2011 AUDI S8 light

180 Child Safety
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
A WARNING , _
Rearward-fac ing ch ild restra ints:
- A ch ild in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenge r
seat will be ser iously injured and can be
killed if the front airbag inflates -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- T he inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with g reat
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof .
- Always be especially caref ul if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenge r seat in exception ·
al circumstances .
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front pas­
senger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-mat in the seat and reg is­
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced A ir­
bag System. The heav ier we ight regis­
tered can make the system work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­ ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be s uppressed causing ser ious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the rea r-facing chi ld safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the a irbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
Act ivating the convertible locking
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the ch ild safety seat manufactur­
er's instructions when installing a child re­
st ra int in your vehicle. To activate the conve r­
t ible lock ing ret ractor:
.,. Place the ch ild restraint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear seat .
.,. Slowly pu ll the belt
all the wa y out .
.,. Route it around or through the child re­
straint belt path
¢ _& .
.,. Push the chi ld safety seat down with yo ur
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the buck le for
that seating position.
.,. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until t he belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat.
.,. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
be lt winds back into the inertia ree l. Test the
convert ible lock ing retractor by pulling on
the belt . You shou ld no longer be able to
pull the be lt out of the retractor. The con­
vertible locking retractor is now activated .
.. Make sure that the red release button is fac­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways mo re
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING
-
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
p roperly installed chi ld restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always ma ke sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat . An un locked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place dur ing norma l dr iving or in a
crash.

186 Child Safet y
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child safety
seats.
.&_ WARNING
Improper insta llation of child restraints
wi ll increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions prov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re­
straint you intend to install in your Audi .
- Improper use of child restra int anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a collision. The anchors are de­
signed to withstand on ly those loads im­
posed by cor rect ly fitted ch ild restraints.
- Never mou nt two ch ild restraint systems
on one LA T CH lower ancho r po int.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tethe r strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use c hild restraint tether ancho­
rages to secure safety belts o r other
k inds of occ upant restra ints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other items to the LATC H lowe r ancho­
rages or to the tethe r anchors.
- If a tether or othe r strap is used to at­
tac h a child rest raint to the front passen­
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
t ight, that it causes the we ight-sensi ng
mat to measure more weight than is ac­
t u a lly on t he seat.
- T he heav ier we ight reg iste red can make
t he Advanced Airbag Sys tem work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­
ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be s uppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat beca use of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does no t come on and stay on, im­
med iately install the rea r-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position a nd
-
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea ler.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig . 1 69 Tether strap: proper ro uting and mount ing
Installing the tether strap
"' Release or deploy the tether st rap on the
child restraint according to the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions .
"' Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restra int¢
fig. 169 (ra ise the head re­
straint if necessary) .
"' Center seating position*: Guide the upper
tether strap over the rear head restra int.
"' Tilt the recess flap up to expose the an chor
b racket.
"' Att ach the tether strap ancho rage hook in to
the opening of the tethe r ancho rage.
"' Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch o f the hook engages.
"' Tighten the tether strap firmly fo llow ing the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing the tether strap
"'Loosen the tension fo llow ing the child re­
straint manufacture r's in str uctions.
"' Depress the spring catch on the hook and re­
lease it from the anchorage.
(D Note
If yo u leave the c hild restra int w it h the
tether strap firm ly installed for seve ral
days, this could leave a mark on the up­
ho lstery on the seat cushion and backrest

188 Audi pre sense
Audi pre sense
Preventative passenger
protection
A pp lies to veh icles: with Audi pre se nse
Aud i pre sense can ini tia te steps to help pro­
t ect veh icle occupants in certain situa tions.
The funct ions described depend on equ ipment
installed in your vehicle:
Audi pre sense basic
The following functions can be triggered in
certain driv ing situations :
- Tightening of the safety belts (for examp le,
during heavy braking) : the front safety belts
have reversible belt pretensioners. If a colli­
sion does not occur, the safety belts loosen
s lightly and are ready to be tightened again .
- Closing the w indows and the sunroof* : the
windows and the sunroof* close leaving a
small open gap .
Audi pre sense basic functions can be trig­
gered at speeds above 20 mph (30 km/h).
Vehicles with Aud i drive select*: the dep loy­
ment time is adapted in dynamic mode.
Audi pre sense front (vehicles with
adaptive cruise control*)
Audi pre sense front includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, within the
limits of the system, the likelihood of a colli ­
sion with the vehicle immediately ahead is al­
so ca lculated . If the system senses an immi­
nent collision the follow ing functions can be
tr iggered :
-Audi braking guard
c::> page 92
- Tightening the safety be lts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav -
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense rear (vehicles with Audi
side assist*)
Audi p re sense rear includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, the likeli ­
hood of a rear -end collis ion with the vehicle
coming from behind is also calc ulated.
If the risk
of a co llision is detected, the following
functions can be triggered :
- Tig htening the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav-
ing a small open gap)
- Adjusting the seats : the settings for the
power head restrains, the upper sections of
t he backrests and the pneumatic side bol­
s ters* are optim ized for the front seats and
the outboard rea r seats*. If a collision does
not occur, the previo us seat settings are re­
stored.
Audi pre sense plus
Audi pre sense plus includes the funct ions in
A udi pre sense front and Audi pre sense rea r.
Error message
Audi pre sense: not available
Preventative passenger protection is not avail­
able. See your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected .
A WARNING
-Audi pre sense cannot overcome the laws
of physics.
It cannot prevent a collision. Do
not let the increased safety provided
tempt you to take risks. This will increase
the r isk o f a coll is ion and serio us personal
injuries.
- The sensors cannot always detect all ob­
jects . This increases the risk of a colli ­
sion.
- Aud i p re sense does not detect peop le or
animals or objects that are crossing the
vehicle's path
c::> page 86.
-The radar sensor's vis ion can be reduced
by heavy rain, ice, snow, heavy road spray
and reflections from guard rails, tunnel
entrances, etc. These and similar condi­
tions can prevent vehicles from be ing ac­
curately detected and in some cases they
may not be detected at all.
Ill>

190 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facture rs for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event . EDR's are sometimes ca lled "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
A lthough your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for example, eng ine function, em is­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic contro l modules also record
vehicle-re lated data during normal vehicle op­
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded over a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a system fault or other
cond ition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may re late to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded with special equip­
ment.
Electronic stabilization
program (ESP)
Description
ESP helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESP detects certain difficult driving situat
ions, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw) out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steer ing assistance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
liJ in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESP is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESP has limitations.
It is important to remem­
ber that ESP cannot overcome the laws of
physics. It will not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESP may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is suddenly covered w ith water,
slush or snow, ESP cannot perform the same
way it wou ld on the dry surface . If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESP will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con­
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered.
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESP cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult driving situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESP is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic; and weather condit ions. ESP can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the available traction, or keep a ve hicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESP improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle unde r con­
trol and on the road during extreme maneu­
vers by using the driver's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection . If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESP can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESP .

192 Intelligent technology
-ABS and ASR on ly work correctly when
a ll four wh eels are eq uipped w ith ident i­
ca l tires. Different tire s iz es can lead to a
reduct ion in engine power.
- You may hear no ises when the systems
described are working.
- If the indicator light
DJ or m (USA
models) ;tl] (Canada models) appea rs,
there may be a malfunct ion
c::;, page 19,
c::;, page
18 .
Switching on and off
ESP turns on au toma tically when you s tar t
the engine .
Fig . 170 Cen ter con sole w it h ESP OF F button
Switching ASR off (sport mode)
In ce rtain situat io ns, yo u can switch ASR and
E SP into sport mode by pressing the button
l!I
c::;, fig. 170. The indicato r light fl comes on
and the mess age
C aution! Limit ed driving
s tability
appears . ASR deact ivates comp lete ly
and the assistance prov ided by the ESP sys ­
tem is limited. Switch to sport mod e onl y
when your d riv ing sk ills, traffic and weather
conditions permit.
In some situations, it may be useful to switc h
ASR off to let the wh eels slip. Example:
- Rocking the vehicle bac k and forth when it is
stuck
- Driv ing in deep snow or on loose ground
- Driving with snow cha ins
Sw itching ASR on
Press the button I!] aga in. The message ESP /
ASR: on appears .
A WARNING
-Drive whee ls can sp in and you can lose
control of the vehicle more eas ily when
ASR and ESP are in sport mode, especial­
ly whe n the road is slippery .
- Sw itch to sport mode only when your
d riving skills, traff ic and weather condi­
tions perm it.
@ Tips
You cannot sw itch sport mode on whe n
adaptive c ruise co ntrol* is worki ng.
Braking
General information
Wha t affe cts braking effi cien cy?
-
Operating conditions and driving habits
The brakes o n today's automobiles are still
s u bjec t to wear, depending largely on operat­
ing cond it ions and driving hab its
c::;, &. . On ve­
hicles that a re e it h er dr iven most ly in stop­
and-go city t ra ffi c or are dr iven hard, the
brake pads should be checked by yo ur au thor­
ized Audi dea ler mo re often than specified in
t h e
Warranty & Maintenance booklet. Failure
to have your brake pads inspected can result in reduced brake performance.
On steep slopes , you sho uld use the braking
effect of the engine. This way, you prevent un­
necessary wear on the brake system . If you
must use your b rakes, do not hold t he brakes
down continuous ly. Pump the brakes at in ter­
vals .
Moisture or road salt
U nd er certain conditions, for example, when
driving through water or very heavy rain, or
even after washing your veh icle, the braking
effect can be reduced due to moisture (or in
freez ing cond itions ice) on the brake pads . A
few caref ul brake applicat ions should dry off
t h e b rake pads or remove a ny ice coatings .
The effectiveness of the brakes ca n be reduced
when the vehicle is d riven on a sa lt-covered
ll>

Replacing wh eels/ tire s
Vehicles w ith All Wheel Dr ive must always
have tir es of the same size. Also avoid tires
with different tread depths. For details see
pag e¢
page 249 , N ew tires and replacing
tires and wheels .
Off-Road driving?
Your Aud i does not have enough ground clear­
ance to be used as an off -road vehicle. It is
therefor e best to avoid rough tracks and un ­
even terrain as much as possible . Also refer to
¢ page 198.
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to road and traf­
fic condit ions . Do not let the extra safety
afforded by All Wheel Drive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
- Although the All Wheel Drive is very ef­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is limited by t ire traction . Yo u
should the refore not dr ive at excessive
speeds on icy or s lippery road surfaces.
- On wet road su rfaces, be ca reful not to
dr ive too fast because the front wheels
cou ld beg in to s lide on top of the wa ter
(aquaplaning). If this sho uld occ ur, you
will have no warning from a sudden in­
crease in engine speed as with a front­
wheel drive vehicle. A lways drive at
speeds wh ich are suited to the road con­
ditions -risk of crash .
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimi zes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the engine.
If a vehicle wit h a conventional energy system
i s not driven for a long period of time , the bat­
tery is discharged by idling cu rrent consumers
(e .g. immobilizer) . In certain circumstances it
can result in there being ins ufficient energy
avai lab le to start the engine.
Int ellig ent technolog y 195
Intelligent energy management in your vehi ­
cle hand les the distribution of e lectrica l ener­
gy. Start ing ability is marked ly improved and
the life of the b attery is extended.
Bas ica lly, energy management consis ts of
batte ry diagnosi s, idling cur rent m anage­
ment
and dynamic energ y management.
Battery diagnosis
Battery diagnosis continuously de termines
the state of the battery . Sensors de termine
batte ry voltage, battery current and battery
temperature . This determines the current
state of charge and the power of the batte ry .
Idling current management
Id lin g cur ren t management reduces energy
consumption while the vehicle is standing.
With the ig nition switched off, it controls the
energy supply to the various electrical compo­ nents. Data from battery diagnos is is cons id­
ered.
Depend ing on the battery's state of cha rge ,
individua l cons umers are gradually turned off
to prevent excessive discharge of the batte ry
and th us maintain starting capability .
Dynamic energy manag ement
While the ve hicle is being driven, dynamic en ­
ergy management distrib utes the energy ge n­
erated according to the needs of the individ u­
al components . It regulates consumption, so
that more electrical energy is not being used
than is being generated and ensures an opti­
mal state of charge for the battery .
@ Tips
-But even energy management cannot
negate the limits of physics. Consider
t hat the powe r and l ife of a battery are
limited.
- If start ing ability is threatened, the indi­
cator light
(•i appears ¢ page 16, c:::3
Battery.
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196 Intelligent technology
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capability.
The battery is severely taxed in short-distance
driving, in city traffic and during the cold time
of year. Abundant electr ical energy is re­
qu ired, but only a little is generated. It is also
cr itical if the e ngine is not run ning and elect ri­
cal components a re turned on. In th is in­
stance energy is being consumed but none is be ing generated .
I t is in precisely these situations that you w ill
notice energy managemen t actively regulat ­
ing the distrib ution of energy.
Vehicle stands for an ext ended period
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of severa l days or weeks, elect rical compo­
nents are grad ually cu t back o r switched off .
This reduces energy co nsu mption and main­
tains starting cap abili ty
over a longer period.
Be aware that when you unlock you r vehicle,
some of the conve nience funct ions may not
ope rate, such as the Convenience key , the re­
mote cont ro l or the power seat adjustment .
The convenience functions will be availab le
aga in when you switch on the ignition and
start the engine .
With the engine turned off
If yo u lis ten to the radio, for example, with
the eng ine turned off or use othe r MM I fu nc­
tions, the battery is being discharged .
I f sta rting capability is jeopa rdized due to e n­
e rgy consumpt ion, the fo llow ing warning ap­
pears in the MMI disp lay :
Please start th e engine soon or th e syst em
will be turned off .
The warning ind icates that the system will be
turned off automatically after 3 m inu tes .
If
you wish to cont inu e us ing the functions , you
have to start the engine.
With the engine running
Although e lec trical energy is generated when
the vehicle is being driven, the battery can be ­
come discharged. This happens mostly when
li ttle energy is being generated and a g reat
deal consumed and the battery's state of
charge is not optimal.
To b ring the energy ba lance back into equili­
brium, consumers which req uire especially
l arge amounts of energy are temporar ily cut
back or sw itched off. Heat ing systems i n par­
ticular require a great deal of energy. If you
notice , for example, that the heated seats* o r
the heated rear window are not heating, they have been temporarily cut back or sw itched
off . These systems w ill be available again as
soon as the ene rgy balance has been restored.
You w ill also notice that engi ne idle speed has
been increased slightly . Thi s is normal and not
a cause for con ce rn. By inc reas ing eng ine id le
speed the addi tional energy requ ired is gener­
ated and the battery is charged.

Driving through water
on roads
Note the following to avoid vehicle damage
when driving through water, for example on
flooded roads:
- The water must not be any higher than the
bottom of the vehicle body.
- Do not drive faster than wa lking speed.
A WARNING
After driving through water, mud, slush,
etc., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because of wet brake rotors and pads. Dry
the brakes first by braking carefully to re­
store the full b raking effect.
([) Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmiss ion, suspension or electrical sys­
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through water.
- Check the depth of the water before dr iv­
i ng through it.
- Do not stop the veh icle, drive in reverse
or switch the engine off when driving
through water .
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may create waves that raise the water
level and make it too deep for your vehi­
cle to drive th rough safely.
- Avoid dr iving through sa lt water because
i t can cause corrosion.
Dri vin g and en vironm ent 199
Operate your vehicle
economically and
minimize pollution
General
Your personal style of driving will determine
the economy of your vehicle, as well as ex­
haust and noise levels.
Fuel economy, environmenta l impact, and
wear on your eng ine, brakes and tires largely
depend on three factors:
- your personal d riving style
- operating conditions
- technical limitat ions
If you ant ic ipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, you can easily cut your
fuel consumpt ion by 10-15 percent . This sec­
tion w ill give you some tips on how you can
help the environment and your pocketbook.
@ Tips
The consumption estimates as published by ENVIRONMENTAL PROTEC TION AGENCY
( E PA) and Tra nspo rt Canada may not corre­
spond to your actual consump tion on the
road, which will vary depending upon vehi ­
cle load and speed, road and weather con­
ditions, trip length, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout
ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac­
celerating.
.,. Avoid unnecessary accelerating and braking.
Vehicles use the most f uel when they are ac­
ce le rating. If you ant icipate what is going to
happen next, you will need to brake less and,
thus, acce lerate less . Let the vehicle coast
whenever possible - for examp le when you see
that the next traff ic light is red.
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