2018 AUDI A3 SEDAN warning

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 .

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
~ 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
e-tron Plug-in hybrid drive
Introduction
Applies to: vehicles with plug-in hybrid drive
General information
The plug- in hybrid drive is a drive concept that al­
lows you to choose between driving w ith the elec­
tr ic moto r, with the gaso lin e eng ine o r us ing a
comb inat io n of both.
All work done on the high-voltage system must
only be performed by certif ied h igh-voltage tech­
n icians at autho rized Aud i dea le rs or authorized
Aud i Serv ice Facilities in accordance with A udi
gu idelines.
The high-voltage system is composed of the fol­ low ing high-voltage components: the h igh -volt­
age battery, the powe r electron ics, the e lectr ic
motor, the high-voltage A/C compressor, the
high-vo ltage heater, the charging system and
charging port as well as the orange high -vo ltage
wiring.
The pedal referred to in this sect ion of the Own­
er's Manua l is t he equivalent of the acce lerator
pedal (gas peda l) in a standard vehicle.
High-voltage battery
The high -voltage battery is located on the veh icle
underbody in front of t he rear ax le and does not
require any maintenance from t he d river. Addi ­
tional information about the high-vo ltage bat ­
tery can be found
under ¢ page 106.
A WARNING
The voltage in the h igh-vo ltage system is life­
threaten ing. Touching a damaged high-volt­
age component can result in a fatal e lectr ic
shock. The components in the high-voltage
system are ma rked w ith a warning label wh ich
wa rns against t he h igh-vo ltage.
- The voltage level in the high-voltage system
is still dangerous and potent ially life-threat­
ening when t he ignit ion is switched off.
- Never perform work on orange high-voltage
cables or on high-voltage components. Only
92
authorized repair facilities that are certified may perform work on the high-vo ltage sys­
tem.
- Never damage, alter or remove the orange
high-voltage cable or disconnect it from the
high-voltage system.
- Never perform any work using cutting, shap­ ing or sharp-edged too ls or heat sources
near the h igh-vo ltage system and hig h-volt­
age cables .
- Aud i regulat ions must be followed during
all work performed on the high-voltage sys­
tem and h igh-vo ltage components .
- When working on t he h igh-voltage system
and h igh-voltage compone nts, make sure
the remote cont rol key is kept far enough
away from the vehicle so that there is no
r is k of t he ignit io n be ing inadve rtent ly
sw itched on.
- Gases t hat escape from the high-vo ltage
b attery can be poisono us or flammab le.
- Damage to the h igh-voltage battery could
cause t he hi gh-vo ltage battery to lea k im­
mediately or in the fut ure, and poisono us or
flammab le gases co uld escape . Do not in ­
ha le the gases!
- Do not expose yourse lf to any leaking fluids
and do not come into contact with them .
- The h igh -voltage battery e lec troly te flui d is
caustic. If electro lyte fluid comes into con ­
tact with the skin, flus h the affected area
for at least 15 minutes with clean water.
Then wash the affected area with soap.
H ave the affected area examined by a med i­
cal professional.
- In the event of a technica l emergency, in­
form the responders that the vehicle is
equ ipped with a high-voltage battery.
A WARNING
Neve r leave the vehicle unattended when in
drive ready mode
¢ page 94 with a gea r en­
gaged . T he veh icle can start mov ing ("creep­
i ng") even if the gaso line engine is swi tched
off, since the e lectr ic motor is still ope ra ting.
This may ca use coll is ions and severe or fata l
-

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
Faci lity immedi ately to have t he m alfunc tion cor ­
rected .
IIJII Battery temperature too low . Vehicle
cannot be started. See owner's manual
Th e outside tempe rature is too low . The vehicle
can no longe r st art at tempe ra tur es below - 18 °F
(- 28 °C). Con ta ct an a utho riz e d Audi d ealer o r au­
thor ized A udi Se rvice Fac ility.
POWER LIMIT Warning! Limited performance
If t he indicator lig ht turns on and th is message
appears , th ere may be a n engine co ntro l ma l­
f u nction. The
[3B* in d icator light in t he instr u­
men t clus ter also tur ns on . The engine ou tput is
r educed . Dr ive to a n au thor ized Audi dealer or
a uthor ized Audi Se rvice Facili ty i mme diate ly to
ha ve the m alfunct ion co rre cted.
II e-tron mode: EV currently unavailable
This message appea rs whe n the 1.,,..1 button is
p ressed and the con ditions for elect ric d rive
mode a re not met.
Ill Vehicle sound: malfunction! Pedestrians
cannot hear vehicle . Please contact Service
The vehicle sou nd is no longer f unctio ning. D rive
e xtremely care fully, since ot he rs may not hea r
your veh icle. Dr ive to an author ized Audi dealer
or author ized Audi Se rvice Facility immed iate ly to
have the ma lf u nction corrected .
Range display
Applies to: ve hicles with plug-in hybrid drive
Fig. 99 Instr ume nt cluste r: ra nge disp lay
The range can be disp layed in the trip computer .
You can access t he range disp lay w ith the multi­
fu nction steeri ng wheel buttons
c:;> page 13 , Mui-
e-tron
ti function s teeri ng whee l plus or r:::;> page 1 6, M ul­
tifunction steering wheel.
D epen ding on t he sele cte d plug -in hy brid mo de,
t he disp la y g ives the foll owing informa tion:
(D Remaini ng e lec tric m otor range or comb ined
total range
@ Remaini ng gasoline eng ine range
® R emaini ng e lectr ic moto r ra nge
(D Tips
The va lues given are b ase d on t he lates t con­
sum ption va lues .
Range and statistics
Applies to: vehicles with plug-in hybrid drive
Fig. 100 In fotainmen t system : e -tro n range mo nitor
Opening the range monitor
The range monitor in the Infotainment system
shows the relat ions hip between ene rgy co nsum­
ers and elect ric range
c:;> fig. 100 . The three larg­
est ene rgy consu mers w ill be l ist ed in sequent ia l
o rder. Sw itching off the cons umers increases the
elect ric range .
.. Select in the Infotai nment system: I MENU ! but­
t o n
> Vehicle > left con trol button > Range &
statist ics > Range .
Opening the statistics
The stat istics in the In fotainment system show
t h e d ista nces dr iven without emissions (electric)
and with fuel. The values are taken from the
sho rt-term memory and long-te rm m emory of
the on-board comp ute r.
.. Select in the Infotai nment system: I MENU ! but­
ton
> Vehicle > left con trol b utton > Range &
statistics > e-tron statistics . IJ,,
97