2011 AUDI S8 parking brake

82 On the road
-Occasiona l noises when the parking
brake is applied and re leased are norma l
and are not a cause for concern .
- When the vehicle is parked, the parking
brake goes through a se lf-test cycle at
regular intervals. Any assoc iated noises
are norma l.
Parking
Various rules apply to prevent the parked ve­
hicle from rolling away accidentally.
P ar king
,. Stop the vehicle w ith the foot brake.
,. Pull the switch© to apply the parking
brake.
,. Se lect the
P se lector lever position
9 page 112.
,. Turn the eng ine off q _&. .
In addition on incline s and grad es
,. Turn the steering whee l so that your vehicle
wi ll ro ll against the curb in case it should
start to move .
A WARNING
-When you leave your veh icle -even if on­
ly briefly -always take the ignition key
with you. This applies particularly when children remain in the veh icle. Otherw ise
the ch ildren could sta rt t he engine, re­
lease the p arking brake or operate e lec­
trical equipment (e .g. power windows) .
T he re is the risk of an accident.
- When the vehicle is loc ked, no one -par­
t icu la rly not children sho uld remain in
the vehicle . Locked doors make it more
difficult for emergency workers to get in­
to the vehicle -putt ing lives at risk.
Start ing from rest
The starting assist function ensures that the
parking brake is released automatically upon starting.
Stopping and appl ying par kin g brake
,. Pull the switch© to apply the parking
brake.
St arting and automatic ally rel easi ng the
parking b rake
,. When you start to dr ive as usual, the park ­
ing brake is automat ically released and your
veh icle beg ins to move.
When stopping at a traffic signal or stopping in city traffic, the parking brake can be ap­
plied . The vehicle does not have to be held
with the footbrake . The parking brake elimi ­
nates the tendency to creep w ith a dr ive range
engaged. As soo n as you d rive off as usual,
the pa rking brake is re leased automatically
and the vehicle s tarts to move.
Sta rting on slopes
When starting on inclines, the starting assist
prevents the veh icle from u nintent ionally roll­
i ng back. The braking fo rce of the par kin g
brake is not re leased unti l su ff ic ient d riving
f orce has been built up a t the wheels.
(D Tips
Fo r safety reasons, the pa rking bra ke is re­
l eased automatically o nly when t he d riv­
er's safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Starting off with a trailer
To prevent rolling back unintentionally on an
incline, do the following:
,. Keep the sw itch(®) pulled and depress the
accelerator. The pa rking brake stays applied
and p revents the vehicle from roll ing back­
ward .
,. You can release the switch© once you are
sure that you are developing enough for­
ward momentum at the whee ls as you de ­
press the acce lerator.

Depending on the weight of the r ig (vehicle
and trai ler) and the severity of the incline, you
may roll backwards as you start. You can pre­
vent roll ing backwards by holding the parking
brake switch(®) pulled out and accelerating -
just as you would when starting on a hill with
a conventional hand brake.
Emergency braking
In the event that the conventional brake sys­
tem fails or locks.
... In an emergency, pull the switch(®) and
continue to pull it to slow your vehicle down
with the parking brake.
... As soon as you release t he sw itch (®) or ac-
ce lerate, the braking p rocess stops.
If you pull the sw itch(®) and hold it above a
speed of about 5 mph (8 km/h), t he emergen­
cy braking fu nction is in itiated . The vehicle is
b raked at all four wheels by activating the hy­
d ra u lic bra ke system. The b rake performance
i s simi lar to making an emergency stop
c::> &. .
In order not to activate the emergency brak­
ing by m ista ke, an audible warning tone (b uz­
z er) sou nds when the switch®> is pulled. As
soon as the switch(®) is released, or the acce l­
erator pedal is dep ressed, emergency brak ing
stops .
A WARNING
Emergency braking should only be used i n
an emergency, when the normal foot brake
has failed or the brake pedal is obstructed.
Using the parking brake to perform emer­
gency braking will slow you r vehicle down
as if you had made a fu ll brake applicat ion.
T he laws of physics can not be s uspended
even w ith ESP and its associated compo­
nents (ABS, ASR, EDL). In corners and
when road or weather conditions are bad,
a full brake application can cause the vehi­
cle to skid or the rear end to break away -
r isking an accident.
On th e ro ad 83
Speed warning system
Introduction
The speed warning system helps you to stay
under a specified maximum speed .
The speed warning system warns you if you
are exceeding the maximum speed that you
have set. You will hear a warning tone when
you r speed exceeds the stored value by ap­
proximately 3 mph (3 km/h) . An indicator
li ght . (USA
models) ;a (Canada mode ls) in
the instr ument cluster d isp lay al so tur ns on at
the same time. The indicator light . /.
turns off when the speed decreases be low the
stored maxim um speed .
Se tting a t hreshold is recommended if you
would like to be rem inded w hen you reach a
certain maximum speed. Situations where you
may want to do so incl ude driv ing in a co untry
with a genera l speed limit or if there is a
specified maximum speed for winter tires.
(D Tips
Even though your vehicle is eq uipped w ith
a speed warn ing system, you sho uld still
watch the speedometer to make sure you
are not dr iv ing faster than the speed limit.
Setting the threshold
You can set, change and delete the threshold
in the MMI.
... Select: !CAR ! function button > Car systems
contro l button > Dri ver ass ist > Speed warn­
ing .
You can set any threshold between 20 mph
(30 km/h) and 150 mph (240 km/h) . Sett ings
can each be adjusted in increments of 5 mph
(10 km/h).

94 Adaptive cruise control and braking guard
The road exceeds the maxim um possible an­
gle for proper adaptive cruise contro l opera­
tion. Adaptive cruise control is sw itched off .
ACC: only selector lever positions D, S or M
available
Select the D, Sor M selector lever position.
ACC: unavailable at this time. Parking brake
set
The adaptive cruise control system switches
off automatically if the parking brake is set .
ACC: unavailable at this time. ESP interven­
tion
This message appears if the Electronic Stabili­
zation Program (ESP) is working to he lp stabi ­
lize the vehicle. In this case, adaptive cruise
control switches off automatically.
ACC : Please take over
This message appears when adapt ive cr uise
control can not set the parking brake. Press
the brake pedal to prevent the vehicle from
r olling .
•••
Three wh ite dots appear if a setting cannot be
selected with the operat ing lever . For exam­
ple, this happens if adaptive cru ise control
cannot resume driving in stop-and-go traffic
because one of the conditions required for
ACC to wor k is not prese nt.
Door open
The adaptive cruise control system cannot
switch on when a door is open.
Stationary object ahead
This message appears if you wou ld like to
switch adaptive cruise control on and there is
a stationary veh icle or obstacle directly ahead
of your vehicle.

~ You may need to release the selector lever
lock depending on which se lector lever posi­
t ion is selected and which one you would
like to select ¢
page 113, Selector lever
lock .
~ To engage the nearest selector lever posi ­
t ion, move the selector lever forward/back
until you feel the first pressure po int. The
selector lever will return to its original posi ­
tion.
~ T o skip over one (or two) se lector lever posi­
tions, move the se lector lever past the first
(and second) pressure point into the desired
pos it ion. The selector lever will return to its
original position.
F or example, to move directly from the
D se­
lector lever position to
P when stopping the
vehicle, you can shift past the
N and R selec­
tor lever positions.
Selector lever lock
The selector lever lock prevents you from se­
lecting a position unintentionally, causing the
vehicle to roll. When engaging some selector
lever positions, you must press the button on
the selector lever¢
fig. 119 and/or press the
brake pedal.
You must press the brake pedal to engage a
selector lever position when the engine is run­
ning while the vehicle is stationary. The ar­
rows ¢
fig. 120 indicate when you need to
press the button on the selector lever.
The selector lever does not lock if you shift from
D to R within one second. This allows
you to "rock" the vehicle to free it when it is
stuck .
P- Park
The whee ls are locked in this position. Only
shift into park when the vehicle is stationary
¢ & .To engage the
P selector lever position,
press the button on the selector lever and
shift into the
P position .
You can only shift out of park when the eng ine
is running and you are pressing the brake ped­
al. Press the button on the selector lever to
Automatic Transmission 113
release the parking lock and select the desired
selector lever position.
P engages automatically when you switch the
engine off while
D, Sor R is engaged or in
manua l mode .
If you switch the eng ine off whe n N is engag­
ed, the transmission remains in
N for approxi­
mately 30 minutes and then Pis engaged.
You must use the emergency release proce­
dure to release the parking lock before towing
the vehi cle ¢
page 116.
R- Reverse
The reverse gear is engaged in this pos it ion .
Only select reverse when the vehicle is sta­
tionary and the engine is running at id le speed
¢ & -To engage the
R selector leve r position,
press the button on the selector lever, press
the brake pedal and move the selector lever
into the
R position.
T he back-up lights turn on when you select
the
R selector lever position while the engine
' ' 1s ru nning .
N -Neutral
The transmission is in idle in this pos it ion. To
engage the
N selector lever position, press
the button on the selector lever and shift int o
the
N posi tion.
If you switch the engine off whe n N is engag­
ed, the transmission remains in
N for approxi­
mately 30 minutes and then Pis engaged.
The vehicle cannot be locked when the selec ­
tor lever is in the
N position .
When dr iving through an automat ic car wash,
first select the
N position and then switch the
engine off¢
page 207.
D - Drive
In this position, the transmission shifts up
and down automatically depending on engine load, veh icle speed and the dynamic shift pro-
gram (DSP) .
IJJ,,

114 Automatic Tran sm iss io n
To shift from N to D when traveling at speeds
be low S km/h, press the brake pedal and se­
lect the
D se lector lever posit ion ¢ & .
Under certain condi tions such as driving in the
mountains or when towing a trailer , it may be
he lpful to switch to manual mode temporarily
to sh ift
manually to adapt to the driv ing con­
d itions
¢ page 115.
S · Sport
The S pos it ion can be selected for sporty driv­
ing . Upshifting at a higher RPM makes full use
of the engine's power .
You can on ly select the
S se lector lever posi ­
tion when Dis engaged. Move the selector
l ever back to engage the
S se lector lever posi­
tion . To select the
D selector lever position
again when
S is engaged , move the selector
lever back¢ &.
The
S selector lever position engages auto ­
matica lly when you select the dynamic mode
in Audi drive select .
A WARNING
-Never engage R or P while driving. It
cou ld cause a crash.
-
- Power is st ill transmitted to the whee ls
when the eng ine is running at idle. To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the b rake in all
selector lever positions except
P and N
when the eng ine is running. Do not inad­
vertent ly press the accelerator pedal
when the veh icle is stationary . Otherwise
the vehicle will start to move immediate­
ly . T his cou ld happen even if the parking
brake is activated.
- Before opening the hood, select the
P se­
lector lever position and set the parking
brake. Th is reduces the risk of a crash . Al­
ways read and follow the applicable
warnings¢
page 216, Engine compart­
ment .
-Never get out of the driver's seat when
the engine is runn ing . -
If you must get out of the vehicle, move
the selector lever secure ly into the P po­
sition and apply the parking brake firmly.
@ Tips
- If you unintentionally shift into the N se­
lector lever position whi le driving, take
your foot off the accelerator pedal and
wa it for the engine to slow down until it
is idling before you sh ift into Dor
S.
Driving tips
The gears shif t au toma tically.
Sta rting from a stop
.. Press and hold the brake peda l.
.. Start the engine ¢
page 79.
.. Press the b utton on the selector lever and
select the
D , Sor R selector lever position
¢page 112.
.. Wait a moment until the transmission
shifts . You will notice a slight movement
when the gear engages .
.. Release t he b rake peda l and press the acce l­
erator pedal ¢,& .
Stopping temporarily
.. Press the brake pedal to stop the veh icle, for
example at a traffic l ight . Do not press the
accelerator peda l when do ing th is .
.. To prevent the vehicle from ro lling when you
s tart dr iving, set the par kin g b rake when
s topping on la rge incl ines ¢
A_.
.. The parking brake will release automatica lly
and the vehicle will start moving once you
press the acce lerator pedal.
Parking
.. Press and hold the bra ke peda l¢ ,& .
.. Set the parking brake .
.. To engage the
P selector leve r position,
press the button on the selector leve r and
shift into the
P position ¢ page 112.
When park ing on a level su rface, simp ly place
the se lector lever in the
P position. On slopes,
activate the par king brake first and then move
Iii>

the selector lever to the P position. This p re­
vents too much stress from being placed on
the locking mechanism .
.&_ WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS c> .&. in Se­
lecting a selector lever position on
page
114 .
-Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever pos ition
wh ile the vehicle is stat ionary and the
engine is running . This could result in a
crash .
- Never engage
R or P while dr iving . It
cou ld cause a crash .
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels when the eng ine is running at idle. To
prevent the vehicle from "creep ing", you
must keep your foo t on the b rake in all
selector lever positions ex cept
P and N
when the engine is running . Do not inad­
vertent ly press the accelerator pedal
when the vehicle is stationary. Otherwise
the vehicle will start to move immediate ­
ly, even if the parking brake is set. This
cou ld result in a crash .
Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
When you press the accelerator pedal down
beyond the resistance point, the automatic
transmission downshifts into a lower gear, d e­
pending on vehicle speed and engine RPM. It
shift s up into the next higher gear once the
maximum specified engine RPM is reached .
.&_ WARNING
Please note that the wheels could spin on
slick or slippery roads when kick-down is
act ive .
Autom atic Tra nsmi ssi on 115
Shifting manually
T he shift paddles allow the driver to shift the
gears manually .
Fig . 1 21 Steer ing w hee l: s hifting man ually
... To shift to a higher or lowe r gear temporari­
ly , tap the
0 or O shift padd le c> fig. 121 .
... To switch manua l mode on, press the~
button .
M and the gear that is current ly en­
gaged @appears in the instrument cluste r
display
c> page 112, fig. 118.
... To shift up one gear, tap the righ t shift pad­
dle
0 c> fig . 121 .
... To sh ift down one gear, tap the left shift
paddle Q .
... To swi tch manua l mode off, press the~
button aga in , or
... Move the selector lever back and release it .
When you accelerate o r reduce the speed, the
transmission automa tical ly shifts into the cor ­
rect gear sho rtly before reaching the RPM lim­
it. If you select a lower gear than the one c ur­
rently shown in the display, the automatic
transmiss ion will on ly shift down once there is
no danger of exceeding the maximum RPM .
T he engine braking effect increases when yo u
downshift when going downhill.
Transmission malfunction
[G) Transmiss ion : please press the brake ped ­
a l and select the po sit ion again
Press the brake pedal and select the desired
selector lever position again. You can then
continue driving.
[G] Tran smi ssion h ot: plea se m odify driving
~le
~

116 Automatic Transmission
The transmission temperature has increased
significantly due to the sporty driving manner.
Drive in a less sporty manne r until the tem­
perat ure returns to the norma l range and the
indicator light switches of.
[O] Gearbo x malfunction: you can continue
driving
T here is a sys tem m alfu nction in the tr ansmis­
sion. You may continue driving. Drive to your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified repair fa­
cility soon to have t he mal function corrected .
[o]tli] Gearbox malfunction: you can contin­
ue driving in D only until engine is off
There is a sy stem ma lf u nction in t he transmis ­
sion . T he tra nsmi ssion i s sw itch ing t o emer­
gency mo de. If yo u t urn t he eng ine off, you
will not be a ble to se lect any other se lector
leve r positions after starting the engine again .
Drive to yo ur autho rized Audi dealer o r quali ­
f ied repair fac ility immediately to have the
malfunction cor rected.
[O] Gearbox malfunction: you can continue
driving (limited fun ction ality )
There is a sys tem m alfu nction in the tr ansmis­
sion. The transmission is sw itching to emer ­
gency mo de. Th is mode only shifts into cer ­
tain gears or will not longer shift at all . The
engine may sta ll. Drive to your authori zed Au­
d i dea ler or qualified repa ir facility immed i­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
[ojtli] Gea rbox malfunction: no reverse gear
(you can continue driving)
There is a sys tem ma lf u nction in t he transmis ­
sion. The transm issi on is sw itchi ng to emer­
gency mode. Th is mode only sh ifts into cer­
tain gea rs or will not longer sh ift at a ll. You
cannot engage the reverse gear . Drive to y our
author ized Audi dealer immed iately to have
the m alfu nct ion co rrected .
[O] Vehicle may roll! Cannot sh ift to P. Please
apply parking brake
- The pa rking lock was released using t he
eme rgency release
c:> page 116. Or -
The parking b rake canno t engage au toma ti­
cally . Drive to yo ur a uth o rize d Audi deale r or
qua lified repair fac ility immediately to have
the ma lfu nction corrected .
[O] Gearbox malfunction: Stop and shift to P
Do not con tinue dr iving . S e lect the P sele ctor
l ever p osition and see your auth o riz ed A udi
de aler or qua lifi ed rep air fac ility for ass is ­
tance .
Parking lock emergency release
The p ark ing lock mu st be relea sed using the
emerge ncy release before towing the vehicle .
@)
Fig. 122 Driver 's s ide footwell: releas ing t he pa rk in g
l ock u sin g the eme rge ncy re lease
Fig . 1 2 3 Drive r's side foo twell: rese tt in g t he park ing
l ock
T he eme rgency release is located under the
floor mat on t he driver's side . You operate the
emergency release from t he d river 's seat.
Releasing the parking lock us ing the
emergency release
.. To prevent the vehicle from ro lling uninten­
tionally, set the parking brake(®)
c:> page 81
or press t he brake pedal.
.. There are two slits on the cover. Posit io n the
scr ewdrive r from the vehicle too l kit i n one
IJI,

of the slits on the cover and pry the cover
off.
~ Pull the band @ in the direction of the ar­
row until the release lever locks in place
¢fig . 122.
~ Fold the upper section of the release lever
down into the recess .
Resetting the parking lock
~ Press the button @ and the release lever at
the same time. You can now push the lever
back into its original position . Make sure the
lever locks in place
¢fig. 123 .
~ Install the cover .
The indicator light
[O] and the N position indi­
cator in the instrument cluster turn on when
the park ing lock is released using the emer­
gency re lease . The message
Risk of rolling! P
not possible. Please set the parking brake
al­
so appears.
_& WARNING
If you release the parking lock using the
emergency release, secure your vehicle
with the parking brake or the brake pedal
if the parking brake is not working. The ve­
hicle can roll away if it is not secured and
cause a crash.
-
Automatic Transmission 11 7