2018 AUDI A3 SEDAN ground clearance

Drivin g
Driving
General information
Breaking in
A new vehicle must be broken in for the first 1,000 mi les (1,500 km). Do not dr ive at speeds
t hat will exceed 2/3 of the max imum pe rm itted
engine speed (RPM) for the first 600 miles
(1,000 km), and avoid fu ll acceleration during
this period . You may gradually start increasing
the RPM and the speed between 600 miles (1,000 km) and 1,000 miles (1,500 km) .
During the first hours of use, the engine has a
higher internal friction than later on when all
moving parts have settled into place with each
other.
How the vehicle is driven d uring the first 1,000
miles (1 ,500 km) a lso affects the engine quality .
Drive at moderate engine speeds after the initial
break-in per iod, part icu larly when running a cold
eng ine . Th is will reduce eng ine wear and improve
the m ileage .
Do not drive at too
low of an engine speed (RPM).
Shift down if the engine stops running "smooth­ ly". Extremely high eng ine speeds are automati­
cally reduced .
Reducing the risk of vehicle damage
@ Note
When driving on poo r roads, by cu rbs and on
s teep ramps, make su re t hat low-hang ing
compone nts such as the spo ile r and exha ust
system do not come into contact with these
or they could be damaged. This especially ap ­
plies to vehicles with low ground clearance
and veh icles that are heavily loaded.
Warming up/cooling down
Applies to: RS models
By warming up/cooling down the engine carefu l­
ly, you can help reduce unnecessary stra in o n
your veh icle when driving in a sporty sty le .
72
The tires only reach t heir full road ho ld ing capa ­
bility once they have warmed up under load.
Yo ur vehicle also has an afte r-run cooli ng fea ­
tu re . Howeve r, cooling down is st ill import ant.
The eng ine and t he brakes as we ll as the exhaust
system and the transmission become very hot
when driving in a sporty style. Before you shut
the veh icle off, you should cool down the vehicle
by driving a few miles at low speeds with light ac­
ce leration .
Driving through water on roads
Note the following to reduce the risk of veh icle
damage when dr iving throug h wate r, fo r example
o n flooded roads:
-The water must not be any higher than the bot ­
tom of the vehicle body .
-Do not drive faster than walk ing speed .
A WARNING
After driving thro ugh water or m ud, the effec­
tiveness of t he b rakes may be reduced due to
mo istu re o n the bra ke rotors and brake pads.
A few ca reful br ake app lica tions sho uld d ry
off the bra kes and restore the fu ll b raking ef ­
fect.
@ Note
-Vehicle components such as the e ng ine,
t ra nsmiss ion, sus pens io n or elect rical sys ­
tem can be severely damaged by d riving
throug h water.
-Alw ays sw itch the S tart/Stop system* o ff
when driving thro ugh wa ter
r=;, page 79.
(j) Tips
-De ter mine the dep th before dr iving throug h
w ate r.
-Do not stop the vehi cle, d rive in reverse or
switch t he e ngine off whe n driving through
water .
-Keep in mind that o ncom ing vehicles may
c re ate w aves th at r aise the wa ter level and
make i t too deep for yo ur vehicle to drive
throug h safe ly.

Ass is tance sy stem s
General information
Applies to: vehicles with Audi adaptive cruise contro l/Audi pre
sense front
Fig . 1 23 Front o f veh icle: sensor
The rada r sensor area r:!) fig. 123 must not be cov­
ered with stickers, deposits or any other obstruc­
tions as it may impair the function of the adap ­
tive cruise control or the pre sense front . For in­
formation on cleaning,
see ¢ page 354 . The
same applies for any modifications made in the
front area .
The funct ion of the adaptive cruise contro l sys­
tem or pre sense front is limited in some condi ­
tions:
-Vehicles can only be detected when they are
within the sensor range
¢page 123, fig. 122 .
-The system has a lim ited abi lity to detect
vehicles that are a short d istance ahead , off to
the side of your vehicle or moving into your lane .
-Objects that are difficu lt to detect such as mo­
torcycles, vehicles with h igh ground clearance
or an overhang ing load are detected late or not
detected at all.
-When dr iving through curves ¢ page 125.
-When the vehicle is stationary ¢ page 125.
A WARNING
Always pay attent io n to the traffic aro und you
when adaptive cruise control is switched on .
As the driver, you a re st ill respons ible for your
own speed and the distance to othe r vehicles.
Th e adapt ive cr uise control is u sed to assis t
you . The driver must a lways take act ion to
avoid a collision . The driver is always responsi ­
ble for brak ing at the correct time .
124
-For safety reasons, do not use adaptive
cru ise control when dr iving on roads with
many curves, when the road surface is in
poor condition and/or in bad weather (such
as ice, fog, gravel, heavy rain and hydroplan­
ing). Using the system under these cond i­
tions could result in a co llision .
-Switch adaptive cruise cont rol off tempora­
rily when dr iv ing in turning lanes, on ex­
pressway ex its or in construction zones. This
prevents the veh icle from accelerating to
the stored speed when in these situat io ns.
-The adap tive cruise contro l system will not
brake by itself if you put yo ur foot on the ac­
celerator pedal. Doing so c an override the
speed and distance regulation .
- Adapt ive cruise control does not respond to
peop le, animals, or crossing or oncoming
objects .
-The funct ion of the radar se nsors can be af­
fected by ref lective objects such as guard
rails, the entrance to a tunnel, heavy rain or
ice .
~ Note
The sensor can be d isplaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and underbody . This can impair the adaptive
cruise control. Have an authorized A udi dealer
or authorized Audi Service Facility check their
f u nct ion.
@ Tips
For an explanation on conformity with the
FCC regulations in the United States and the
Industry Canada regu lations, see
¢ page 386 .

Intelligent Technology
All wheel drive (quattro)
Applies to: vehicles with all wheel drive
In oil wheel drive, oil four wheels ore powered.
General information
In all wheel drive, the driving power is divided be­
tween all four wheels. This happens automatical­
ly depending on your driving behavior as well as
the current road conditions. Also see
c:> page 148, Electronic Stabilization Control
(ESC) .
The a ll wheel drive concept is designed for high
engine power. Your vehicle is exceptionally pow­
erful and has excellent driving characteristics
both under normal driving conditions and on
snow and ice. Always read and follow safety pre­
cautions
c:> & .
Winter tires
By using all wheel drive, your vehicle has good
forward motion with standard tires in winter con­
ditions. However, using winter or all season tires
on
oil four wheels in the winter is recommended,
because this will improve the
broking effect.
Snow chains
If there are snow chain laws, snow chains must
also be used on vehicles with all wheel drive
c:> page 346, Snow chains.
Replacing tires
For vehicles with all wheel drive, only whee ls with
the same rolling circumference shou ld be used.
Avoid using tires with different tread depths
c:> page 33 7, New tires or wheels.
Offroad vehicle?
Your Audi is not an offroad vehicle -there is not
enough ground clearance. For this reason, avoid
difficult terrain.
A WARNING
-Also, in vehicles with a ll wheel drive, adapt
your driv ing style to the current road and
traff ic conditions. Do not let the increased
safety provided tempt you into taking risks,
152
because this increases the risk of an acci ­
dent.
- The braking ability of your vehicle is limited
to the traction of the whee ls. In this way, it
is not different from a two wheel drive vehi­
cle. Do not be tempted to accelerate to a high speed when the road is slippery, be­
cause this increases the risk of an accident.
- Note that on wet streets, the front wheels
can "hydroplane" if driv ing at speeds that
are too high . Unlike front wheel drive
vehicles, the engine does not rev higher sud­
denly when the vehicle begins hydrop laning .
Fo r this reason, adapt your speed to the
road conditions to reduce the risk of an acci­
dent.
Energy management
Your vehicle is equipped with an intelligent ener ­
gy management system for distributing electrici­
ty. Thi s significantly improves the starting ability
and increases the vehicle battery life.
(D Tips
-If you drive short distances frequently, the
vehicle battery may not charge enough
whi le driving. As a result, convenience func­
t ions for electrical equipment may be tem­
porarily unavailable.
- The vehicle battery w ill gradually drain if
the vehicle is not driven for long per iods of
t ime, or if electrical equipmen t is used
when the engine is not running. To ensure
that the vehicle can still be started, the
electrical equipment will be reduced or
switched off.
Notice about data
recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and
vehicle control modules
Event Data Recorder
This vehicle is equipped with an Event Data Re-
corder (EDR). The ma in purpose of an EDR is to
.,.