braking f unc ­
tion . The vehicle is braked at all four wheels by
activating the hydraulic brake system. The brak­
ing effect is s imilar to heavy braking
r=;, .,&. .
To reduce the risk of activating the emergency
braking by mistake, a warn ing tone (bu zzer)
sounds when the
®l swi tch is pulled. Emergency
braking stops as soon as the
®l switch is released
or the accelerato r pedal is pressed .
Parking
~ Press the brake peda l to stop the vehicle.
~ Pull the C® switch to set the parking brake.
~ Place the selector lever in the P pos ition.
~ T urn the eng ine off r=;, .,&. .
82
~ Turn the steering w hee l when parking on in­
clines so that the w heels wi ll roll into the curb
if the vehicle starts moving .
A WARNING
- Do not press the acce lerator pedal inadver­
tently if a gear is selected when the vehicle
is stationary and the eng ine is running . Oth­
erwise, the vehicle will start to move imme­
d iate ly and this could resul t in an accident.
- Emerge ncy brak ing should only be used in
a n emergency, when the norma l bra ke pedal
has fa iled or the bra ke peda l is obstr ucted.
D ur ing eme rgency bra king, you r vehicle w ill
brake s imilar to he avy braking. ESC and the
associated components (ABS, AS R, EDL)
cannot overcome the laws of physics.
Around curves and when road or weather
conditions a re bad, a full brake applicat ion
can cause the veh icle to skid or the rear end
to swerve, wh ich increases the risk of an ac­
cide nt.
- If the power supply fails, you cannot set the
parking brake if it is released. In this case,
pa rk the veh icle on leve l ground and secure
it by p lac ing the sele cto r leve r in the P pos i­
tion. See an au thor ized A udi dealer or au ­
thor ized A udi Se rvi ce Fa cility for assis tan ce.
- I f you leave the vehi cle, sw itch the ignition
off and take the veh icle key wi th yo u. Thi s
app lies pa rticular ly when children remain in
the vehicle. Otherwise, chi ld ren co uld start
the engine, release the parking brake or op ­
erate e lectr ica l equipment s uch as power
w indows, wh ich increases the r isk of an acci­
dent.
- No one, especially c hildren, should rema in
in the vehicle when it is locked. Locked
doors make it more difficu lt for emergency
workers to get into the vehicle, which puts
lives at ris k.
(D Tips
When stopp ing at a traff ic signa l or stopp ing
i n city traffic, you can set the park ing brake
manually . The veh icle does not have to be
h eld with the brake pedal. The par king b rake
e liminates t he tendency to creep when a

selector lever position is engaged. As soon as
you press the accelerator pedal, the parking brake releases automatically and your vehicle
starts to move
¢ page 83.
(D Tips
- Occasional noises when the parking brake is
set and re leased are normal and are not a
cause for concern.
- The parking brake goes through a self-test
cycle at regular intervals when the vehicle is
stopped. Any noises associated with this are normal.
- If there is a power failure, the parking brake will not set if it is released, and it will not
release if it is
set¢&. See an authorized
Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Fa­
cility for assistance .
Starting from a stop
Various convenience and safety functions may be
available when the vehicle begins driving, de­
pending on vehicle equipment.
Starting on hills with the parking brake set
Requirement: the driver's door must be closed.
~ To start driving comfortably when on a hill, set
the parking brake and begin driving as usual.
The braking force of the parking brake does not release automatically until the wheels build up
enough driving force .
Starting on hills with hill hold assist
Hill hold assist makes it easier to start on hills.
Requirement: the driver's door must be closed
and the engine must be running.
~ To activate hill hold assist, press and hold the
brake pedal for several seconds. The vehicle
must be in an uphill direction of travel.
After releasing the brake pedal, the braking pow­
er is maintained for a brief
moment ¢.&. to pre­
vent the vehicle from rolling back when starting.
::li During this time, you can eas ily beg in to move .-<
~ your vehicle.
N .-< 0 N > 00
Driving
A WARNING ,-
Applies to: ve hicles with h ill ho ld assist
- If you do not begin driving immediately or
the engine stalls after releasing the brake
pedal, your veh icle may begin to roll back ­
ward. Press the brake pedal or set the park­
ing brake immediately.
- The intelligent technology of hill hold assist
cannot overcome the limitations imposed by
natural physical laws. The increased comfort
offered by hill hold assist should not cause
you to take safety risks.
- Hill hold assist cannot hold the vehicle in
place on all hills (for example, if the ground
is slippery or icy).
- To reduce the risk of an accident, always
make sure the vehicle is situated safely
while stationary.
Automatic transmission
Introduction
Applies to: vehicles with automatic transmiss ions
T he automatic transmission is controlled elec­
tronically . Upshifting and downshifting occur au­
tomatically.
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
transm ission selects the most economica l dr iv ing
mode. The transmission upshifts at a lower RPM
and downshifts at a higher RPM to improve fuel
efficiency.
In the "S" selector lever position, the transm is­
sion switches to a sporty mode after a kick-down
or when the driver uses a
sporty driving style
characterized by quick accelerator pedal move­
ments, heavy acce leration, frequent changes in
speed and traveling at the maximum speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode) ¢ page 88, Manual
shifting (tiptronic mode).
The S tronic is a dual-clutch transmission. Power
is transferred using two clutches that work inde­
pendently from one another. They replace the
torque converter used in conventional automatic
.,.
83

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

u. 00 ... N l'­ N ... 0 N > 00
injuries. When the vehicle enters drive ready
mode, the status message
e-no"' ~... ap­
pears briefly in the instrument cluster display
and the needle in the power meter points to
READY ¢ page 9 5.
-Make sure that the selector lever is in the P
position and the ignition is switched off
when leaving the vehicle.
@ Note
-The high-voltage system can be damaged if
the vehicle underbody comes into contact
with the ground . Immediately drive your ve­
hicle to an authorized repair facility and
have it inspected.
- The electric drive motor can become very
hot during operation . Do not stop the vehi­
cle if there is oil, fuel residue or other flam­
mable substances under or next to the vehi­
cle.
Special considerations for the high-voltage
battery
Applies to: vehicles with plug-in hybrid drive
Please first read and note the introductory infor­
mation and heed the warnings
¢page 92.
All batteries age with use and over time. There
are things you should know about the care of the
high voltage battery that will help it keep giving
you good service and reliability over time. Please
read and keep the following information in mind
while you enjoy the performance and economy of
your vehicle.
- Be sure to charge the high voltage battery be­
fore leaving the vehicle parked and unused for a longer period of time. Ideally the high-voltage
battery should have a charge level between
40 % and 60 % when parked for a long t ime .
- If the battery charge level is below 3 %, never
park the vehicle for more than 21 days without
charging the high-voltage battery. Should you
have to park the vehicle for a long time, make
sure that the charge level is sufficient to help
prevent the battery from aging prematurely.
- Frequent and consecutive charging of the high­
voltage battery when the charge level is above
e-tron
98 % can also decrease the capacity of the
high-voltage battery. Make sure the charge lev ­
el is be low 98 % when you start the charging
process.
- Should the vehicle be parked for longer than
2 days at temperatures below -13 °F ( -25 °C),
the high-voltage battery could free ze and not
be able to provide energy to the electric motor.
The battery will start working again, once it
warms up . The battery can be warmed up when
the outside temperature rises or when the vehi­
cle is garaged appropriately. The battery will al­
so warm up when being used (sw itching on the
air conditioner, the heater or by driving the ve­
hicle) . Should you have to park your vehicle at
very low temperatures for longer than 1 day,
make sure that the high-voltage battery does
not freeze by parking the vehicle in a garage
that is heated or protected from the outside
temperature.
- The high-voltage battery can be damaged and
the capacity can be decreased when the vehicle
is parked for longer than 24 hours when the
ambient temperature is higher than 118 °F
(48 °C). Always make sure that the h igh-volt­
age battery is not exposed to temperatures
above 118 °F (48 °C) for a long time.
- Never park the veh icle in areas that are lik ely to
be flooded, such as beaches or river banks, and
never drive the vehicle in WA TER, on flooded
roads or through water that is higher than the
bottom of the vehicle body. The high-voltage
battery, along with other vehicle components,
can be damaged severely if the high-voltage battery is exposed to open water especially for
a longer time. However, you can drive through
water on roads under certain conditions
~ page 72.
Failure to heed any of these requirements can
age the battery prematurely and lead to a perma­
nent decrease of the high-vo ltage battery's ca­
pacity.
(D Tips
Always make sure that the high-voltage bat­
tery is not exposed to extremely low and high
temperatures as well as to water espec ially
for a longer time. Failure to protect and care
93