2018 AUDI A3 SEDAN sport mode

Cockpit overv ie w
Shift light indicator
Applies to: vehicles with shift light indicator
The s hift lig ht ind icator informs t he d river when
t he rpm limit is reached .
Accessing the shift light indicator
Requirement: tiptron ic mode must be act ivated
c:> page88 .
.-Se lect the sport view c:> page 14. The sh ift light
indicator is d ispl ayed with green , yellow and
red ranges in the upper areas of the tachome ­
ter .
The s hift lig ht indicator w ill blink red when ap­
proaching the engine speed lim it. Shift to the
next h ighest gear at the right time .
Sport displays
Applies to: vehicles with Audi virtual cockpit and sport dis ­
plays
Depending on the vehicle equ ipment, the sport
d isp lays may i nclude the G-meter, the engine da­
ta and the tire p ressure mo nitoring system .
Accessing the sport displays
.-Open the first vehicle functions tab using the
I 4 1>1 button on the multifunction steering
whee l.
.- Se lect o n the multifunction stee ring wheel: left
contro l butto n >
Sport display s .
.- T urn the left thumbwheel on the mult ifunct ion
stee ring wheel u ntil the des ired sport display
appea rs in the ins trumen t cluste r.
G meter*
The G meter displays the longitudina l and latera l
acceleration . Th e max imum values that are
reached are sto red and d isp layed when the vehi­
cle is s tat io nary.
.- To reset the stored values, se lect on the multi­
funct io n steer ing wheel: r ight control b utton>
Reset value s.
Engine data*
The engine data displays the cur rent power and
torque.
20
Tire Pressure Monitoring System*
The tire press ure monitor ing sys tem d isp lays the
cu rrent tire press ures and tempe ra tu re. Also see
c:> page 350 , Tire pressure monitoring system.
Indicator lights
Description
The ind icator lights in the instrument clus ter
blink or tur n on. They ind icate fu nctions or mal­
func tions.
Messages may appear w ith some indicator ligh ts .
A war ning s ignal will sound at the same time .
The ind icator lights and messages in the inst ru­
ment clus ter d isp lay can be cove red by ot he r dis ­
plays . You can have these d isp laye d again in the
driver information system by opening the second
Vehicle tab (messages) using the
14 1>I b utton o n
the m ultif unction steering whee l. If there a re
severa l ma lfunctions, you can display them one
at a t ime us ing the thumbw heel.
Some indicator lights in the display can disp lay in
severa l co lors.
Lt Central indicator light
If the . or Q indicator light turns on, check
the instr ument cluster d isp lay for more informa­
tion .
Applies to: vehicles with monoch rome display
If a message appears toget her with a central in­
dicator light . or
d. the cen tra l ind icator light
will indicate the priority of the warning . If a
wh ite ind icator light also appea rs , the cen tra l in­
dica tor light w ill have its ow n colo r. Fo r example ,
if ll appea rs togethe r with . , read the descr ip­
t ion
for • .
Overview
Some indicator lights t urn on briefly as a f unction
c h eck w hen you switch the ignition on. These sys ­
tems a re marked with a ./ in the fo llow ing tab les.
If one of these ind icator lights does not turn on,
there is a malfunct io n in that sys tem.
IIJJ,,

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.

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

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
- 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. 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

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-tr on
~ To switch between the short -term and long ­
term memory, turn the left thumbwhee l on the
multifunction steering whee l.
Setting plug-in hybrid drive modes
Applies to: vehicles with plug-in hybrid drive
You con select between one electric mode and
two hybrid modes .
Fig . 1 01 Center console: but ton c:=!i'
~ Press the 14• 1 button repeatedly until the de­
s ired dr ive mode is d isplayed in the instrument
cluster/Infota inment system display .
You can change modes when the vehicle is sta ­
tionary or while driving . If the veh icle operat ing
conditions will not allow you to set the mode
manually , the last act ive mode is se lected.
The active mode is displayed the first t ime the
14' 1
button is pressed .
,cf,V e-tron mod e: E V -EV mode is electric driv ing
only . EV mode is active at the beginning of every
tr ip depend ing on the operating condition of the
veh icle . T he LED in the
14"1 button turns on .
The. indicator light also appea rs in the instru­
ment cluste r. T he gasoline eng ine rema ins
t urned off, as long as the cond it io n s for electr ic
driving are
met ¢ page 98, Conditions for elec ­
tric driving.
~ e- tron m ode : H ybrid -the electr ic motor and
t he gasoline engine wo rk efficien tly toge ther in
hybrid mode . The high -vo ltage battery will be
used to the fullest extent when t his mode is
switched on. This mode is best suited for long
d istances .
.. ~ e -t ro n mode: Batt ery Hold -the electric mo­
tor and the gasoline engine work together in Bat -
98
tery Hold mode, so that the high -voltage battery
charge level is maintained as much as possib le .
(D Tips
- Applies to: Battery Hold mode: th e h igh ­
vo ltage battery charge level can sti ll de­
crease depending on the driving behavior.
- If you select the sport driving mode "S"
when in EV mode, the Battery Ho ld mode is
automatically selected.
- If the
14"1 ¢ page 98 button is pressed w hile
in sport driving mode "S", the transmission
switches automatica lly to normal mode "D".
- When temperatures are below approxi ­
mate ly
14 °F ( -10 °C), the vehicle heat out­
put in EV mode is reduced in order to attain
higher ranges. If the windows fog up or a
hig her heat output is desired, switch on the
Hybrid or Battery Hold mode .
Conditions for electric driving
Applies to: vehicles with plug-in hybrid drive
The EV mode ca n only be switched o n if the fol­
l ow ing condit ions are met:
- The charge level of the high-voltage battery
must be sufficient .
- The temperature of the high-voltage battery
must be adequate (outside temperatures not
below approx imately
14°F / -10°( and not
above
1 04°F / 40°C)
- The speed must not be h igher than approxi -
mate ly
80 mph (130 km/h) .
- Kick -down must not be activated .
- The sport drive mode "S " must not be selected .
EV mode is switched off if one or more of the
conditions are not met. The gasoline engine wi ll
start automatically. The
l!'§'J indi cator light turns
on as a message in the instrument cluster. The
LED in the
14" 1 butto n and the . indicator light
turn off .
E lectric drive mode will not contin ue automati -
cally. React ivate the EV
mode ¢ page 98. Ill-