Driving
transmissions and a llow th e vehicle to a ccelerate
without a noticeab le interruption in traction .
Selector lever positions
Applies to: vehicles w ith automatic t ransmissions
F ig. 9 0 Instru ment cl uster : selector leve r po sit ions
•
F ig. 91 Selec tor lever lock
~ 0
0
> a, Ul
The se lected selector leve r pos ition is shown hear
the selector lever ¢
fig. 91 and in the instrument
cluster display ¢
fig. 90.
.,. Swi tch the ign ition on.
.,. In the "P/N " pos itio n, you mus t release t hese
lector lever lock ¢
page 84 .
.,. Move the selecto r lever into the desired posi
tion. The engaged selector lever pos ition is
shown in the shift gate .
Selector lever lock
The selector lever loc k prevents you from se lect
ing a gea r accidenta lly, causing the vehicle to
ro ll.
The se lector lever is locked in the "P" and " N"
po
sitions when the ignition is sw itched on. Yo u
must press the bra ke pedal to select another
po
sition. You must also press the interlock button if
you are moving from the "P" and "N" position.
84
The selector leve r lock on ly functions when the
vehicle is stationary or at speeds be low approxi
mately 1 mph (2 km/h) . At higher speeds, the
l ock is automatically deactivated in the "N" posi
tion.
The selector leve r is not locked when shiftin g
quick ly throug h "N ", for example from "R" to
"DI
S" . This makes it possible to free the veh icle
whe n it is stuck by "rock ing" it. The selector lever
l ock engages if the lever stays in the "N" position
l onger than approximately two seconds when the
brake peda l is not pressed .
Ignition key safety interlock*
Applies to: vehicles with ignition lock
You can only remove the key from t he ignit ion af
ter switching the ignition off if the selector lever
i s in the "P" pos it ion . T he selector lever will be
locked in t he "P" position as long as the key is not
i n the ig nitio n.
P - Park
This selector lever position prevents the vehicle
from ro lling. You ca n only shift into Park when
the veh icle is
stationary ¢,&. .
To sh ift in and out of the "P" se lector lever posi
tion, press the selector lever lock (button in the
selector lever handle)
and press t he brake pedal
at the same t ime .
The selector lever will be locked in the "P" posi
tion if there is a power fa i Lu re
¢ page 90, Se
lector lever emergency release.
R- Rever se
Only s hift into reverse gear when the ve hicle is
stationary and the engine is runn ing at id le
speed ¢.&. .
To se lect the "R" selec to r l ever positio n, press the
selector lever loc k
while pressing the brake ped
a l.
N - Neutral
The tran smission is in idle in th is posi tion .
D /S - Normal position for driving forward
In the "D/S " selector lever position, the transmis-
s ion can be operated e ithe r in the normal "D "
llll>
u. 00 .-< N l' N .-< 0 N > 00
mode or in the "S" sport mode . To select the "S"
sport mode, pu ll the selector lever back briefly.
Pu lling the lever back again will se lect the nor
mal "D" mode. The instrument cl uster display
shows the selected driving mode.
In the
no rmal mode "D", the transmission auto
mat ica lly selects the su itab le gear ratio . It de
pends on eng ine load, vehicle speed and driving
s tyle.
The engine's power reserves are used fully in the
Sport mode "S ". Shifting may become noticeab le
when accelerating.
To move from selector lever position "N" to "D",
you must press the brake pedal and the vehicle must be traveling less t han 1 mp h (2 km/ h) or be
stationary ¢.&, .
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS.
-The veh icle can roll even if the ignition is
switched off .
- Never select "R" or "P" w hile driving, be
cause this increases the risk of an accident.
-Power is sti ll transmitted to the w heels
when the eng ine is r unning at idle. To pre
vent the ve hicle from "creeping", you must
keep your foot on the brake i n all selector
lever posit ions (except "P") when t he engine
is runn ing. Othe rw ise, this inc reases the risk
of an accident.
- Do not inadvertent ly press the accelerator
peda l w hen the veh icle is stopped if a gear is
engaged. Ot herw ise the r is k of an accident
in creases because the vehicle will s tart to
move immediately, even if th e p arking bra ke
is set.
- T o red uce the risk of an acci dent, do no t
press the acce le ra to r pedal when cha nging
the se lecto r lever position while the vehicle
is stationary and the engine is ru nning.
- Never leave yo ur vehicle wi th t he engine
running whi le in gear. If yo u m ust leave
yo ur vehicle when the engine is running, set
the parking brake and move the se lecto r lev
er to the "P" pos ition.
Driving
- To reduce the r is k of an accident, the se lec
to r lever m ust be in the "P" position and the
parking brake must be set before opening
the hood and working on a runni ng engine .
A lways read and follow the app licab le warn
in gs ¢ page 318, Working in the engine
c ompartment.
- Read and fo llow ing a ll WARNINGS ¢&. in
Driving tips on page 86 .
@ Note
Never let the vehicle roll dow nhill w it h eng ine
off a nd the selector leve r in the
"N" posit io n,
because th is co uld damage the a utoma tic
transm ission and catalyt ic co nverter.
(D Tips
- Audi dr ive se lect: sporty shifti ng character
ist ics can be selected using the
Dynamic
dr iv ing mode ¢ page 140 "S" w ill appea r in
the inst rument cl uste r display instead of
"D ...
- If you a ccidentally select " N" whil e d riving,
take your foo t off the acce lerator peda l im
me diately a nd wai t fo r the eng ine to s low
down to id le befo re selectin g "D" or "S".
- If the re is a powe r fail ure, the se lector lever
w ill not move ou t of the " P" position. The
emergency re lease can be used if t his hap
pens
¢ page 90.
(D Tips
If the se lector lever does not engage, there is
a malfunction . T he engine is disabled to pre
vent the vehicle from driving off unintention
a lly. To allow the selector leve r to engage
again, proceed as fo llows:
- Briefly press the b ra ke peda l.
- If the vehicle does not move forward or in
reverse even tho ugh a d rive positio n is se
lected, p roceed as follows :
- If the vehicle does not move in the desired
direction, the system may not have engaged
the drive position cor rect ly. Press the brake
peda l and select the dr ive position again.
IJ>
85
Driving
& WARNING
Hill descent control cannot overcome phys ical
limitations, so it may not be able to maintain
a constant speed under all condit ions. Always
be ready to apply the brakes .
Manual shifting (tiptronic mode)
Applies to: vehicles with automatic transmissions
The tiptronic mode allows the driver to shift the
gears manually.
F ig. 9 3 Center conso le : shifting manually w ith the se lector
l ever
F ig . 94 Steering wheel: shifting manual ly w it h the s hift
paddles*
Shifting with the selector lever
You can sh ift into tiptro nic mode while stationary
a nd while driv ing.
• To s hift into tiptronic mode, p ush the selector
lever from the "D/S" position to the right in the
t ip tr onic sh ift gate . Once the transmission has
swi tched modes, t he se lec tor lever posi tion
M
is shown in the instrumen t clus ter display
¢ page 84, fig. 90. For example, M4 means the
fo urth gear is engaged.
• To shift up a gear, tap the se lector lever for
ward
0 ¢ fig. 93 .
88
• To shift down a gear, tap the selecto r lever
backward
0 -
Shifting with the shift paddles*
You can operate the s hift paddles in the "D/S" or
" M " (tiptro nic shift ga te) se lec tor lever posi tions.
• To shift up one gear, tap the shift paddle 0
¢fig . 94.
• To shift down a gear, tap the 0 shift paddle.
• Applies to: RS models: to select the lowest/
highest possi ble gear, press and hold the sh if t
paddle
0 10 .
If the shift paddles a re tapped wh ile in the "D/S"
selector lever position, a utomat ic mode sw itches
off briefly . To swit ch from manually shift ing bac k
to automatic shifting immediate ly, tap t he shift
padd le
0 ¢ fig . 94 for 1 second .
To keep sh ift ing using the shift padd les, move
the selec to r l ever to the right o ut o f th e "D/S" po
sition into the tiptronic shift gate .
The tra nsmission a utomatically sh ifts up or dow n
before cr itical engine speed is reac hed.
Applies to: RS models: when accelerating, the
transm iss ion does
not au tomatically shift to the
next gear short ly before the maxim um permitted
engine RP M is re ached. Shift to the next highest
gear at the right time.
The tra nsmission on ly allows manual shifting
whe n the engine speed is w ith in the perm itted
r a nge.
Kick-down
Applies to: vehicles with automatic transmissions
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
When you p ress the accelerator pedal down be
yo nd the res istance point (called kick-down), the
automat ic transmission downshifts into a lower
gear, depending on vehicle s peed and engine
RPM .
It shifts up into the next higher gear once
t h e maximum specified engine RPM is reached .
Applies to: RS models: in tipt ronic mode, the
transm iss ion does
not automa tic ally shift down
i nto a lower ge ar. If yo u m ust accelera te, for ex
ample to pass a vehi cle, you mus t sh ift manually .
..,.
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
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 .
-
LL co .... N
" N .... 0 N > co
(D Tips
The vehicle cannot sta rt when o utsi de tem
pe ra tures are be low -18 °F (-28 °C)
¢page 96.
Power meter overview
App lies to: ve hicles with plug-in hybrid drive
e-tron
The power meter shows the status of the plug -in hybrid drive and the availability of the plug-in hybrid
system.
Applies to: vehicles with Audi virtual cockpit
Fig. 97 Powe r me te r overv iew (diag ra m )
Applies to: vehicles with analog instrument cluster
Fig. 98 Powe r mete r overv iew (diagram)
Selecting the power meter display format
• Open the first Vehicle tab ( trip computer) using
the
l
whee l.
• Applies to: vehicles with Audi virtual cockpit:
Select on the multif unction steering whee l:
r ight control button
> Left dial > Tachometer
or Power meter > Combination view . .,..
95
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
.,,_