Facelift Drive Select

Mikeso51

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I’ve read several posts recently on this topic, but I’m still confused.

My current understanding, despite what the handbook says, is that if you select Dynamic mode this mode will only persist until the ignition is switched off. At next start up, despite the display showing Dynamic is still selected, the car will revert to some other setting, and it is necessary to cycle through all the settings and back to Dynamic to actually get Dynamic.

Is this correct?

If not can someone point out my misunderstanding.

If it is correct, can someone tell me what mode the car reverts to when the ignition is switched off, and whether this reversion happens in any other setting.

What happens if Individual mode is selected, and the settings are set the same as those in Dynamic.

If the display cannot be trusted is there any easy way to tell which mode the car is in?

TIA

Mike
 
The Drive Select Mode and all of its settings will stick between engine starts with the exception of the throttling mapping. It will reset back to the less aggressive D shift mode rather than the sportier S mode.

I understand this is related to how the engine is government rated for fuel mileage certification. The engine must default to its most efficient operating mode.

That's all my understanding but if anyone knows better, please correct.

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My understanding is the same as what Civuck said. If I park up in sport and then get back in, it'll be in "D" and not "S". But my other settings are the same, so it's stayed in individual mode.

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I’d love to know a definitive answer on this too. I always run the car in dynamic but with gear box pulled back to drive. When I restart I always press drive select and reselect dynamic and pull the gearbox back to drive so i know the car is how I want it. Therefore when I switch the gearbox to sport I know I’m getting everything as good as it can be.

Would be nice to confirm starting in dynamic has everything apart from gearbox in dynamic and not auto like I think it is ?!

I’ve only done 1000 mile so far so still learning about the car and as it loosens up it feels a little bit different with every mile.
 
I’d love to know a definitive answer on this too. I always run the car in dynamic but with gear box pulled back to drive. When I restart I always press drive select and reselect dynamic and pull the gearbox back to drive so i know the car is how I want it. Therefore when I switch the gearbox to sport I know I’m getting everything as good as it can be.

Would be nice to confirm starting in dynamic has everything apart from gearbox in dynamic and not auto like I think it is ?!

I’ve only done 1000 mile so far so still learning about the car and as it loosens up it feels a little bit different with every mile.
I’m pretty sure it defaults to auto no matter what it’s left in, be that dynamic, individual etc.

The throttle response doesn’t feel as sharp as dynamic after restart.
 
My understanding is the same as what Civuck said. If I park up in sport and then get back in, it'll be in "D" and not "S". But my other settings are the same, so it's stayed in individual mode.

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This is true although the Dynamic map is not loaded until you cycle through the modes back to Dynamic again eg just pulling the stick back at ignition on won't do it.

TX.

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I’ve heard this quite a few times but I’ve never seen anything anywhere clarifying Drive Select behaviour after a restart from Audi or any tuning companies that work on the ECUs of these cars.
Apart from the gearbox resetting to D from S which you’d want when starting from cold I’d like to know for sure what actually happens with mapping.
 
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I know how ADS and the gearbox modes interact but can anyone show any info anywhere that’s clarifies that the car goes to Auto mode?
I leave my car in Individual mode which has Steering & Engine/Gearbox in Dynamic, Suspension in Auto and ACC in Comfort.
When I restart the car it feels exactly the same (and it still displays Dynamic) other than the fact the box has reverted to D.
My car is Stage 1 APR now and the ADS behaviour is the same before & after the APR map.

Has anyone got any real info other that repeated threads on ASN?
 
It's pretty simple, there are two modes of dynamic. If you use ADS to cycle through to dynamic, it actually sets the mode to Sport (and not standard dynamic) which is the sportiest of all settings. If you have an auto box, the chosen gear is lower. Regardless of whether you have auto or manual, your throttle response is set to its twitchiest mode and the idle revs are slightly higher.

When in sport, if you have an auto and pull the gear lever back or, regardless of auto/manual, you turn the ignition off and on again, you will return to standard dynamic mode which means the throttle is not as responsive, and not as high revving in idle (and if auto, not as low a gear).

Simply put, if you want the sportiest drive at all times, use ADS to cycle through each time you star the car, otherwise you are in standard dynamic instead of sporty dynamic.
 
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Maybe better put, the modes are as follows (ignoring individual)

Eco -> Comfort -> Dynamic -> Dynamic(Sport) -> (back to Eco)

If you use ADS to cycle through, it misses dynamic and goes straight from Comfort to Dynamic(Sport). If you switch the ignition off in Sport and start it up again, you start in Dynamic.

Why? In a manual I don't know why but, in an auto, you can be in any ADS mode but set the gearbox into sport at any time by pulling back on the gearlever when in Drive.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Dynamic(Sport) offers a more aggressive throttle response, higher idle revs, and if you have an auto then a lower gear.

You can see the difference if you have a VC as you see E/D(comfort)/D/S on the gear display. I can't commend on anything without a VC as I have only driven manual and auto with VC
 
Hmm.....with an S3 DSG transmission and you use individual mode for the available setup modes which I use at all times. If the individual engine/transmission setting is set in auto, it will automatically go to the full dynamic settings of engine/transmission/exhaust valves when S is selected, all other individual modes remain as selected. This means no cycling of all drive select modes. If I want to change, for example, my individual mode for suspension I select that individual mode and make the change. I never use the drive mode selector as I do not like all comfort, auto or dynamic. Also when I select S mode I also switch to manual mode as S or dynamic D transmission mode is useless, as it holds the gears way too long for up shifts, especially in urban areas and I prefer to be in charge of transmission shifts when I am feeling in a sporty mood, such as a nice country road with some nice twisty bits.
 
Yeah...I know the gearbox goes from S to D after an ignition cycle but the steering, suspension and throttle response stay the same, they stay in Dynamic if it’s pre-set.
You get increased idle and shift points from the gearbox when it’s in sport instead of drive.
Dynamic mode gives a more aggressive engine map and puts the S-Tronic box into Sport mode and an ignition cycle leaves the car in Dynamic but puts the box back into D as it’s preferable during a cold start.
So, the ignition cycle affects the gearbox S/D mode not the cars Dynamic mode which is why the car still displays Dynamic after a restart and the gearbox shows D.
 
I know how ADS and the gearbox modes interact but can anyone show any info anywhere that’s clarifies that the car goes to Auto mode?
I leave my car in Individual mode which has Steering & Engine/Gearbox in Dynamic, Suspension in Auto and ACC in Comfort.
When I restart the car it feels exactly the same (and it still displays Dynamic) other than the fact the box has reverted to D.
My car is Stage 1 APR now and the ADS behaviour is the same before & after the APR map.

Has anyone got any real info other that repeated threads on ASN?
In the RS3 at least it is a different map only accessible by cycling the modes. I know this as I owned one!

TX.

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The strange thing is there’s no info anywhere from tuners or Audi to confirm the maps change after an ignition cycle.
 
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In the link posted by Tej13 there is a shot of an Audi tech’s workscreen clearly stating that drive selec5 reverts to “balanced” mode after an ignition cycle.
 
Interesting screenshot, if that applies the the S3 the changes must be very subtle in ‘Balanced’ because other than the shift points and idle speed it seems the same to me.
 
What I don't understand is this....

If you put the car into dynamic drive select, the gear box goes into S mode (lets called this stage 1).

You turn the car off, turn it back on again and you will be in D mode (stage 2) according to the gearbox. Now, if you toggled through the settings back into dynamic so the gearstick goes into S (stage 3) again. Now if you pull it back you are in D (stage 4).

At this stage, is there any difference between stage 4 and stage 2?

My understanding is that you can be in comfort drive select mode but then pull the stick back and the engine/gearbox will be in dynamic mode, but all other settings (comfort/cruise etc..) will remain the same.

So likewise, why can't you just get in the car in dynamic and pull the stick back so its in S as isn't this then the same as stage 1? I find it hard to believe that there is a difference between dynamic "S" and comfort "S" and also dynamic "D" and comfort "D".

I drive around in individual with everything set to auto apart from exhaust which is dynamic, though it doesn't make a difference I suspect anyway considering my valves aren't controlled by the car.
 
Not trying to say anything discussed above is nonsense but does it really matter?
Surely once you put your foot down passed the kick down switch the car goes into the most aggressive maps available and you are grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
 
Not trying to say anything discussed above is nonsense but does it really matter?
Surely once you put your foot down passed the kick down switch the car goes into the most aggressive maps available and you are grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
Haha that works too. Though I had a slow journey to work this morning... An amazing 23 mpg of stop start traffic and cold engine. Suppose winter is on the way... :) so no chance to put my foot down at all.

I don't use dynamic so I don't care too much but wouldn't mind understanding how it works anyway. Even if it's to help those who do care :)
 
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I’ve heard this quite a few times but I’ve never seen anything anywhere clarifying Drive Select behaviour after a restart from Audi or any tuning companies that work on the ECUs of these cars.
Apart from the gearbox resetting to D from S which you’d want when starting from cold I’d like to know for sure what actually happens with mapping.
Dynamic does have an increased throttle response compared to comfort and there is an increase in idle speed when the gearbox is in dynamic. Does this qualify as a separate map?

I find that the different drive select settings usually generate a subtle change. However, when these small changes are added together one on top of another there is a noteworthy difference. Going from comfort auto to dynamic auto the car performs better because the car is in a lower gear, you are forced to drive at higher revs, it makes more noise (gives the illusion of more speed), throttle is more responsive, and the throttle won't cut out as much from ESC. As well the quattro is more responsive to throttle inputs (in dynamic) which likely makes the car bog down less.
 
Just to add to the confusion here there’s another map.
Had my car in efficiency and it shows E with gear in there. After a restart the screen showed efficiency with a D not E and didn’t do go into coast mode when I eased off the throttle.
Must be quite a few maps in there.
 
Just to add to the confusion here there’s another map.
Had my car in efficiency and it shows E with gear in there. After a restart the screen showed efficiency with a D not E and didn’t do go into coast mode when I eased off the throttle.
Must be quite a few maps in there.
Mine just shows as D# and coasting persists through restart.. Odd.
 
Mine just shows as D# and coasting persists through restart.. Odd.

Is it a facelift thing?
Noticed my rear sidelights are on all the time just the other day. Supposedly a facelift thing. Not figured out how to code it out yet.
 
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IMO a restart leaves the car in the same engine map it was set to previously but the gearbox defaults to D rather than S.
That’ll be why the car displays the same ADS mode, because it hasn’t changed, only the S-Tronic gearbox mode has.
That’s my experience anyway.
 
Noticed my rear sidelights are on all the time just the other day.
Took you a while to notice that. :D
I noticed it the day I picked my car up and have posted about it on here a couple of times. It did bother me in the beginning but now I quite like it. :)
Funny thing is I have still not seen another A3 with the rear lights as part of the DRL, but it is definitely exclusive to the facelift model.


P.S. No such thing as "rear sidelights", but I knew exactly what you meant so I'm just being pedantic. :relaxed::innocent:
 
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