2018 AUDI S3 SEDAN tow

Trail er to wing
Trailer towing
Driving with a trailer
General information
Your veh icle is primari ly intended for transport­
ing peop le and luggage. Howeve r, if you dr ive
with a tra iler , follow the techn ica l requirements ,
the operation and driving tips, and the lega l reg ­
ulations.
Dr iving w ith a trailer affects the vehicle 's fuel
consumpt ion, performance and wear. It a lso 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 removab le ball
h itch mount and ball h itch. The tra ile r hitc h must
be pe rm it t ed for the vehicle, the tra iler and the
permitted tota l weight of the trailer being
pu lled . Above all, it must be secure ly and safe ly
attached to the vehicle trailer.
Never mo unt a t rai ler hitch on the bumper. The
trai ler hitc h 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 regu larly if the trai ler hitc h is securely
mounted . A lways follow the instructions given by
the trai ler hitch manufacturer .
Trailer brakes
If t he tra ile r has its own bra ke system, then fol­
low the manufacturer specifica tions. Howeve r,
the brake system on the trai ler must never be
connected to the vehicle brake system.
118
Engine cooling system
D riving w ith a tra ile r means a higher load on t he
engine and the cooling sys tem. The coo ling sys­
tem must be designed for additiona l load and
contain enoug h
coolant ¢@ .
@ Note
Longer incl ines cannot be driven wi tho ut a
suitab le cooling system, especia lly if the out ­
side temperatures are high . ot herwise, this
i ncreases the risk of eng ine damage.
Operating instructions
Several things must be noted when towing a
trailer.
Towing capacity
Yo ur vehicle can only be ope ra ted with class 1 or
class 2 trai le rs.
Load distribution
Poor cargo load and distr ib ution can negatively
i mpact vehicle handling . T o have the lowest im­
pact as poss ible, load the tra ile r according to
t h ese cr ite ria :
- Store objects preferably in the vehicle luggage
compartment . The vehicle should a lways carry
the heaviest poss ib le load and the trailer
should have t he lig htest poss ible load .
- Dist ribute the load in the t railer so that the
heavy objects a re as close to the axle as poss i­
ble.
- Secu re objects from s lid ing o ut of place.
- Ut il ize the maximum permitted tongue we ight
if poss ible .
Tire s
Set the tire pressure on your vehicle for a "full
load"; see the tire pressure
st icker ¢ page 341.
If necessary, also adjust the t ire pressure on the
trailer acco rding to the manufactu rer's recom­
mendat ion.
Winter tires should be mounted on the vehicle and on the trailer during w inter temperatures .

Outside mirrors
If yo u cannot see the traffic behind the tra iler
with the standard exterior mirrors, then you
must attach additiona l exterior mirrors . Adj ust
them so you have a sufficient visibility behind
you .
Exterior lighting
Follow the legal regulat ions regard ing the light­
ing equipment on your trailer . Contact an author ­
ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facili­
ty for more information.
Before starting to drive, check all lighti ng equip­
ment on the hitched trailer.
The headlight range contro l adjusts automatical­
l y to the light range of the headl ights.
Safety chains
Make sure the safety chains are correctly applied
when pull ing a trailer . The chains should hang
enough so that the trailer can dr ive around
curves. However, they must not touch the
g ro und .
(D Tips
-Use chocks whe n parking on incl ines if the
trailer is load ed.
- We recommend also hav ing the veh icle in­
spected between the inspect ion intervals if
you are towing a trailer frequently.
- Avo id driving with a trailer during the vehi­
cle break- in period .
Driving with a trailer
Driving with a trailer requires extra caution.
Speed
Adhere to the legal speed limits. Follow the legal
regulations specific to the country.
As the speed increases, the driving stability of
the trai ler decreases. Therefore you should not
exceed the maximum legal speed limit when
u. there are unfavorable road, weather and/or wind 00
~ conditions . This especially applies when driving
~ downhill.
0 N > 00
Trailer towing
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 tra il­
er by acce lerating.
T he weight distribution is very poor if the vehicle
is empty and the trai ler is loaded . However if you
must drive under these circumstances, then dr ive
especially slowly .
Brakes
Brake in a timely manner. Downshift before driv ­
ing down hill so that t he engine can assist with
braking ~.&. .
When using a trailer w it h overrun brakes, first
brake gently then quickly. This reduces the r isk of
jerking while braking if the trailer wheels lock up .
Engine coolant temperature
Pay attention specifically to the coo lant tempera­
ture display when there are high outside temper­
a tur es, and when driving on long inclines
~page 11. Shift to a hig her gear in a timely man­
ner .
A WARNING
= -
Constant braking causes the brakes to over-
heat and substantially reduces braking per­
formance, increases braking distance or caus­
es complete failure of the brake system.
119

u. 00 .-< N l'­ N .-< 0 N > 00
the cruise control from braking. This is be ­
cause p ressing the acce lerato r pedal over ­
rides the cruise contro l system.
- If a brake system ma lf u nction such as over­
heating occurs when the cruise contro l sys­
tem is switched on , the braking function in
the system may be switched off . The rest of
the cr uise control system f unctions remain
act ive as long as
the @;(i)~14 (USA models) /
lll (Can ada models) indicato r light is o n.
@ Note
Before driving downhill a long distance on a
s teep hill, decrease yo ur speed and select a
lower gear. This makes use of the eng ine
b rak ing effect and re lieves the bra kes.
(D Tips
The b rake ligh ts turn on w hen the brakes a re
act ivated .
Changing the speed
Applies to: vehicles with cruise control system
"'T o inc rease o r decrease the speed in incre ­
ments,
tap t he lever in the 0 10 d irec tion
Q page 12 0, fig. 1 21 .
.. To increase or decrease the speed quickly, hold
the leve r in the 0 / 0 di rect io n until t he de ­
s ired speed is reached.
Overriding the speed
Applies to: vehicles with cruise control system
You can press the accelerator pedal to increase
your speed, for example if you want to pass someo ne. The s peed yo u set ea rlier will resume
as soo n as yo u release the accelerator pedal.
H owever, if you are driving cons iderably faster
tha n the stored s peed for a long period of time,
the c ruise cont rol system will tempora rily switch
off.
Th e@;(l)~i4 (USA models) 1B (Canada mod­
e ls) indica to r li ght in the ins trumen t cluste r
turns off and t he stored s peed is main taine d.
A ss istance systems
Preselecting a speed
Applies to: vehicles with cruise control system
You can pre-select your desired speed when the
vehicle is stationary .
"'Switch the ignit ion on.
"' Pull the lever into pos ition (D Q page 120 ,
fig . 121 .
.. To increase or decrease the speed, tap the lever
in the
0 10 d irection .
This function makes it possible, for example, to
save the speed you want before driving on the highway . Once on the highway, activate the
cr uise co ntro l system by p ulling the lever towa rd
t h e position
(D .
Switching off
Applies to: vehicles with cruise control system
Deactivating temporarily
"' Press the br ake pe dal, or
"' Press the lever into position @(not clicked in to
p lace)
Qpage 1 2 0, fig. 1 21, or
Switching off completely
"' Press the lever into pos ition @(clicked into
p lace), o r
"'Swi tch the ignit ion off.
T he speed you stored will be ma intained if the
cr uise co ntro l has been switche d off tempora rily.
T o resume the sto red speed, re lease the br ake
ped al and pull the lever to posi tion
(D .
Switch ing the ignition off w ill erase the stored
speed.
Switching off automatically
[~;(1)~14 ( USA models )/EI (Canada models )
Crui se control syst em: currently unavailable .
Se e owner's manual
The cruise cont rol system was automatically
turned off because the system has detected a
malfu nction th at is impa iring the c ruise control
func tion. Try switching the cruise contro l system
o n aga in later .
.,.
121

LL co .... N
" N .... 0 N > co
In curves
Applies to: vehicles with Audi adaptive cruise control/Audi pre sense front
Fig. 124 Examp le: driving into a curve
When driving into a curve ¢ fig. 124 and out of a
curve, the system may react to a vehicle in the ne ighboring lane and apply the brakes. You can
prevent that by pressing the accelerator pedal
briefly .
Stationary vehicles
Applies to: vehicles with Audi adaptive cruise control
J))
Fig . 12 5 Example: vehicle c hang ing lanes a nd statio nary
ve hicle
Adaptive cruise control
The adaptive c ruise contro l system only reacts to
ve hicles that be ing moving or to veh icles that the
sys tem has alre ady detected as moving. For ex­
a mple, it can reac t when a vehicle that has al­
ready been detected
CD turns or changes lanes,
but adaptive cruise control does not react to a
stationary vehicle @. Press the brake pedal to
slow the vehicle down.
A ssi st a nce systems
Switching on/off
Applies to: vehicles with Audi adaptive cruise control
Fig. 126 Ope rat ing lever: switch ing on and off
Fig . 1 27 In strume nt clus te r: adaptive cruise control
A CC: you can set any speed between 20 and 95
mph (30 and 150 km/h) .
Ind icator lights and messages in the instrument
cluster disp lay inform you about the current sit­
uatio n and setting.
Switching adaptive crui se control on
"' Pull the lever towa rd yo u into pos ition CD
¢fig . 126.
Storing the speed and activating regulation
"'To store the cur rent speed and act ivate the reg­
ula tion, press the
ISE TI but ton¢ fig. 126 ¢ .&_ .
The stored speed is show n in the tachometer
LED line @and appears briefly in the informa­
tion
line @¢ fig. 127 .
"'To act ivate the reg ulation while stationary, you
must press the brake pedal.
Swi tching adaptive cruise control off
"' Push the lever away from you into position @
until it cl icks into place. The message
ACC : off
appears.
T he s tored speed in the LED line is erased.
125

Ass is tance sy stem s
@Indicator lights
Ill-Adaptive cruise control is switched on . No
veh icles are detected ahead . The stored speed is
maintained.
• -A vehicle driving ahead was detected. The
adapt ive cruise control system regulates the
speed and d istance to the vehicle ahead and
brakes/accelerates automatically.
(-) -Adaptive cruise control is switched on. Ave­
h icle was detected ahead . Yo ur vehicle remains
stopped and w ill not start driv ing automat ica lly .
• -The automatic braking is not enough to
maintain a sufficient distance to a vehicle dr iv ing
ahead . You must intervene
r:::;, page 129, Driver
intervention request .
© Instrument clu ster di splay
If adaptive cruise contro l is not shown in the in­
strument cluster display, you can call i t up using
the multifunction steering wheel buttons
r:::;, page 13 .
Based on the graphics in the d isp lay, you can de­
termine if the system is mainta ining a distance to
a vehicle ahead and what that distance to this ve­
h icle is:
No vehicle -no vehicle was detected driving
ahead.
Sil ver vehicle -a vehicle was detected driving
ahead.
Red vehicle -request for driver intervention
r:::;, page 129.
The five distance bar s on the gauge@ represent
the set d istance (refer
to r:::;, page 128 for infor­
mat io n on how to change the distance). If yo u
fa ll below the se lected distance, the distance
bars become red from the bottom upward.
A WARNING
If you press the ISE TI b utton when driving at
speeds below 20 mph (30 km/h), the vehicle
accelerates automat ica lly up to 20 mph (30
km/h), which is the m inimum speed that can
be set.
126
@ Tips
- If you switch the ignition or the adaptive
cruise control system off, the set speed is
erased for safety reasons.
- The electronic stabilization control (ESC)
and the anti-slip-regulation (ASR) are auto­
matically switc hed on when the adaptive
cruise control is switched on.
Changing the speed
Applies to: vehicles with Audi adaptive cruise control
0
f
I
0
Fig . 12 8 Ope rat ing leve r: chang ing the speed
.. To increase or decrease the speed in incre­
ments,
tap the lever in the 0 10 direction.
,... ... ,...
i
.. To increase or decrease the speed qu ick ly, hold
the lever toward 0 10 until the red LED @
r:::;,page 125, fig . 127 reaches the desired
speed.
You can also preselect the speed when adapt ive
c ruise control is not active by moving the lever in
the des ired direction
0 10 . Act ivate the prev i­
ous ly selected speed by pulling the lever into po­
s ition
(D r:::;, page 125, fig. 126.
After each change, the new stored speed appea rs
br iefly in the status l ine
r:::;, page 125, fig . 127@.
When adaptive cru ise cont rol is act ive , the flJ or
• ind icator light turns o n, and when adaptive
c ruise contro l is not a ctive, the
IIJ ind icator light
turns on . In the Audi virtua l cockpit*, the
II indi­
cator light turns o n instead .

LL co .... N
" N .... 0 N > co
Driving in stop-and-go traffic
A pplies to: ve hicles with Audi adaptive cruise co ntro l
Fig. 12 9 In str ument clust er: s afe star t mo nito r
The adaptive cruise control system assists you in
stop -and -go traffic . If a vehicle that is detected
ahead stops, your vehicle will brake and stay at a
stop , within the lim its of the system.
.,. To resume driving w ith adapt ive cruise control,
tap the accelerator pedal or
.,. P ull the lever toward you into position @
¢page 127 , fig. 130.
Starting to drive with adapti ve cruise
controt
1>
As long as the message ACC: a utomatic go is dis­
p layed and the objec t detected ahead starts to
move, your veh icle w ill contin ue
d riving ~.&. . You
can act iva te
A CC: automatic go again for a sho rt
time by pu lling the lever to position @.
The
AC C: autom ati c go sta rt mode ends whe n
the brake pedal is pressed.
For safety reasons, your vehicle will o nly start to
d rive automatically if:
- the driver 's safety belt is fastened
- all doors and the hood are closed
-your vehicle is no t stationary for mo re than
t h ree m inutes
Safe start monitor
I f an obstacle is detec ted when you sta rt drivi ng,
you will be a le rted to the danger by
the . indi­
cator ligh t and the image in the instr ument clus­
ter
d isp lay ~ fig. 129 ¢.&. .An aud io signal will
also sound . Your veh icle wi ll drive more s lowly
l) Th is is no t av aila ble in so m e co untries.
A ssi st a nce systems
when starting . This may also happen in some sit­
uations when there is no apparent obstacle.
- Press the br ake pedal to slow yo ur vehicle
down.
_& WARNING ~
If the message ACC: automatic go1> appears,
your vehicle w ill start driving even if there is
an obstacle between your vehicle and the ve ­
hicle driving ahead. This increases the risk of
an accident.
(D Tips
If adaptive cruise control is active and your
vehicle does not start dr iving even though the
message
ACC: automatic go1> appears, yo u
can start driving by tapping the accelerator
pedal.
Interrupting cruise control
Applies to : vehicles wit h Audi ada ptive cr uise control
Fig . 130 Opera ting leve r
Requirement: adaptive cruise control must be
switched on.
Overr iding cruise control
.,. To accelerate man ua lly, pull the lever toward
you into position @and hold it there, or press
the acce lerator pedal. The message
A CC: over ­
ride
appears.
.,. To resume cruise contro l, re lease the lever or
take your foot off the accelerator pedal.
.,..
127

Ass is tance sy stem s
Interrupting cruise contr ol while driving
• Move the leve r into position @. The message
AC C: s tandb y appears . Or
• Press the brake pedal.
• To resume th e stor ed speed, move the lever in­
to position
@ .
Inter rupt ing crui se contr ol when stopped
• Push the lever away from you into position @.
The message
A CC : s tandb y appears.
• To resume cruise control , press the brake pedal
and pull the l ev er toward you into position @.
A WARNING
It is dangerous to activate cruise control and
resume the stored speed when the current
road, traffic or weather conditions do not per­
mit this. This increases the risk of an accident.
Setting the distance
App lies to: vehicles with Audi adaptive cruise contro l
,
0
Fig. 131 Oper ating lever: setting the distance
• Tap the switch to display the current set dis­
tance
¢fig. 131.
• T o increase or reduce the distance in incre ­
ments, tap the switch upward/downward
again. The d istance between the two vehicles
will change in the instr ument cluster disp lay.
When approaching a veh icle driving ahead, the
adaptive cru ise control system brakes to match
that vehicle's speed and then adjusts to the set
d istance.
If the vehicle dr iv ing ahead accelerates ,
then the adaptive cruise control will also acceler­
ate up to the speed that you have set.
The higher the speed, the greate r the d istance
c::;, ,&. . The Di stan ce 3 setting is recommended.
128
That is equa l to the general recommendation of
"ha lf the speed shown on the spe edometer".
The distances provided a re spec ified values . De­
pending on the dr iv ing situation and how the
ve­
hicle ahead is driving, the actual distance may be
more or less than these target distances .
If you c hange the time gaps, the newly set va lue
appears b rief ly in the instrument cl uster d isplay,
for example
II for Di stan ce 3. This on ly occurs if
the adaptive cruise control is not currently shown
i n the display
c::;, page 125, fig. 127.
Di stance 1 : this setting corresponds to a d istance
of 92 feet (28 meters) when traveling at 62 mph
(100 km/h), or a time distance of 1 second.
Di stanc e 2: this setting corresponds to a d istance
of 118 feet (36 meters) when trave ling at 62
mph (100 km/h), or a time distance of 1.3 sec ­
onds.
Di stanc e 3: this setting corresponds to a d istance
of 164 feet ( SO meters) when trave ling at 62
mph ( 100 km/h), or a time distance of 1.8 sec ­
onds .
Distanc e 4: this setting corresponds to a d istance
of 219 feet (67 meters) when trave ling at 62
mph ( 100 km/h), or a time distance of 2 .4 sec ­
onds .
Distance 5 : this setting corresponds to a d istance
of 328 feet ( 100 meters) when t raveling a t 62
mph ( 100 km/h), or a time distance of 3 .6 sec ­
onds .
A WARNING
When setting the distance, the driver is re­
sponsible for adhering to any applicable legal
regulations.
(D Tips
-
Your settings are automatically stored and as­
signed to the remote contro l key being used.

Ass is tanc e system s
-your vehicle is traveling at speeds between ap ­
proximately 20 to 50 mph (30 to 85 km/h) and
it approaches a stationary vehicle.
- your vehicle is traveling at speeds between ap ­
proximately 20 to 155 mph (30 to 250 km/h)
and it approaches a vehicle that is clearly trav ­
eling more slowly or a veh icle in your direction
o f travel tha t is stopped.
When this warning occurs, it may only be possi ­
b le to avoid a collision by swerving or braking
strong ly. The message
A udi pre sense.
¢ fig. 134 and a warning tone will warn you
about the danger .
If there is an impending collision with vehicles,
there will a lso be an
acute warning in the form of
sharp braking. If you do not react to the acute
warn ing, pre sense front can brake with increas ­
ing force within the limits of the system . T his re­
duces the vehicle speed in the event of a coll i­
sion .
Autom atic deceleration
Depending on the speed, pre sense front can de­
cel erate automatica lly
shortly before a collision:
-if there are stationary vehicles when you are
traveling at speeds up to approx imately 28
mph (45 km/h)
-if there are veh icles dr iv ing or stopped ahead
whe n you are traveling at speeds up to approxi­
mately 155 mph (250 km/h)
Autom atic bra king force inc rea se
If pre sense front determines that you are not
braking strongly enough when a co llision is imm i­
nent, it can inc rease the braking force, depending
on the situation and speed:
-if there are stationary vehicles when you are
traveling at speeds up to approx imately 50
mph (85 km/h)
-if the re are ve hicles driving or stopped ahead
when you are traveling at speeds up to approxi­
mately 155 mph (250 km/h)
A WARNING
Pre sense front cannot ove rcome the laws of
physics . It i s a system des igned to assist and
132
it cannot prevent a coll is io n in eve ry ci rc u m ­
stance . The driver m ust always intervene. The
driver is always respons ible for braking at the
correct time . Do not let the inc reased safety
provided tempt yo u into tak ing risks . This
could inc rease your r isk of a co llision.
-Keep in mind that pre sense front can pro­
vide war nings or b rake unexpectedly. Al­
ways secure a ny cargo or objects that yo u
a re transporting to reduce t he ris k of dam­
a ge or inj ury.
-The system can dep loy in co rre ctly due to
sys tem -specific li mits.
-Please note that the se nsor does not a lways
detect a ll obje cts. Thi s increases the r is k of
a c ollision .
-Pre sense front does not rea ct to ve hicles
tr ave ling towa rd yo u in the same lane, to
peop le, groups of people, anim als, ob je cts
that are crossing the road, or objects t hat
are difficult to
detect ¢.& in General infor­
mation on page 124 .
A WARNING
Pre sense front may be restricted o r not avai l­
ab le in the fo llow ing example s ituations :
-if there a re othe r reflective objects nearby,
such as gua rd ra ils or vehicles
-when driving into a tunnel
-in heavy fog, ra in, sp ray o r snow
-if the rada r senso r is d irty, covered in ice,
d amaged, or cove red
- in curves
- if the ESC was restr icted or sw itched off
@ Note
The sensor can be d isplaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and underbody. Pre sense front can be impaired
by this . Have an author ized A udi dealer or au­
thor ized Audi Se rvice Facility check t heir func-
-
tion. 1111-