2008 AUDI S8 ignition

___ A_ u_ t
_ o_ m_ a_ t_ i_ c _ t_r _a _n_ s_ m_ is_ s_io _ n ________________________________________________ _
Aut om at ic se lec tor l ever lock
The se lector lever is locked in the P and N pos itions when the ign i­
tion is turned on. To move the lever from these positions the driver
must depress t he brake peda l. As a reminder to t he driver, the
follow ing warn ing appears in the instrument c luster disp lay when
the selector is in
P and N :
When stationar y appl y foot brak e while selecting gear
A time de lay e lement prevents the selector lever from lock ing when
it is moved through the
N position (going from R to D l. The locking
e lement will lock the selector lever if the lever is left in N (Neutral)
for more than approximate ly 1 second, without the brake peda l
being pressed.
At speeds above about 3 mph (5 km/h) the Automatic Shift Lock is
automatically deactivated in the
N pos ition .
Interlock button
The lock button on t he se lector lever prevents the lever from being
accidentally shifted into certain positions. Pressing this button
deactivates the selector lever lock. Depending on the direction of
the shift, the selector lever locks at different positions . The positions
a re h igh lighted in the
il lustration => page 165, fig. 185.
Igniti on k ey sa fe ty in te rlock
The key cannot be removed from the ignition un less the selector
lever is in the
P park position. When the ignition key is removed, the
selector leve r wil l be locked in the
P posi tion .•
Kick-down
T he kick-down feature allows the vehicle to generate
maximum acceleration.
When you press t he accelerator peda l beyond the resistance point
that is reached at ful l throttle, the transmission will select a lower
gear ratio based on vehic le speed and engine RPM. The engine RP M
wi ll be control led to produce maximum vehicle acce leration as long as you continue to press the accelerator pedal beyond this resis
­
t ance po int.
& WARNING
Be careful when u sing th e kick -down feature on slippery road s.
R apid ac cel erat ion m ay ca use th e ve hic le to skid . •
Dynamic shift program (DSP)
T he aut omatic transmission is electronically controlled.
T he transmission is self adapting and wi ll autom ati ca lly select the
best shift program suited to t he driving condi tions and drivi ng s tyle.
The transmission will se lect one of the
eco nom y programs when
you drive at a steady speed or a gradual ly changing speed without
heavy acce leration . T his achieves optimum fuel efficiency, with ear ly
upshifting and delayed downshifting .
T he trans mission wil l automat ica lly select the
s porty shift programs
when you drive at higher speeds, or with heavy acce leration and
frequen tly changing speeds . Upshifts are de layed to make full use
of engine power. Down shifting takes place at higher engine speeds
t han in the economy programs .
The selection of the most suitab le shift program is a continuous,
automatic process . The driver can also make the transmission
switch to a sporty program by
quickl y pressing down the gas peda l.
T his causes the transmission to shift down to a lower gear to
achieve rapid acceleration, e.g . for quickly passing ano ther veh ic le .
You do not need to press the gas pedal into the kick-down range .
After the transmission has upshifted, t he original program is
selected according to your driving style.
An additional shift program allows the automatic transmission to select the proper gear for uph ill and downh ill gradients.
T his prevents the transmission from upshifting and downshifting
unnecessa rily on hi lls. The transmiss ion will shift down to a lower
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_______________________________________________ A_ u_t _o _m_ a_ t_ i_ c _ t_r _
a _n _s_ m_ i_ s _ s_ i_ o _ n _ ___.ltllll
Fig . 190 Emergency
release for selector
lever
The emergency release is located under the insert for the
ashtray.
- Press the button next to the cigarette
lighter~ page 168,
fig. 189. The insert rises from its holder and you can
remove it.
- Press the white switch down with a pen and hold it down
~ fig. 190.
- Now press the interlock and move the selector lever to
the N position.
The selector lever can only be moved from the P position if the igni­
tion key is in the lock and the ignition is turned on. If the vehicle has
to be pushed or towed if the power supply fails (e .g . battery is
discharged), the selector lever must be moved to the N position
using the emergency locking device. •
Controls a nd eq uip­
ment Vehicle care I I irechnical data

Advan ce d Parkin g Sy ste m Ill
-------------~--
-Press the sw it c h P111! in t he cen ter console =:> page 170,
fig. 192 to activate the Aud i pa rking system manually.
Activation of the acoustic park ing system is confirmed by
a brief acknowledgement sound. The indicator light in
the switc h lights up.
De activation
-If yo u drive forwa rds faster t han approx. 6 mph (1 0 km/h},
or
-if you switc h the ignition off, the entire acoustic parking
assist is automatically deactivated, or
-you can press the switch P111A. in the center console
=:> page 170, fig. 192 to deact ivate the Audi parking
system. The indicator light in the switch goes out.
You have to turn on the acoustic parking assist manuall y if you wish
to park the vehicle forwards or if you wish to approach an obstacle
forwards and want a distance warning .
The range at whic h the sensors start to measure is about:
Front
Rear
W arn in g tone s side
cen ter
side
cen ter 3
ft
(0 .90 ml
4f t
(1 .20 ml
2 ft (0.60 ml
Dis tance wa rn ing is given by chimes which are generated by a
signal generator . The volume and the pitch of the chimes can be
adjusted in the MM I
=> page 180.
Mute
I n t he case of vehic les with automatic transmission, an acoustic
distance warning is discontinued when the transmission selector
Controls and equip­ ment lever is moved to the P position
. However, the system remains
active . As soon as the selector lever is moved fro m the
P pos it ion
and the vehicle approaches an obstacle, the acoustic distance
warning resumes.
Dr iving fo rw ard /b ac kw ard
Dista nce warn ing w hen driving fo rward/ backward is based on
detection of an obstac le in the range of the parking assist. As the
distance decreases, t he time interval betwee n the aud ible t ones
becomes shorter.
When the distance is less than approx .
1 ft (0.30 m), the tone
becomes cont inuous. At th is po int you shou ld stop backing up or
driving forward .
I f the distance to an obstacle re m ains the same, the vo lume of the
distance warning is gradua lly reduced after about
4 seconds (does
not app ly to the zone for the continuous tone). If you start to
approach the detected obstacle again, the distance warning will
sound at the norma l volume again.
P arking
When you se lect another gear when park ing (e .g . reverse/forwa rd),
the warning tones are temporarily suppressed, but the visua l
display remains on the MMI display . If you start approaching a
detected obstac le again, the distance warning wi ll sound at the
normal volume again .
Vi su a l displa y
The segments on t he MMI d isp lay indicate a change in the distance
between the vehicle and an obstacle . The number of segments
displayed depends on the obstac les in front of or behind the
vehic le. The c loser the vehic le comes to the obstacle, the closer t he
segments approach the
vehic le => page 170, fig. 193. When the
seg ment before last is d isplaye d, the ve hicle has reac hed the coll i­
sion zone. At this point you should stop backing up or driving
f orward
=> & . ~

___ A_ d_a_ p=--- t_iv _ e_ A
_ i_ r _ S_ u_s--= p'--- e_n _ s_ i
_ o _ n _____________________________________________ _
Setting the Driving Modes
The driving modes are set in MM/.
F ig . 2 10 MM I d is pl ay:
Setti ngs
The ignition must be switched on to set the driving modes .
- Press the (CAR] f unction button . The main menu
Ad aptive Air Suspension appears ~ fig. 2 10.
- Select the desired mode with the c ontrol k nob .
Please note that not every driving mode can be selected in every
driving situation. For examp le, it is not possible to switch to lift
mode at speeds above 50 mph (80 km/h). This mode is shown
greyed
out in the MMI disp lay .
For additional information on the driving
modes ~ page 186,
"Chassis Controls". •
Jacking Mode When Changing a Flat Tire
This mode must be activated before raising the vehicle
with a vehicle jack .
Fig. 21 1 MMI displ ay:
Ac tivat e ja ckin g m od e
Switching jacking mod e on and off
- Press the
I CAR ) fu nct io n bu tton. The main me nu
Adaptive Air Su spen sion appea rs .
- Press the
[SETUP] f unct io n button . The main menu
Adaptive Air Su spen sion appea rs ~ fig. 211 .
- Turn the co ntrol knob to
Vehicle jack mode and select on
or off as des ired .
The vehicle jack mode must be activated before changing a wheel
so that the automatic control processes fo r the air suspension do
not make lifting with the vehicle jack more difficult.
In the vehic le jack mode the indicator light in the instrument cluster
illuminates.
& WARNING
T he height of the p arked vehic le c an change du e to te mpera ture
fluctu ation s or change s in lo ad.
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--~H~o~m~e:_!L~i~n~k~®~ ----------------------------------------------
Fig. 214 Front bumper,
driver side: location of
transmitter unit
Phase 1: programming the overhead keypad
1. Make sure your vehicle is w ithin operat ing range of the
remote controlled garage door opener .
2. Set the parking
brake ::::,&, in "General information".
3. Turn the ignition on. Do not start the engine!
4. Press and hold the two outside Homelink ® buttons
(D
and @ for approxim~tely 20 sec _onds until indicator
light @::::,
page 191, fig. 213 begins to flash. Then
release both buttons. Do not hold the buttons for longer
than
30 seconds.
- This procedure only needs to be performed
once. It
erases the factory-set default codes and does not have to
be repeated to program add itional remote controls.
5. Press and hold the Homelink ® button
(D , ® or @ until
the indicator light @starts flashing
slowly. Release the
button.
- The system will remain in programming mode for 5
minutes.
Go to the front of the vehicle and proceed with
phase 2.
Phase 2:
programming the bumper mounted transmitter
6. Hold the original remote control at a d istance between 0 -
5 in. (0-13 cm) from the bumper below the appropriate
headlight for your
vehicle ::::, fig. 214 (use the shortest
distance possible).
7 . A im the remote control just below the
driver side head­
l ight.
8. Press and hold the activation button on the remote control.
- May be different in Canada. If so , press and re-press
(cycle) the activation button on your remote control every
two seconds .
9. The emergency flashers will flash
three times (after
about
15-60 seconds) when the programming is
successful. Release the button on the remote control.
- To program more devices, repeat steps 4 to 9.
10. Press and hold the trained Homelink® button and
observe the indicator
light @=:> page 191, fig. 213.
If t he indicator light is solid/continuous, programming is
complete and your device should activate when you
press and release the tra ined Homelink® button.
-If the indicator light blinks rapidly for 2 seconds and is
then a solid/continuous light, proceed with phase 3 to
program a roll ing code device.
Phase 3: rolling code programming
-A second person on a ladder who can safely reach the
garage door opener motor is recommended.
..,

___ s_a_ f_ e_ t-= y_ b_e_ l_ t _s _______________________________________________ _
-Make sure that your passengers also b uckle up and pro p­
erly wea r th eir sa fety be lts.
Protect children wit h a c hild restraint sys tem appropriate
for the size and age.
The warning light ~ in the instrument cluster lights up when the
ignition is switched on as a reminder to fasten the safety belts. In
addition , you will hear a warning tone.
After the ignition is switched on, the warning light in the instrument cluster will a lways come on for about 6 seconds and if the driver has
not fastened the safety belt, a warning tone will also sound for
about 6 seconds . As soon as the driver has fastened the safety belt,
the warning tone will stop and the warning light will go out .
If the driver or front seat passenger have not buckled -up within
about 10 seconds after the warning tone has stopped and the
vehicle is moving faster than about 15 mph, the warning tone will
sound again for about 6 seconds and then s top for 24 seconds and
then repeat this reminder sequence for a maximum of 2 minutes. At
speeds be low 5 mph, the warning to ne will not sound.
Fa sten your safe ty belt and make su re that your p assengers al so
properl y put on their s afet y belts .
& WARNING
• Safety belts are the single mo st effective mean s available to
reduce th e risk of ser ious in jur y a nd death in aut omobile acci­
dent s. For your prote ction and that of your pas sengers , alway s
c orrectly wear safety belt s when t he v ehicle is moving .
• Failure t o pay attention to th e warning light that come on,
c ould lead to per sonal injur y.•
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal cras hes cre ate very strong forces for people ridi ng
in vehicles.
F ig . 22 0 Unbel te d
occ upants in a ve hicle
h ead ing for a w all
F ig . 22 1 The vehi cle
c ras hes in to th e wa ll
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehicle and the passen­
gers possess energy which varies with vehicle speed and body
we ight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic energy ."
T he higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehic le's
we ight, the more energy that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most signi fican t factor. If the speed doubles
from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
.,

___ A_ ir_b _ a_ g=- s-a. y_s _t _e _m _________________________________________________ _
Child restraints on the front seat - some important things to know
- Be sure to read the important information and head the WARNINGS for important details about c hildren and
Advanced
Airbags=> page 243.
Even though your vehic le is equipped with an Advanced Airbag
System, make certain that a ll children, especia lly those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat proper ly restrained for their
age and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes the front seat
a potentia lly dangerous place for a child to ride. The front seat is not
the safest p lace for a child in a forward -facing chi ld seat. It can be a
very dangerous place for an infant or a child in a rearward -fac ing
seat.
The Advanced Ai rbag System in your vehicle has been certified to
comply with the Requirements of United States Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle
was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be
t urned off ("suppressed") if a chi ld up to about one year of age
restrained in one of the rear -facing or forward -facing infant
restraints l isted in Federa l Motor Vehic le Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified has
been insta lled on the front passenger seat. For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify compl iance with the US Safety
Standard
=> page 245.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight in the instrument pane l te lls you
when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
t urned off by the electronic co ntrol unit.
Each time you turn on the ignition, the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a few seconds and :
• will stay on if the front passenger seat is not occup ied, •
will stay on if there is a small child or chi ld restraint on the front
passenge r seat,
• will go off if the front passenger seat is occupied by an adult as
r egis tered by the weight-sensi ng
m at => page 229, "Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System" .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when the contro l unit
detects a tota l weight on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be turned off.
I f the to tal weight on the front passe nger seat is m ore than tha t of
a typ ica l 1 year -old child but less than the weight of a small adult,
t he fron t airbag on the passe nger side can dep loy (the
PAS SENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on). If the PASSEN GER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not come on, the front airbag on t he passe nger s ide
has not been turned off by the electronic contro l unit and can
deploy if the control unit senses an impact t hat meets the condi­
tions stored in its memory.
For example , the airb ag m ay deploy if :
• a small ch ild that is heavier tha n a typ ical 1 yea r-o ld child is on
the front passenger seat (regardless of whether the child is in one
of the child seats
l isted => page 245), or
• a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is on the front
p asse nger seat.
I f the front passe nger airbag is turned o ff, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on in the instrument cluster and stays on.
T he front a irbag o n th e passenger s ide may
not deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight does not illuminate and stay lit) even
if a smal l adult or teenage r, o r a passenger wh o is n ot sitting uprigh t
with their back against a non -reclined backrest with their feet on the
vehic le floor in front of the seat is o n the front passenge r seat
=> page 200, "Proper seating pos it ion for the driver".
I f the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federa l Standard requires
the airbag to meet the "low risk" deployment cr iteria to reduce the
risk of injury through interaction with the airbag. "Low risk" deploy­
ment occu rs in those crashes that take place at lower decelerations
~

as defined in the elec tronic control unit~ page 230 , "PA SSENGER
AI R BAG OFF ligh t".
A lways r em ember, a ch ild seat or infant carrier install ed on th e front
seat may be st ruck and knocked out of position by the rap idly
i n fl ating pass enger's airbag in a fr ontal co llisio n. T he airb ag co uld
greatly reduce the effectivenes s of the chi ld restraint and even seri ­
ously inju re t he c hild duri ng i nflatio n .
F or this reason, and because the bac k seat is the safest place for
chi ldr en -w hen pro perly res traine d acc ording to th eir age an d size
- w e stron gly recomm end that c hildren a lways sit in th e bac k seat
~ page 243, "C hil d Safe ty" .
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag System.
• The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or infant car rier with
great force and will smash the child seat and child against the
backrest , center arm rest, door or roof .
• Always install rear-facing child seats on the rear seat.
• If you must install a rearward facing child seat on the front
passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
immediately install the rear-facing child seat in a rear seating posi­
tion and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
• Forward -facing child seats installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag and cause
serious personal injury to the child .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's seat:
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
Airbag system
&, WARNING (continued )
• Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed
and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
• Never put the forward-facing child restraint up against or very
near the instrument panel .
• Always move the passenger seat into its rearmost position in
the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the
airbag as possible before installing the forward-facing child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on.
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure that the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light will be displayed whenever a child restraint is
installed on the front passenger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on , perform
the checks described
~ page 229 , "Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System" .
• Take the child restraint off the front passenger seat and install
it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light does not stay on .
• Have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer immedi ­
ately .
• Always carefully follow instructions from child restraint manu­
facturers when installing child restraints .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward or
rearward -facing child restraint on the front passenger's seat:
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data