2011 AUDI S8 towing

Trailer lo ad di stri bu tion
Be s ure the load in the trai ler is held securely
in place to prevent it from shifting forward,
backward or sideways.
N eve r allow a p assenger to rid e in a tr ailer
,=:, .&. in Driving instructions on page 204.
Engine cooling s ystem
Towing a tra iler makes the eng ine work hard ­
er . It is important that the cooling system's
pe rformance is up to the addit ional load .
Make sure that the cooling system has enough
fluid.
Tire p res sure
When tow ing a trailer, inflate the t ires of your
vehicle to the co ld tire pressure listed under
" Full load " on the label located on the dr iver's
side B-pillar (v is ible when the door is open).
I nflate trailer tires to tra iler and t ire manufac­
turers' specifications.
Lights
Check to make sure both veh icle and trailer
lights are working properly .
Safety chain s
Be sure trailer safety cha ins are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve ­
h icle . Leave enough slack in the chains to per­
mit turn ing corners . When you install safety
cha ins, make sure they w ill not drag on the
r oad when yo u are driving.
The chains should cross under the trailer
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
sepa rat ion from the hitch .
Adjusting the air su spens ion an d damping
s y stem
Ensure the follow ing b efore coupling the trai l­
e r and
b efo re adjusting the tongue weight on
the trailer:
- For the veh icle to be at the normal level, the
A uto or Comfort driv ing mode must be se­
lected
,=:, page 10 7, Selecting the driving
mode. The vehicle must a lso not be raised
,=:, page 108 .
Trailer to win g 203
-If the trailer was detected automatically, a
trailer hitch wi ll appear on the veh icl e@ in
the
Aud i dr ive se lect menu (MMI > ICARI
function button)
,=:, fig. 171. If this does no t
happen , turn the towing mode on in the
MMI. Select: I CAR I funct ion button>
C ar
sys tem s
control button > Vehicle setting s >
Air su sp en sion: t owing > O n.
- Turn towing mode off if you secure a carrier
system such as a bicycle rack on the trailer
hitch. Se lect in the M MI: ICAR !function but­
ton >
Car syste m s control button > Vehi cle
se tting s
> Air su spen sion : towin g > Off.
If you must drive under poor road conditions,
you can raise the vehicle
aft er coupling the
tra iler or
aft er adjust ing the tongue we ight
,=:, page 108.
(D Note
If you a re going to tow a t railer, you must
activate the tra iler operation mode .
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration .
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle and trailer, please note the follow ing :
.,. Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car it­
self is no t loaded.
.,. Be especially careful when passing other ve ­
hicles .
.,. Obse rve speed limits .
.,. Do not dr ive at the max imum permissib le
speed.
.,. Always app ly brakes early .
.,. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded t railer with an empty car re­
s ul ts in a highly unstable distribution of
weight. If this cannot be avoided, dr ive at very
low speeds on ly to avoid the risk of losing
steering contro l.
A "balanced " rig is easier to operate and con­
trol. This means tha t the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and
IJI>
•
•

204 Trailer towing
pe rmissible, while keep ing the trailer as light
as possible under the circumstances. Whenev­
er possib le, transfer some cargo to the lug­
gage compartment of the tow veh icle while
observing tongue load requirements and vehi­
cle load ing considerations.
Spee d
The higher the speed, the more difficult it be­
comes for the dr iver to control the rig . Do not
drive at the maximum permissible speed . Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind condit ions are unfavorable -part icu larly
when going downhill.
Reduce vehicle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest sig n of swaying.
Do not
try to stop the swaying by acc eler ating .
Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds
for vehicles towing trailers are lower than for regular vehicles.
A lways apply brakes ear ly . When driving
downhill, shift into a lower gear to use the en­
g ine braking effect to slow the vehicle. Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant t emperatu re
The coolant temperature gauge¢ page 10
must be observed carefully. The coo lant tem­
perature can increase if you drive on long in­
clines in a low gear at high engine speeds . Re­
duce your speed immed iate ly if the LEDs in
the top pa rt of the display turn o n.
For more informat ion about indicator lights,
refer to. ¢
page 15.
A WARNING
Anyone not p roperly restrained in a mov­
ing veh icle is at a much greater risk in an
accident. Never let anyone r ide in your car
who is no t prope rly wear ing the restra ints
provided by Aud i.
-
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
You r ve hicle handles d ifferently when towing
a trai le r be cause of the additional weig ht and
differen t weigh t distr ib ution. Sa fety, per fo rm­
ance and economy will great ly depend on how
carefully you load your trai ler and operate
your rig.
Be fore you act ua lly tow yo ur tra iler, p ract ice
tu rning, s topping and backing up in an area
away from t raffic . Keep practicing unti l yo u
have become completely familiar wit h the way
yo ur vehicle-tra ile r combination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is diffic ult and requires practice .
Bac king up w ith a trailer gene rally req uires
stee ring action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a tra iler.
Maintain a greater d istance between your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you . You wi ll need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you w ill need a larger than normal
turning rad ius .
When passing, remember that you cannot ac­ ce lerate as fast as you norma lly would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass. After passing, a llow
plen ty of room for your t railer before cha ng­
i ng lanes again .
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns o r rapid lane
changes .
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load ¢
page 283.

Parking on a slope
Do not pork on a slope with a trailer. If it can­
not be avoided, do so only ofter doing the fol­
lowing:
When parking:
.. Apply the foot brake .
.,. Have someone place chocks under both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels .
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes until the whee l chocks absorb the
load .
.. Turn the wheels towa rds the curb .
.. Apply the parking brake .
.. Se lect the
P se lector lever position.
When restarting after parking:
.. Apply the foot brake .
.,. Start the engine .
.. Select the
D se lector lever position .
.. Release the parking brake and slowly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks .
.. Stop and have someone retrieve the wheel
chocks.
If you move the selector lever of the auto­
matic transmission to
P before applying
the parking brake and before blocking the
wheels, you may have to use more force
later to move the lever out of the
P posi­
tion .
Trailer towing 205
•
•

Determining correct load limit
Use the example below to cal­
culate the total weight of the
passengers and luggage or oth­
er things that you plan to trans­
port so that you can make sure
that your vehicle will not be overloaded.
Steps for Determining
Correct Load Limit
1. Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OC­
CUPANTS AND CARGO
SHOULD NEVER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX LBS" on your ve­
hicle's placard (tire inflation
pressure label)
¢ page 242,
fig. 184.
2. Determine the combined
weight of the driver and pas­
sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined
weight of the driver and pas­ sengers from
"XXX" kilo­
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
¢ page 242, fig. 184.
4. The resulting figure equals
the available amount of car­
go and luggage load capaci­
ty. For example, if the
"XXX"
amount equals 1400 lbs.
Tires and wheels
and there will be five 150
lbs. passengers in your vehi­
cle, the amount of available
cargo and luggage load ca­ pacity is 650 lbs. (1400-7 50
(5
X 150) = 650 lbs.)
5. Determine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle.
That weight may not safely exceed the available cargo
and luggage load capacity
calcu lated in Step
4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing
a trailer, load from your trail­
er will be transferred to your
vehicle. Consult this manual
to determine how this re­
duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle.
,...Check the tire sidewall
(¢page 249, fig. 188) to de­
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire.
247
•
• '

260 What do I do now ?
Vehicle tool kit
Vehicle tool kit and jack
The vehicle tool kit is located in the luggage
compartment under the cargo floor cover .
Fig. 193 Luggage compartmen t: ca rgo floo r cover
folded upwar d
Fig. 194 Trunk lid: Vehicle tool k it
• Lift the cargo floor by the plastic handle.
• Hook the handle into the luggage compart­
men t weather strip
c> fig . 193.
• Remove the spare wheel to reach the vehicle
tool kit .
• Remove the foam p iece .
The onboard tool kit includes:
- Hooks to remove the wheel covers* or whee l
hub covers
- Plastic hook to remove whee l bolt covers*
- Wheel bolt wrench
- Alignment p in for changing wheels
- Screwdriver with reversible blade
- Towing loop
- Jack
Before storing the jack, make sure it is wound
back down as fa r as it will go.
A WARNING
-Improper use of the vehicle jack can cause
serious personal injuries .
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten wheel bolts, since the bolts can­
not attain the necessary tighten ing tor­
que if you use the hex head, potentially
causing an acc ident .
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on­
ly for your vehicle model. Under no c ir­
cumstances should it be used to lift
heavy veh icles or othe r loads; you risk in­
ju ring yo urself.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, wh ich could cause an ac ciden t.
- Support the vehicle securely with appro ­
priate stands if work is to be performed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there
is a potentia l risk for injury.
- Never use the ja ck supplied with your Au­
di on another vehicle, particularly on a
heavier one. The jack is only suitable for
use on the vehicle it came with.
(D Tips
- Some of the onboard items listed above
are provided on certain models only or
are optional ext ras .
- Before yo u can raise your vehicle using
the jack, you must activate the jacking mode
c::> page 265 .

262 What do I do now ?
-Loose items in the passenger compar t­
ment can cause serious personal inj ury
during hard braking or in an acc ident.
- Never store the inflatable spa re tire or
jack and tools in the passenger com­
partment .
- Always s to re a ll jack ing equipmen t,
too ls, and the inflatab le spa re tire in
the l uggage compa rtment .
- Tighten the kn ur led retaining screw for
the inflatable spare tire sec urely.
Spare wheel
Applies to vehicles: with spare wheel
The spare wheel is stored in the wheel well
underneath the floor panel in the luggage
compartment.
Fi g. 1 96 Lu ggage co mp artm ent: spare whee l
Taking out the spa re wh eel
.. Lift the cargo floor by the plastic handle
¢ fig. 196 .
.. Hook the hand le into the luggage compart­
men t wea ther s trip.
.. Tu rn the l arge screw
¢ fig. 196 coun ter­
clockwise .
.. Take out the spare tire .
.,. Unhook the ca rgo floor before clos ing the
rear lid .
Securing the replaced tire
.. Place the wheel with tire in the sp are wheel
well and secure the wheel with the large
sc rew .
.,. Unhoo k the ca rgo f loor before clos ing the
r ear lid.
A WARNING
-Loose items in the passenger compart-
ment can cause serious persona l injury
d uring hard b rak ing o r in an accident .
- Never store the spa re wheel or jack and
too ls in the passenger compartment .
- Always store all jack ing equipment,
tools, and the spare wheel in the luggage
compa rtment .
- Tighten the knurled retaining screw for
the spare wheel securely .
@ Tips
Check the inflation pressure of the spare
tire periodically to keep the t ire ready for
use.
Changing a wheel
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang­
ing a wheel.
.,. After you experience a t ire failur e, pull the
car we ll away from mov ing traffic and try to
re ach
level ground before you stop ¢ .&,.
.. All passengers should lea ve th e car and
move to a safe location (for instance, b ehind
the guardrail) ¢
_A .
.. Engage the pa rking brake to prevent your
ve hicle from rolling uninten tionally ¢
_A .
.. Move selecto r le ver to pos ition P ¢ _A .
.,. If you are towing a tra iler, unhitch the trailer
from your ve hicle .
.,. Ta ke the
jack a nd the spare tire out of the
luggage compartmen t¢
page 260,
¢ page 261.
A WARNING
You o r your passengers could be i nju red
while changing a wheel if you do not fo l­
l ow these sa fety precaut ions:
- If you have a flat tire, move a safe dis­
tance off the road. Turn off the engine,
turn the eme rgency flashers on and use
-

Emergency situations
General
This chapter i s intended for trained emer­
gency crews and working personnel who have the necessary tools and equipment to
perform these operations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
CD Note
Ve hicles w ith an automatic tra nsmission
cannot be started by pus hing o rtowi ng.
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary, the engine can be started by
connecting it to the battery of another vehi ­
cle.
If the engine shou ld fail to start because of a
discha rged o r wea k battery, the battery can be
connected to the battery o f
another vehicle,
using a
pair of jumper cables to start the en­
g ine.
Jumper c ables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently la rge
c ross section to carry the starter c urrent safe­
l y . Refer to the man ufacturer's specifications.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated te rm i­
na l clamps wh ic h are d istinctly mar ked:
plus(+) cable in mos t cases co lore d red
minus (-) cable
in most cases colored black .
A WARNING
Batterie s contain e lec tricity, ac id, an d gas.
Any of these can cause ve ry ser io us or fatal
inju ry. Follow the ins tructions below f or
safe han dling of your veh icle's b attery .
- Alway s sh ield you r eye s and avoid lean­
i n g over the bat te ry w henever possib le.
- A dis ch arged battery c an free ze at tem­
pera tures ju st below 3 2 °F ( 0 °C ). Befo re
Emergency situations 273
connecting a jumpe r cab le, you must
thaw the fr ozen battery c omp lete ly, ot h­
erwise it could explode.
- Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes
or skin. Fl ush any contacted area with
wate r immediately .
- Improper use of a booster battery to start a vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batter ies genera te exp losive gas­
es. Keep spar ks, flame and lighted c iga ­
rettes away from batte ries.
- Do not try to jump start any ve hicle w ith
a low ac id leve l in the battery.
- The vo ltage of the booste r batte ry m ust
a lso have a 12-Vol t rating. T he capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery sho uld not be
lowe r tha n that of the discharged bat­
tery . U se of batte rie s of d iffe ren t voltage
or substantially d iffe rent "Ah" rat ing
may c au se an exp losion and persona l in ­
Ju ry.
- N ever cha rge a fro zen battery. Gas tr ap­
pe d in the i ce m ay cause a n ex plosion.
- Never cha rge or use a batte ry tha t h as
been fr ozen . T he battery case may have
be weakened.
- Us e of batter ies of differe nt voltage or
sub stant ia lly diffe ren t ca pa city (Ah) rat­
i ng may c ause an exp losion an d injury .
Th e capac ity (Ah) of the booster bat tery
should not be lower than that of the dis ­
charged batte ry .
- Before you chec k any thing in the engine
compa rtment, always read and hee d all
WARNINGS
¢page 216, Engine com­
partment.
CD Note
- App lying a higher voltage booster ba t­
tery will cause expens ive damage to se n­
sit ive e lectronic components, such as
cont rol units, relays, rad io , etc.
- There must be no electrical contact be­
tween the vehicles as otherwise current
cou ld already start to f low as soon as the
posit ive(+) term inals a re connected. ..,. •
•

-When connecting jumper cables, make
sure that they cannot get ca ught in any
moving parts in the eng ine compart­
ment .
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢
page 216, Engine com­
partment.
(D Note
Imprope r hook-up of jumper cables can r u­
in the generator.
- Always connect POSITIVE( +) to POSI ­
TIVE(+), and NEGA TIVE( -) to NEGATIVE
( - ) ground post of the battery manager
control u nit.
- Check that all sc rew plugs on the battery
ce lls are screwed in firmly. If not, tighten
pl ugs p rio r to conn ecting clamp on nega­
tive batt ery terminal.
- P lease note that the procedure for con­
nect ing a jump er cable as describe d
above applies spec ifica lly to the case of
you r vehi cle be ing j ump s tarte d. When
you are giv ing a jump star t to an othe r ve­
hicle, do
not connec t the negative( -) ca ­
b le to the negat ive (-) term inal on the
discharged battery@¢
fig. 210. In­
stead, securely connect the negative(-)
cable to e ithe r a solid metal component
that is firmly bolted t o th e engine block
or to the engine block itself.
If the bat­
te ry tha t is b eing cha rged does not vent
to the outside, es ca ping b attery gas
could ignite and ex plode!
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling f or tow­
ing .
The fo llow ing informa tion is to be us ed by
commercia l tow tr uck operators who know
h ow to ope rate thei r equipmen t sa fe ly.
Emergency s itu ations 2 7 5
- Ne ver tow your Audi. Towing will caus e
damage to the engine and tran smission.
- Never wrap the safety chain s or winch ca­
ble s around the brake lines.
- To prevent unnece ssary damage , your Audi
must be transported with a flat bed truck.
- To load the vehicle on to the fl at bed , use
the towing loop found in the vehicle tools
and attach to the front o r rear anchora ge
¢page 275 and ¢page 276.
_& WARNING
A vehicle being towed is not safe for pas ­
sengers. Never allow anyo ne to ride in a
vehicle be ing towed, for any reason.
-
Front towing loop
Only install the front towing loop when it is
needed.
F ig. 21 1 Front bu mpe r: cove r
Fig. 212 Front bu mpe r: in stall ing t he tow ing loop
There are threads located behind the right
s ide of the front b umpe r where a towing loop
can be installed. The th reads are located be­
hind a cover.
.. Remove the tow ing loop from the vehicle
t oo l kit .