2018 AUDI Q3 automatic transmission

Table of contents
About this Owner's Manual ... .. .
Cockpit ... .. ............... .... .. .
Cockpit overview ................ .
Controls at a glance ... .......... .. .. .
Instruments and indicator lights
Instruments .... ... .......... .. .. .. .
Indicator lights .. .. .......... .. .. .. .
On-Board Diagnostic System (OBD) .. .. . 4
6
6
6
8
8
10
17
Drive r information system . . . . . . 18
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
On-board computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Efficiency program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Starting and driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Op en ing and clo sing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Luggage compartment lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Ch ild safety lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Po wer wi ndows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Panorama gla ss roof .......... .... ...
31
Lights and Vi sion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
E xterio r lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
I n terior lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
V1s1on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Windshield wipers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Dig ital compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
40
Seats and storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
H ead restra ints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Sockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
L uggage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Roof rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Warm and cold .. .. .. ... ..... .. .. . 51
Climate control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Driving .. .. .. .. ... .. .. ..... ... .. .. . 57
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
2
Starting and stopping the eng ine
(vehicles with an ignition lock) . . . . . . . . . 60
Starting and stopping the eng ine
(vehicles with a convenience key) ..... . .
Messages ..... .. .. .. ............. . .
E le ctromechanical parking brake ...... .
Start ing from a stop .. ........ ..... . .
D rivi ng offroad . .. ... ...... ....... .. .
Automatic transmission
61
63
63
65
65
66
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Driving with a trailer
Driver assistance .. ..... ......... .
A ss istance sy stem s .. .. ... ... .. . .
Speed warning system . .. ........... . .
Cruise control system .... .......... . .
Audi side assist .. .. .. .. . .......... . .
Audi drive select .... ... .. .......... . .
Park ing system s
General information
Rear parking system
Parking system plus ... ............. . .
Rearv iew camera ... .. .. ........... . .
Adjusting the display and the warning
tones ........ ... ... ...... ....... .. .
Error messages .. ... ...... ....... .. .
T ra ile r hitch . .. .. .. .. ... ... .... ... . .
Intelligent Technology ....... .. .
Electronic stabilization control (ESC) .. . .
Brakes ...... .. .. .. .. ... .......... . .
El ectrome chanical steering ........... .
A ll wheel drive (quattro) .. .......... . .
Energy management .. ... .......... . .
Notice about data recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and vehicle contro l
modules .. .... .. .. .. .. ........... . . 73
76
76
76
76
78
80
82
82
83
83
84
87
88
88
89
89
91
93
93
94
95
Safety first . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Driving safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Bas ics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Correct passenger seat ing positions . . . . . 98
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
101
Stor ing cargo correctly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Reporting Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

a
co
...... N r--. N
'"' 0 0 ::, co
door can be opened from the outside after pull­ing the door hand le once from the ins ide.
A WARNING
Read and following all warnings ¢ &. in De­
scription on page 22.
Anti-theft alarm system
If the anti-theft alarm system detects a vehicle
break-in, audio and visual warning signals are
triggered . The anti -theft alarm system is activat ­
ed when the vehicle is locked as usual. It
switches off when the veh icle is unlocked .
If the alarm is triggered, it w ill shut off automat­
ically after a certain amount of time. Switch the
ignition on or press them button on the remote
control key to turn off the alarm.
Luggage compartment
lid
Opening/closing the luggage compartment
lid
Fig. 21 Rear lid: hand le
Fig. 22 Drive r's door: opening the luggage compartment
l id
Open ing and closing
Applies to: vehicles with automatic transmission:
the luggage compartment lid can only open when
the selector lever is in P.
Opening the luggage compartment lid
"' Briefly press the cs button on the remote con­
trol key. The rear lid wi ll unlock.
"' To open the luggage compartment lid, press
the
cs button on the remote control key for at
least one second .
"' Briefly pull the
cs button in the driver's door
¢fig. 22, or
"' Press the handle in the luggage compartment
lid .
"'On vehicles with a convenience key*, you can
press the gr ip in the luggage compa rtment lid .
The luggage compartment lid is unlocked if an
author ized remote control key is detected nea r
the vehicle.
Closing the luggage compartment lid
"'Use the inside g rip to pull the luggage com­
pa rtment lid down and allow it to close using a
gentle push
¢ ,& .
& WARNING
- After closing the luggage compartment lid,
make sure that it is latched. Otherwise, the luggage compartment lid cou ld open sud­
denly when driv ing, which increases the risk
of an accident.
- Never drive with the luggage compartment
lid ajar or open, because poisonous gases
can enter the vehicle interior and create the
risk of asphyxiation .
- Never leave your vehicle unattended when
the luggage compartment lid is open . A
child could climb into the veh icle through
the luggage compartment. If the luggage
compa rtment lid was then closed, the child
wou ld be trapped in the vehicle and unable
to escape . To reduce the risk of injury, do
not a llow children to play in or around the
veh icle . Always keep the luggage compart­
ment lid and the doors closed when the ve­
hicle is not in use.
27

Driving
the vehicle and maintains a constant speed as a
result
r=> page 91 .
However, your Audi i s no t an offroad vehi cle.
Only dri ve in terrain th at i s s uit a ble for th e vehi­
cle and your dri ving abilit y. Ne ver tak e an y un­
ne ce ss ary risks!
After driving offroad
- After dr iving offroad, remove branches and
other debr is from the radiator gr ille, unde r­
body, and whee ls. Look espec ially for foreign
objects (such as stones) that may be stuck in
the tire tread.
- Clean the vehicle body and underbody and in ­
spect the vehicle for possib le damage.
- Clean the windows, headlights, tail lig hts and
the license plate if they are dirty.
- Perfo rm a brake test (especially after dr iv ing
through water).
A WARNING
- Be especia lly aware and attent ive when driv­
ing under difficult conditions. Vehicle dam­
age and injuries may occur when driv ing at
excessively high speeds or with incorrect
dr iv ing maneuvers .
- Always adjust your speed and driving style
to the roads, terra in , traffic and weather
condit ions. Drive espec ially slowly if there is
low v is ibility when offroad .
- Please note that the wheels can spin more
and the vehicle can swerve when i n ESC off ­
road mode, especially when the road is slip­
pery or has loose surface mate rial.
- Driving stability is reduced in the ESC Off­
road mode .
@ For the sake of the environment
Avoid harming the environment and show
consideration for nature.
(D Tips
On ly dr ive where it is a llowed and always stay
on the provided roads and paths.
66
Driving information
Applies to: vehicles with offroad mode
T here is only one right way to drive in difficult
conditions: slo wly and with caution!
Observe the following when driving on unpaved
roads :
.,. On ly driv e in terrain that is suitable for the ve­
hicle and your driving ability. Never take any
unnecessary risks!
.,. Dr ive slowly and caut iously!
.,. Pay attent ion to the
g round cl earan ce of your
veh icle . The clearance may va ry depending on
the load, ground compos ition and the environ­
ment. The g round clearance is reduced for spe­
cial suspension systems, such as sport s uspen­
sion. The dr iver is therefore responsible for de ­
ciding whether a vehicle can handle a specif ic
situation .
.,. Activate the
ESC offroad mode as needed
r=>page90 .
.,. Use the hill de sce nt ass ist when driving down
steep hills
r=> page 91 .
Difficult terrain
When driving in unfamiliar areas and offroad,
drive slowly and keep on the watch for unexpect­
ed obstacles (such as potholes, rocks, tree
stumps , etc .) .
T o prevent th e vehicl e from bottoming out and to
reduce the risk of underbody damage, you should
drive across uneven ground on only one side of
the veh icle so that only two of your wheels cross
the uneven area, instead of driving across the cente r of the uneven area with all four wheels .
Drive quickly through sandy or marshy off-ro ad
sections and do not stop, if at all possible.
Driving through wat er on road s
Also read the information found in r=> page 57.
Automatic transmission
Introduction
The automatic transmission is controlled elec­
troni cally. Upshifting a nd downshifting o ccu r au -
tomat ically . ..,.

a
co
...... N r--. N .-< 0 0 ::, co
When a moderate driving s tyle is used, the
transmission selects the most economical driving
mode. The transm iss ion upsh ifts at a lower RPM
and downshifts at a higher RPM to improve fuel
efficiency .
The transmission switches to a sporty mode after a kick-down or when the driver uses a
spo rt y
dri ving st yle
character iz ed by quick accelerator
pedal movements, heavy acceleration, frequent
changes in speed and traveling at the maximum
speed .
If desired , the driver can also select the gears
manually (tip tronic mode ) ¢ page 70, Manual
shifting (tiptronic mode) .
Power is transferred using a torque converter.
Selector lever positions
Fig. 72 Inst rument cluste r: selector leve r pos it ions
F ig. 7 3 Selec tor lever
The selected selector lever position is shown next
to the selector lever ¢
fig. 73 and in the instru­
ment cluster display
¢ fig . 72. The current gear
will also be d isp layed in the instrument cluster.
.. Switch the ign ition on.
.. In the P/N position, you must release the selec­
tor lever lock ¢
page 67.
Drivi ng
.. Move the selector lever into t he des ired posi­
tion. The engaged se lector lever position is
shown in the shift gate .
Selector lever lock
The selec tor leve r lock p revents yo u from select­
i ng a gear accidentally, causing the vehicle to
roll.
T he selector leve r is lo cked in the P and N posi­
ti ons when the ig nit ion is switched on. You mus t
press the brake peda l to sele ct another position.
You must also press the interlock button if you are moving from the P and N position.
T he selec tor leve r lock o nly functions when the
vehicle is stat ionary or at speeds be low approxi­
mately 1 mph (2 km/h) . At higher speeds, the
lock is automatically deactivated in the N posi­
tion.
T he selec tor leve r is not locked whe n shifting
quick ly through N, for example from R to 0/S.
This makes it possib le to free the vehicle when it
is stuck by "rocking" it. The selector lever lock en­
gages if the lever stays in the N pos ition longer
than approximately 2 seconds when the brake peda l is not pressed .
If the selector lever does not engage, there is a
malfunction . The engine is disabled to prevent
the vehicle from driv ing off un intent ionally. Press
the brake pedal to have the se lector lever lock
engage again . Place the selector lever in the P or
N position and then engage a dr iv ing gear.
Ignition key safety interlock*
Applies to: vehicles with ignition lock
You can only remove the key from the ignition af­
ter switching the ignition off if the selector lever
is in the P position . The selector leve r will be
locked in the P position as long as the key is not
in the ignit ion.
Interlock button
The interlock button in the selector lever handle
prevents you from movi ng the selector lever in­
advertently wh ile in some selector lever posi ­
tio ns. The positions that requ ire the interlock
button to be pressed a re marked in color in the il-
l u strat io n ¢
fig. 73. .,.
67

Driving
P - Park
This selector lever position prevents the vehicle
from rolling. You can only shift into Park when
the vehicl e is
stationary ¢&. .
To shift in and out of the P selector lever posi ­
tion, press the interlock button in the selector
lever
while pressing the brake pedal.
R- Reverse
Only shift into reverse gear when the vehicle is
stationary and the engine is running at idle
speed ¢&, .
To select the R selector lever position, press the
interlock button
while pressing the brake pedal.
N - Neutral
The transmission is in idle in this position.
To engage the N selector lever position, press the
button on the selector lever and shift into the N
position.
To
move from selector lever position out of N,
you must press the brake pedal and the vehicle
must be traveling less than 1 mph (2 km/h) or be
stationary.
DIS -Normal position for driving forward
In the D/S selector lever position, the transmis­
sion can be operated either in the normal D mode
or in the S sport mode. To select the S sport
mode, pull the selector lever back briefly. Pulling
the lever back again will select the normal D
mode. The instrument cluster display shows the
selected driving mode .
In the
normal mode D, the transmission auto­
matically selects the suitable gear ratio. It de­
pends on engine load, vehicle speed and driving
style.
The engine's power reserves are used fully in the
Sport mode S. Shifting may become noticeable
when accelerating.
To
move from selector lever position N to D, you
must press the brake pedal and the vehicle must
be traveling less than 1 mph (2 km/h) o r be sta­
t ionary ¢&, .
68
A WARNING
-
Read and follow all WARNINGS.
-The vehicle can roll
even if the ignition is
switched off.
- Never select R or P while driving, because
this increases the risk of an accident.
- Power is still transmitted 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 in all selector
lever positions (except P) when the engine is
running .
- Do not inadvertently press the accelerator
pedal when the vehicle is stopped if a gear is
engaged . Otherwise, the vehicle will imme­
diately start to
move -sometimes even if
the parking brake is firmly applied. This in­
creases the risk of an accident.
- To reduce the risk of an accident, do not
press the accelerator pedal when changing
the selector lever position while the vehicle
is stationary and the engine is running.
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running while in gear. If you must leave
your vehicle when the engine is running, set
the parking brake and move the selector lev­
er to the P position.
- Before you or other persons open the hood
and work on a running engine, the selector
lever must be in the P position and the park­ ing brake must be applied to reduce the risk
of an accident . Always read and follow the
applicable warnings ¢
page 155, Working
in the engine compartment.
- Read and following all WARNINGS¢&. in
Driving tips on page 69 .
(D Note
Never let the vehicle roll downhill with engine
off and the selector lever in the N position,
because this could damage the automatic
transmission and catalytic converter.
(D Tips
- If you accidentally select N while driving,
take your foot off the accelerator pedal and .,.

0 co ......
"' ,....
"' ...... 0 0 :::,
00
wait for the engine to slow down to idle
before selecting Dor S.
- If there is a power failure, the selector lever
will not move out of the P position. The
emergency release can be used if this hap­
pens
¢ page 72.
Driving tips
Starting the engine
~ The selector lever must be in the P or the N po ­
sition.
Starting from a stop
~ Press and hold the brake pedal.
~ Press and hold the lock button in the selector
lever handle, select the desired selector lever
position such as D ¢
page 67 and release the
lock button.
~ Wait a moment until the transmission shifts .
You will notice a slight movement when the gear engages .
~ Release the brake pedal and press the accelera-
tor pedal ¢,&. .
Various convenience functions are available for
starting on hills
¢ page 65 .
Stopping temporarily
~ Press the brake pedal to stop the vehicle, for
example at a traffic light. Do not press the ac­
celerator pedal when doing this .
~ To prevent the vehicle from rolling when you
start driving, set the parking brake when stop­
ping on steep hills ¢
8. and ¢0.
~ The parking brake will release automatically
and the vehicle will start moving once you press
the accelerator pedal.
Stopping/parking
If the selector lever is not in the P position when
you open the driver's door, the vehicle could roll.
In vehicles with a convenience key*, the message
Shift to P and turn off ignition, or vehicle can
roll away
appears.
~ Press and hold the brake pedal¢,&. .
~ Set the parking brake .
~ Select the P selector lever position .
Driving
Under certain circumstances, (such as driving in
the mountains or towing a trailer), it may be use­
ful to switch temporarily to the manual shift pro­
gram in order to adjust the gears to the driving
conditions by hand
¢page 70.
On inclines, activate the parking brake first and
then move the selector lever to the P position
¢
page 64. This prevents the locking mechanism
from being loaded too heavily and will make it
easier to move the selector lever out of the P po ­
sition.
A WARNING
= -- The vehicle can roll even when the engine is
switched off.
- Unintended vehicle movement can lead to
serious injuries .
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running while in gear. If you must leave
your vehicle when the engine is running, set
the parking brake and move the selector lev­
er to the P position.
- Power is still transmitted 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 in all selector
lever positions (except P) when the engine is
running.
- Do not inadvertently press the accelerator
pedal 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 accelerator pedal when changing
the selector lever position while the vehicle
is stationary and the engine is running.
- Never engage the R or P selector level posi­
tions while driving. It could cause a crash.
- Before driving down a steep slope, reduce your speed and shift into a lower gear in tip­tronic mode.
- 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 ..,.
69

Driving
reduces braking performance, increases
braking distance or causes complete failure
of the brake system.
- If you must stop on an incline, always hold
the vehicle in place with the foot brake or
parking brake to prevent it from rolling
back.
- Never hold the vehicle on an incline with a
slipping clutch. The clutch opens automati­
cally when it becomes too hot from the
overload . The . indicator light turns on
and a message appears~
page 71 when
the clutch is overloaded.
- Read and following all WARNINGS
9 &, .
(D Note
-When stopping on an incline, do not try to
hold the vehicle in place by pressing the ac­
celerator pedal while a driving gear is se­ lected . This can cause the automatic trans­
mission to overheat and can damage it. Set
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 trans­
mission, because it is not lubricated under
those circumstances ~
page 205, Towing
with a tow truck.
- The transmission can overheat and be dam­
aged under certain driving and traffic condi­
tions su ch as frequent starts, creeping for a
long time, or stop-and-go traffic. If the.
indicator light turns on, stop the vehicle at
the next opportunity and let the transmis­
sion cool down
~ page 71.
H ill descent contr ol
The hill descent control system assists the driver
when driving down hills .
Hill descent contro l is activated when the selec­
tor lever is in the Dor S position and you press
the brake pedal. The transmission automatically
selects a gear that is suitable for the hill. Hill de­
scent control tries to maintain the speed ach­
ieve d at the time of braking, within physical and
70
technical limitations. If may still be necessary to
adjust the speed with the brake pedal.
Hill descent control switches off once the hill lev­
els out or you press the accelerator pedal.
&_ WARNING
Hill descent control cannot overcome physical
limitations, so it may not be able to maintain
a constant speed under all conditions. Always
be ready to apply the brakes .
Manual shifting (tiptronic mode }
The tiptronic mode allows the driver to shi~ the
gears manually .
Fig. 7 4 Center console: sh ift ing manually w ith the selector
l ever
Fig. 75 Steering whee l: sh ift ing ma nuall y wi th th e s hift
paddles*
Shifting with the selector lever
You can shift into tiptronic mode while stationary
and while driving .
.. To shift into tiptronic mode, push the selector
lever from the 0/S setting to the right in the
tiptronic shift gate. Once the transmission has
switched modes, the selector lever position
M
is shown in the instrument cluster display .,..

0 co ......
"' ,....
"' ...... 0 0 :::,
00
¢ page 67, fig. 72. For example, M4 means the
fourth gear is engaged.
~ To shift up a gear, tap the selector lever for­
ward
0 ¢ fig. 74.
~ To shift down a gear, tap the selector lever to
back Q.
Shifting with the shift paddles*
You can operate the shift paddles in the D/S or M
(tiptronic shift gate) selector lever positions.
~ To shift up one gear, tap the shift paddle 0
¢fig. 75.
~ To shift down one gear, tap the shift paddle Q.
If the shift paddles are tapped while in the D/S
selector lever position, automatic mode switches
off briefly. To switch from manually shifting back
to automatic shifting immediately, tap the shift paddle
0 c:> fig. 75 for 1 second.
To keep shifting using the shift paddles, move
the selector lever to the right out of the D/S posi­
tion into the tiptronic shift gate.
Description
The transmission automatically shifts up or down before critical engine speed is reached.
The transmission only allows manual shifting
when the engine speed is within the permitted
range.
Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration .
When you press the accelerator pedal down be­
yond the resistance point (called kick-down), the
automatic transmission downshifts into a lower
gear, depending on vehicle speed and engine
RPM.
It shifts up into the next higher gear once
the maximum specified engine RPM is reached .
A WARNING ,~
Please note that the wheels could spin on
slick or slippery roads when kick-down is ac­
tive.
-
Driving
Emergency mode
Applies to: vehicles with automatic transmissions
In the event of a system malfunction, there is an
emergency program .
If all of the selector lever positions are highlight­
ed with a light background in the instrument
cluster display, there is a system malfunction and
the S tronic transmission is running in the emer­
gency program . The vehicle can still be driven in
emergency mode, but only with reduced speed
and not in all gears . In some cases, the vehicle
cannot drive in reverse.
([) Note
If the transmission runs in emergency mode,
drive to an authorized Audi dealer or author­
ized Audi Service Facility immediately to have
the malfunction corrected.
Transmission malfunction
Applies to: vehicles with automatic transmissions
• Transmission overheating! Please stop vehi­
cle!
The transmission is too hot and can become dam­
aged. Stop and let the transmission cool with the
engine running (at idle) in the P selector lever po­
sition. Then the indicator light and the message
turn off, drive to an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility immediately to have
the malfunction corrected .
If the indicator light
and the driver message do not turn off, do not
continue driving. See an authorized Audi dealer
or authorized Audi Service Facility for assistance.
71