2011 AUDI S8 tow

136 Driving Safely
or contact Transport Canada by
mail at:
Road Safety and Motor Vehicle
Regulation Directorate
Transport Canada
Tower C, Place de Ville,
330 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
KlA 0NS
For additional road safety infor­
mation, please visit the Road
Safety website at:
http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsaf­
ety/i ndex. htm

142 Safety belts
-The safety belt must lie flat and snug on
the occupant's upper body¢
fig. 145.
Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo­
men . Make sure the belt lies flat and
snug ¢
fig. 145 . Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri ­
ous injuries by shifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerable, soft tissue and cause serious
injury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 140.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to mak e
sure that expectant mothers always wear
saf ety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy .
Fig. 146 Safety be lt pos it ion during p regnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body¢
page 141.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly ¢
page 54, General recommenda­
tions .
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even­
ly
across the chest and pelvis ¢ fig. 146,
¢ ,&. .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢ page 140, fig. 144.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se ­
curely latched in the buckle.
A WARNING
-
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the rounding of the abdomen .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information¢
A in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 141.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety bel t wi th the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped .
Fig. 147 Releas ing the tong ue from the bu ckle
.,. Push the red release button on the buckle
¢
fig. 147 . The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle ¢ ,&. .
0 ,._
9 r ... a,
.,. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehi­
cle is moving . Doing so will increase your
risk of being injured or killed.
Adjusting safety belt height
You can adjust the height of the driver's and
front passenger's safe ty bel ts .
The safety belt height adjusters for the front
seats can be used to adjust the height of the .,..

& WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from working
properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
driver seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or place them on the seat. If the weight­
sensing mat in the passenger seat is
punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and send the
wrong information to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air­
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­
ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re­ straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop­
erly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional padding will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately registering the child restraint
-
Airbag system 153
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­
ing properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the deceleration measured by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control unit. The amount of infla­
tion of the front airbags can also be adapted
to the front seat position, depending on the
distance between the respective front seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel as registered by sensors in the seats. Crash se­
verity depends on speed and deceleration as
well as the mass and stiffness of the vehicle
or object involved in the crash.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
Iii>'
•
•

-Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth­
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer­ gency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
Q page 169. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
Q page 147, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re­
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into
the retractor .
.. Press the red button on the safety belt buck­
le . The belt tongue will pop out of the buck­
le.
.. Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position.
Always let the safety belt retract completely into its stowed position. The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with­
out the convertible locking retractor for child
restraints.
If the convertible locking retractor should be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided completely back in­
to its stowed position to deactivate this fea­
ture. If the convertible locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be­
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear.
Child Safety 181
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti­
vate the convertible locking retractor for
child restraints while the vehicle is mov­ ing. You would not be restrained and
could be seriously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 169. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 147, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simpler and more practicable way
to attach the child restraint on the vehicle
seat, Federal regulations require special lower
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho­
rages .
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LATCH system for " Lower Anchorages and
Tethers for Children."
Forward-facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements .
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the
performance of the child restraint and its abil­
ity to protect the child in a collision. Installing
a child restraint that requires a top tether ..,. •
•

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 .

ESP includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock brake assist system (ABS), brake as­
sist system, anti -slip regulation (ASR), elec­
tronic differential lock (EDL), dynamic steer­
ing* and electronic interaxle differential lock*.
ESP is switched on all the t ime . In certa in sit­
uations when you need less traction, you can
sw itch
off ASR by pressing the button above
the selector lever. Be sure to switch ASR on
again when you no longer need less traction.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braking. The vehicle can still be steered even during hard braking . Apply steady pres­
sure to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped­
al. A puls ing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is he lping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease brak ing
distance.
It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake pedal quickly in emer­
gency situations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal until the situation is over. In vehi­
cles with adaptive cruise control*, the brake
assist system is more sensitive if the distance
detected to the vehicle ahead is too small.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road conditions. This makes it easier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills .
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
a ll whee l drive *. This function is available up
to about 75 mph (120 km/h).
I n extreme cases, EDL automatically switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked wheel
from overheating . EDL will switch on again au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to
normal.
Intelligent technology 191
Dynamic steering*
On vehicles with dynamic steering, ESP helps
stabilize the steering in certain situations.
Electronic interaxle differential lock
function*
T he electronic interaxle differential lock func­
tion activates when driving th ro ug h curves.
Braking is targeted toward the wheels on the
inside of the curve as needed. This he lps to
minimize front whee l skid, improves traction
and allows for more precise driving through
curves .
A WARNING
- ESP, ABS, ASR, EDL, dynamic steering*
a nd the electronic interaxle differential
loc k fu nction* cannot overcome the laws
of physics. This is especially impo rtant
on slippery or wet roads.
If the systems
begin acting to stabilize your vehicle, you
should immediately change yo ur speed
to match the road and traffic conditions .
Do not let the increased safety provided
by these systems tempt you to take risks.
Doing so will increase the risk of a loss of
veh icle contro l, collision and ser ious per­
sonal injur ies.
- Always adapt your speed to road, traffic
and weather conditions. The risk of los­
ing con trol of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, espe cially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when dr iving too close to vehicles up
ahead. ESP, ABS, the brake assist system,
EDL, ASR, dynam ic steer ing* and the
electronic interaxle differentia l lock func­
tion* cannot prevent collisions.
- Always accelerate with special care on
even, smooth surfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even with
these assistance systems that cannot al­
ways he lp to reduce the risk of loss of ve­
hicle contro l.
-
•
•

road and the brakes are not used. Here too,
you shou ld clean off accumu lated salt coating
from brake discs and pads with a few carefu l
applications of the brake
c> ,&. .
Cor rosion
There may be a tendency for dirt to build up
on the brake pads and corrosion to form on
the discs if the car is not driven regularly or
only for short trips with little use of the brakes.
If the brakes are not used frequently, or if cor­ rosion has formed on the discs, it is advisable
to clean off the pads and discs by brak ing
f irmly a few times from a moderately high
speed
c> &, .
Fau lts in th e bra ke s ystem
If you should notice a sudden increase in
brake peda l travel, then one of the two brake
ci rcu its may have failed
c> ,&. .
Low brak e fluid l evel
Malfunct ions can occur in the brake system if
the brake fluid level is too low. The brake fluid
leve l is monitored electronically.
Brake lining w ear statu s
Brake lining wear may be checked by visual in­
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the openings in the whee l. If neces­
sary, the wheel may be removed for this in­
spection
c> page 262, Changing a wheel .
8_ WARNING
-You should perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of clean ing the brake
system on ly if road condit ions permit.
Other road users must not be put at r isk -
you may cause an acc ident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transmiss ion into a lower
gear or lower driving range . Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too lo ng or too often. This cou ld cause the
brakes to get hot and dimin ish b raking
effi ciency.
Int ellig ent technolog y 193
-Do not "ride the brakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when you do not intend
to brake. This may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopping distance .
- Under certain cl imatic and operat ing
conditions such as passing through wa­
ter, dr iv ing in heavy rain or after washing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the
b rakes can be reduced. In winte r, ice can
accumulate on the brake pads , lin ings,
discs and drums . Carefu lly app ly brakes
for a test . Brakes will dry and ice coat­
ings wi ll be cleaned off after a few care­
fu l brake applications.
- Driving for an extended period of time on
salt-covered roads without using your
brakes can a lso affect braking efficiency.
Clean off accumu lated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few careful
brake applications .
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler, be sure the air
f low to the front brakes is not obstruct­
ed. Otherw ise the brake system could
overheat reduc ing the effectiveness of
the entire brake system.
- Failure of one b rake circuit will impai r
the braking capab ility result ing in an in­
creased stopping distance. Avoid driving
the vehicle and have it towed to the near­
est A udi dealer or qualified workshop .
Brake booster
The brake booster adds extra braking power.
The brake booster works with vacuum pres­
su re which is created only whe n the engine is
runn ing
c> &, .
A WARNING
-Never let the vehicle roll to a stop with
the engine shut off.
-
- If the b rake booster is no t working, for
examp le when towing you r vehicle, or
because the brake booster has somehow
Ill>
•
•

194 Intelligent technology
been damaged, the brake pedal must be
pressed considerably harder to make up
for the lack of booster assistance.
Servotronic ® -
advanced power
steering system
The power steering systems use the power of
the running engine to allow precise steering
with little effort .
The advanced Servotronic® power steering
system senses the road speed and e lectroni­
cally adjusts power assistance to prov ide com­
fortable and safe steering response exactly
matched to the veh icle speed.
Power steering w ill not work if the eng ine is
off . As a result, the steering whee l wi ll be hard
to turn.
The power steering fluid level is checked dur ­
ing the scheduled maintenance serv ices.
([) Note
If there is an electronic malfun ct ion, ser­
votronic
w ill still f unction like a conven ­
tional power steer ing system, providing a
constant steering support force that is no
longer proportionate to the vehicle speed.
This is most noticeab le when turning the
steer ing whee l at low speeds (for examp le
when parking), - more effo rt will be re­
qui red than usua l.
- Be aware of the different than usual
stee ring response and adjust yo ur stee r­
i ng fo rce accord ingly.
- Have the p roblem checked and set rig ht
by an Aud i deale r as soon as possib le.
(D Tips
- When the engine is runn ing, never hold
t h e steer ing whee l turned all the way to
the right or to the left for longer than 15
se conds. The power steer ing p ump w ill
ove rhe at the hydr aulic flu id if you keep
ho ld ing the steering whee l turned all the way
. This is likely to damage the power
steering system .
- If the powe r steering system sho uld fai l
entirely, o r if the engine is not runn ing
(for examp le, whi le being towed), you
w ill sti ll be able to steer the veh icle.
However,
considerably more effort will
be required to do so.
- If the power steering system sho uld
have a leak, or is not functioning proper­
ly, contact your author ized Audi dealer
immed iately.
- The power steering system requ ires a
specially fo rmu lated hydraulic fluid. The
powe r stee ring fluid reservoir is locat ed
in the engine compartment
Q page 224.
T he corre ct fl uid level i n the reservoir is
impo rta nt fo r proper fu nctioning of the
powe r stee ring .
Driving with your
quattro ®
With All Wheel Drive, all four wheels are driv­
en .
Gen eral information
With A ll W heel Drive, power is distributed to
all four wheels. This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
condit ions at the time. See also
Q page 190.
With the sport different ial*, powe r distribu ­
tion to the rear wheels is variable and can be
adjusted with Audi drive select*
Q page 106 .
Winter tires
When driving in the winter, yo ur vehicle with
All Wheel D rive has an advantage, even w ith
r egular tires . In wi nter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all-sea­
son tires) for improved driveability and brak­
i ng : these tires must be mo unted o n
all four
wheel s. See also q page 253, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory on certa in
roads, this no rma lly also app lies to veh icles
with All Wheel D rive
q page 254, Snow
chains .