2018 AUDI Q3 towing

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

Driving
Your vehicle is equipped with an electromechani­
cal parking brake @
c> fig. 71. The parking brake
is designed to prevent the vehicle from rolling
un intent ionally and replaces the hand brake .
Setting/manuall y releasing the pa rking
brake
... Pull the(®) switch to set the parking brake . The
LED in the sw itch turns on. The -(USA mod­
els) . (Canada models) indicator light also
turns on in the instrument cluster display .
.,. To release the parking brake manually, press
the b rake o r accelerato r pedal whi le the igni­
tion is switched on and p ress t he
C®) switch a t
the same time. The L ED in t he b utton and t he
i ndica tor light in the display turn off .
Releasing the parking brake automatically
Requirement: the dr iver's door must be closed,
the dr iver's safety be lt must be latched and the
pa rking brake must be set.
... To start driving and re lease the park ing brake
automat ica lly, press the accele rato r pedal as
us ua l.
In addi tion to releasing the park ing brake auto­
mat ically, other convenience and safety funct ions
are available whe n you start driving
c> page 65,
Starting from a stop .
Preventing the automatic parking brake
release
The vehicle could begin rolling unintentionally ,
dependi ng on the h ill or if towing a trailer .
... To preve nt the parking brake from releasing au­
tomat ica lly, pull and hold the®) sw itch and
press the accelerator pedal. The park ing b rake
remains set and prevents the veh icle from ro ll­
in g backward.
.,. Yo u can re le ase the(®) switch aga in once you
are sure that you are g iv ing eno ugh dr iv ing
force to the wheels by pressing the accele rator
pedal.
Emergency braking function
You can use the emergency bra king f unct ion in an
emergen cy situ ation , or if the stand ard bra ke op­
era tion mal func tions or is disabled.
64
... Pull and ho ld the C®) swi tc h.
... As soon as you re lease the
C®> switch or acceler-
ate, the braking stops.
P ulli ng and ho ld ing t he
C®) switch wh ile driving
the veh icle activates the eme rgency braking func ­
tion . The ve hicle is bra ked at a ll four wheels by
activating the hydraulic b rake system . The bra k­
i ng effect is sim ilar to heavy brak ing
c> ,&. .
To reduce the risk of act ivat ing t he emergency
bra kin g by mista ke, a warning tone (buzzer)
sounds when the
C®) sw itch is p ulled . Eme rgency
braking stops as soon as the© switch is released
or the accelerator pedal is pressed.
Park ing
... Press the brake peda l to stop the ve hicle.
... Pull the
C®> switch to set the par king brake .
... Place the selecto r lever in the P position .
... Turn the engine off
c> ,&. .
... Turn the steering w heel when parking on in­
clines so that the w heels w ill roll into the curb
if the vehicle starts moving.
8,,. WARNING
- Do not press the a ccele ra to r peda l inadve r­
tently if a ge ar i s selected whe n the vehicle
is st ationary an d th e engine is running . Oth­
erwise, the vehicle will s tart to move imme ­
diate ly and this could result i n an accident.
- Eme rgency brak ing s hou ld only be used i n
an emergency, when the norma l bra ke pe dal
has failed or the bra ke peda l is obstructed .
During eme rgency brak ing, your vehicle will
brake s imilar to heavy braking. ESC and the
associated components (ABS, ASR, EDL)
cannot ove rcome the laws of physics .
Around curves a nd whe n road or wea ther
conditions a re bad, a full brake applicat io n
can ca use the veh icle to skid or the rear end
to swerve, w hich incr eases the ris k of an ac­
cident.
- I f th e power s upply fail s, you cannot set the
parking br ake if it is released. In this case,
pa rk the vehicle on leve l ground and secure
it by p lacing the selector leve r in the P posi­
tion. See an authorized A udi dealer or au -
thorized A udi Service Fac ility for assistance.
IIJ.

0 co ......
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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 ......
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Trailer towing
Driving with a trailer
General information
Your vehicle is primarily intended for transport­ ing people and luggage . However, if you drive
with a trailer , follow the technical requirements,
the operation and driving tips, and the legal reg­
ulations.
Driving with a trailer affects the vehicle's fuel
consumption, performance and wear.
It also re­
quires higher concentration from the driver.
A WARNING
Do not transport any people in a trailer due to
the risk of fatal injury.
Technical requirements
Certain requirements must be met when towing
a trailer.
Trailer hitch
Only use a trailer hitch with a removable ball hitch mount and ball hitch. The trailer hitch must
be permitted for the vehicle , the trailer and the
permitted total weight of the trailer being
pulled. Above all, it must be securely and safely
attached to the vehicle trailer.
Never mount a trailer hitch on the bumper. The
trailer hitch must be mounted in a way that does
not impair the function of the bumper. Do not
make any changes to the exhaust system and the
brake system.
Check regularly if the trailer hitch is securely mounted. Always follow the instructions given by
the trailer hitch manufacturer.
Trailer brakes
If the trailer has its own brake system, then fol­
low the manufacturer specifications. However,
the brake system on the trailer must never be
connected to the vehicle brake system.
Trailer towing
Engine cooling system
Driving with a trailer means a higher load on the
engine and the cooling system. The cooling sys­
tem must be designed for additional load and
contain enough coolant
c::> (D .
A WARNING
-
-Never mount a "weight-distributing" or
"load-balancing" trailer coupler as the trail­
er hitch . The vehicle was not designed for
these types of trailer hitches . The trailer
hitch can malfunction and the trailer can
break off from the vehicle.
- If the trailer is equipped with electronic
brakes, these brakes cannot be activated by
a factory-installed control system, which in­
creases the risk of an accident.
- To reduce the risk of injury, always remove
the ball hitch mount if no trailer is mount­
ed.
(D Note
Longer inclines cannot be driven without a
suitable cooling system, especially if the out­
side temperatures are high. otherwise, this
increases the risk of engine damage.
' Operating instructions
Several things must be noted when towing a
trailer.
Towing capacity
The permitted towing capacity for trailers with­
out brakes is 1,650 lbs (750 kg).
The permitted towing capacity for trailers with brakes is 2,200 lbs (1,000 kg) .
These values apply to roads with up to 12% in­
cline.
Tongue weight
The maximum permitted tongue weight of the
trailer drawbar on the trailer hitch ball head may
not be exceeded. ..,.
73

Trailer towing
If the tongue we ight is too low, this affects the
trai ler's handling. For driving safety, we recom­
mend to always utilize the maximum permitted
tongue we ight, but not exceed it. Yo u can reach
it, for example, by d istributing the cargo in the
tra iler cor rectly .
You can determ ine the tongue we ight, for exam­
p le, with a bathroom scale or a public weigh sta­
tion .
The permitted tongue weight for your vehicle is 220 lbs (100 kg) .
Load distribution
Poor cargo load and dist ribution can negatively
impact veh icle ha ndling. To have the lowest im­
pact as possib le, load the trai ler according to
these criteria :
- Store objec ts p refe rab ly in t he ve hicle lugg age
compartment . The vehicle shou ld always carry
the heaviest possible load and the trai ler
sho uld have the lightest possible load .
- Distribute the load in the tra iler so that the
heavy objects are as close to the axle as possi­
ble .
- Secure objects from sliding out of p lace.
- Utilize the max imum perm itted tongue we ight
i f poss ib le .
Tires Set the tire pressure on your vehicle for a "full load"; see the t ire pressu re sticker
r=:;, page 176 .
If necessa ry, also adjust t he tire p ressure on the
tr ail er according to the manufactu rer's re com­
mendation.
W inte r ti res s hou ld be mounted on the ve hicle
a nd on the trailer dur ing wi nte r temperatures.
Outside mirrors
If you cannot see the traff ic be hind the tra iler
with the standard exterior mirrors, then you must attach addit ional exte rior m irrors. Adjust
them so you have a s ufficient visibility behind
you .
Exterior lighting
Follow the legal regulat ions regarding the light ­
i n g eq uipment on your trailer. Contact an author-
74
ized Audi dealer or author ized Audi Service Facili ­
ty for more information .
Befo re st arting to dr ive , check all lighting eq uip­
ment on the hitched trailer.
The head light range cont rol ad justs automat ica l­
l y to the light range of the headlights .
Safety chains Make sure the safety chains are correct ly applied
whe n pu lling a trailer . The cha ins should hang
enough so that the trailer can drive around
curves. Howeve r, they must not touch the
ground.
(D Tips
- Use chocks when park ing on inclines if the
t railer is loaded .
- We recommend also having the vehicle in­ spected between the inspection intervals if
you a re towing a trailer frequently.
- Avoid driv ing with a tra iler dur ing the veh i­
cle b reak-in per iod.
Driving with a trailer
Driving with a trailer requires extra caution .
Speed
Adhere to the legal speed limits. Fo llow the legal
regu lations specific to the country.
As the speed increases, the dr iving stab ility o f
the trai ler decreases . Therefore you should not
exceed the maximum lega l speed limit when
there are unfavorable road, weather and/or wind
cond it ions. T his especially applies when driving
downh ill.
You m ust always reduce your speed as soon as
you notice even the slightest swinging motion of
the tra iler . Never try to "stra ighten out" the trai l­
er by acce lerating.
The weight d istribution is very poor if the vehicle
i s empty and the trai ler is loaded. However if you
must drive under these circumstances, then dr ive
especially slowly . ..,.

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Bra kes
Brake i n a t imely man ner. Downsh ift before driv­
ing downhill so that the engine can assist wit h
braking
~ .&. .
When using a tra ile r with ove rru n b rakes, first
b ra ke gen tly the n qu ickly . T his red uces the risk of
je rking wh ile braking if the trailer wheels loc k up.
Engine coolant temperature
P ay a ttention specifica lly to the coolant tempera­
ture d isp lay when t here are high ou tside tempe r­
a tures, a nd when dr iv ing on long inclines
~ page 8. Shift to a highe r gear in a t imely m an­
n e r.
,&. WARNING -
Constant b raking causes the brakes to ove r­
heat and substant ia lly reduces b raking per­
formance, increases braking distance or caus­ es complete fa ilure of the brake system .
Trailer towing
75

Ass is tance sy stems
Audi side assist
Description
Applies to: vehicles with Aud i side ass ist
F ig. 79 Sensor detection range
Fig. 80 D isplay o n th e exterio r mirror
Side assist helps you monitor your blind spot and
traffic behind your vehicle . Within the limits of
the system, it warns you about vehicles that are
coming closer or that are traveling with you with­
i n sensor range
(D ¢ fig. 79: if a lane change is
classified as critical, the display @in the exter io r
mirror ¢
fig. 80 turns on.
The display in the left exter ior mirror provides as­
sis tance whe n mak ing a lane change to the left,
while the disp lay in the right exterior mirror pro­
vides assistance when making a lane cha nge to
the right .
Information stage
As long as you do not activate the turn signal,
side assist
informs you abou t veh icles tha t are
detected and class ified as crit ical. The disp lay in
the mi rror turns on, but is dim .
The display remains dim in t he in fo rmat ion stage
so that your view toward the front is not distur ­
bed.
78
Warning stage
If you activate the turn signal, side assist warns
you about vehicles that are detected and classi­
fied as critica l. The d isp lay in the respective mir­
ror blinks bright ly.
If this happens, ch eck traffic
by g lancing in the exter ior mirrors and over your
shou lder
c:> .& in General information on
page
79.
{!) Tips
- You can adjust the brightness on of the dis·
play on the rea rview mirror
c:> page 80 .
-Please refer to the instructions for towing a
trailer located in ¢
page 79.
General information
Applies to : vehicles with Audi side ass ist
®
®
©
F ig. 81 D riving s it u ati ons
Fig. 82 Rea r of t he veh icle: po sit io n of the senso rs