2018 AUDI Q3 Owners Manual

a
co
...... N r--. N
'"' 0 0 ::, co
Starting the engine when there is a
malfunction
Applies to: vehicles with conven ience key
Other circumstances can cause the engine not to
start, such as the battery in the remote control key has drained , there is interference with the
key or there is a system malfunction .
Fig . 7 0 Steering co lumn /remote co ntro l key: st arting t he
en gine if there is a malfunc tion
Req uiremen t: the message No k ey identified .
See owne r's manual
must be disp layed and the
II indicator light m ust be on.
.,. Hold the remo te contro l key ve rtic ally in the lo ­
c ation ind ic a ted
y>l) c::> fig. 70 .
.,. Press the brake peda l.
.,. Press the
I ST AR T ENGINE STOP I button. The
engine will start.
.,. Drive to an authorized Audi dealer or author­
iz ed Audi Service Facility immediately to have
the mal function corrected .
@ Tips
You can view the message again by pressing
the
I START ENGINE STOP ! button.
Messages
Turn off ignit io n. Battery discharging
This message appears and a warning tone sounds
if you open the driver's doo r when the ignition is
switched on .
Press brake pedal to start engine
This message appears if you do not step on the
b rake pedal to sta rt the eng ine o n a vehicle wi th
a n autom atic transm ission.
D rivi ng
Plea se engage Nor P.
This message appears when sta rt ing o r stopping
t h e e ngine if t he se lecto r lever is no t in the Nor P
pos ition. The e ngine will not star t/stop.
IS Is key in the vehicle?
The ind icator light turns on and this message ap­
pears if the convenience key* was removed from
t h e veh icle when the e ngine was ru nning. If the
convenience key is no longer in the veh icle , you
c annot sw itch the ignition on or sta rt the eng ine
o nce you stop i t. You also canno t loc k the vehicle
from the o utside.
Shift to P, vehicle can roll away . Doors c an only
be lo cked in P .
This message appears for safety reasons if the
selector lever for the au tomatic transm ission is
not in the P position after the ignition is switched
off . M ove the selector leve r to the P posi tion.
Otherwise the ve hicle is not pro tec ted from ro ll­
ing and i t cannot be locked .
II No key identified. See owner's manual.
This message appears if there is no conven ience
key* inside the vehicle or if the system does not
recognize the key . The co nvenience key may not
be recognized, for example, if it is covered by an
obje ct tha t
disrup ts the signa l (such as a br ief­
c ase), or if the key b attery is we ak. El ectro nic de­
vi ces such as cell phones c an also inte rfe re wi th
the signal.
T o still be ab le to start or stop the engine, refer
to
i=:> page 63 .
Electromechanical
parking brake
Fig. 71 Cen te r conso le : pa rk in g b rake
63

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.

-Always take the vehicle key with you when
leaving your vehicle, even i f for a short pe ri­
od of time. Th is app lies particu larly when
children rema in i n the vehicle. Otherwise,
children could start the engi ne, release the
par king brake or operate elect rical equip­
me nt su ch as powe r windows, which in­
cr eases t he risk of an a ccident.
- No one, esp ecially chi ldren, sho uld rema in
in t he ve hicl e w hen it is locked. Locked
doo rs m ake i t more difficul t for emergency
wor ke rs to ge t into the ve hicle, which puts
lives at risk.
(D} Tips
- When stop ping at a traff ic signa l or stop­
p ing in c ity tr aff ic, you c an set the p arking
br ake ma nually . The vehi cle does not h ave
to be held with the b rake pedal. The park ing
brake elim inates the tendency to cree p
when a selector lever position is engaged.
As soon as you press the accelerator pedal,
t h e pa rking brake releases automatically
and you r vehicle starts to move
c:> page 65.
- Occasiona l noises when the park ing brake is
set and re leased a re normal and are not a
cause for concer n.
- The park ing brake goes th rough a se lf-test
cycle at regular intervals when t he vehicle is
stoppe d. A ny noises associated w it h this a re
no rma l.
-If there is a power fa ilure, the pa rking brake
will not set if i t is re leased, a nd it w ill not
r ele ase if it is set
c:> .&. . See a n auth oriz ed
A udi dealer or au thorized A ud i Service Fa­
cility for assista nee .
Starting from a stop
Various conven ien ce and safety functions may be
ava ila bl e when the vehicle begins driv ing, de ­
pending on vehicle equipment .
Starting on hills with the parking brake set
0
~ Req uirement: the dr iver's doo r must be closed. ,....
8 .,. To start driving comfortab ly when o n a hill, set
g the parking brake and begin dr iv ing as usual. 00
D riving
The braking force of the parking b rake does not
release a utomatically until the whee ls bui ld up
enoug h driving force .
Starting on hills with hill hold assist
Hill hold assis t makes it easier to s tart on hills.
Requirement: the driver's door must be closed
and the engine must be runn ing .
.,. To act ivate h ill hold assist, press and hold the
brake pedal for severa l seco nds. The vehicle
m ust be in an u phill d irec tion of travel.
After re leas ing the brake pedal, the braking pow­
er is maintained for a brief moment¢&. to pre­
vent the veh icle from ro lling back when start ing .
During this t ime, you can easily begin to move
you r vehicle .
.8, WARNING
Applies to: veh icles with hill hold assist
-If you do not beg in d riving immed iate ly or
the engi ne stalls after releasing the bra ke
pedal, your veh icle may begin to roll bac k­
ward. Press the brake peda l or set the park­
ing b rake immediately .
- The intelligent technology of hill hold assist
cannot ove rcome the limitat ions imposed by
natural p hys ica l laws. The i ncreased comfort
offe red by hill ho ld assist should not cause
you to ta ke safety r isks.
- Hill hold ass ist cannot hold the vehicle i n
p lace on a ll hills (for example, if the groun d
is s lippery or icy).
- To reduce the r isk o f an accident, always
make sure th e vehi cle is s ituated safe ly
while s ta tionary.
Driving offroad
General information
Applies to : vehicles with offroad mode
The electronic stab ilizat io n control (ESC) func­
tions we re enhanced for d riving offroad . ESC off­
road mode can be activated in driving sit uat ions
i n which a whee l lock o r a d ifferential lock func ­
t io n is needed ¢
page 90. T he hill descent as-
s ist is a lso available, wh ich au tomatically brakes
II),
65

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 .,..