2012 AUDI A8 sensor

100 Audi side assist
General information
App lies to vehicles: with side assist
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Fig. 103 Driving s it u at ions
A U D I
• 0
Fig . 104 Rear of th e ve hicle: pos it io n of t he se nso rs
Side assis t fu nctions at speeds above ap prox i­
ma tely 19 mph (30 km/h).
(D V ehicles that are approaching
In certain cases, a vehicle will be classified as
cr itical for a lane change
even if it is still
somewhat far away. The fas ter a vehicle ap­
p ro aches, the sooner the disp lay in the exteri­
or m irror will t urn on.
@ Vehicles traveling with you
Vehicles traveling w ith you are indicated in the
exterior m irror if they are classified as cr it ical
for a lane change. All vehicles detec ted by
side assis t are in dicated by the time they en­
ter your "blind spot", at the latest.
@ Vehicles left behind
If you s low ly pass a ve hicl e tha t sid e ass ist has
dete cted ( the difference in s peed between the
vehicle and you r vehicle is less than 9 mph or
15 km/ h), the display in the exterio r mirror
turns on as soon as the vehicle enters your blind spot.
The disp lay wi ll not t urn on if you quickly pass
a vehicle that s ide assist has detected (t he d if ­
f erence in speed between the ve hicle and your
vehicle is greater than 9 mph or 15 km/h).
Functional limitations
T he radar senso rs are designed to detect the
left and right adjacent lanes when the road
l anes a re the normal width. In certain situa­
t ions, the d isp lay in the exterior mirror may
turn on even though there is no ve hicle locat­
ed in the area that is cr itical fo r a la ne cha nge.
Fo r example:
- if the lanes are narrow or if your are driving on the edge of your lane. If this is the case ,
the system may have detected the vehicle in
another lane that is
not adjacent to you r
cur rent lane .
- if you a re driving through a c urve . Side assis t
may react to a vehicle that is one lane ove r
from the adjacent lane .
- if side assist reacts to other objects (such as
high or d isp laced gua rd rails) .
- In poor weather conditions. The side assist
fu nctions are limited .
Do not cover the radar sensors
c::> fig. 104 with
stickers, depos its, bicycle wheels or other ob­
jects, because this wi ll affect the funct io n. Do
not use s ide ass ist when towing a trailer . For
information on cleaning, refe r to
c::> page 205 .
&_ WARNING
-Always pay a tten tion t o traffic and to the
a rea around your ve hicl e. Side a ssist can ­
no t repla ce a driver's atte ntion. The driv ­
er a lone is always respons ible fo r lane
cha nges a nd similar driving mane uvers.

-Improper reliance on the side assist sys­
tem can cause collisions and serious
personal injury:
- Never rely only on side assist when
changing lanes.
- Always check rear view mirrors to make
sure that it is safe to change lanes.
- Side assist cannot detect all vehicles un­
der all conditions- danger of accident!
- Please note that side assist indicates
there are approaching vehicles, or vehi­ cles in your blind spot, only after your ve­
hicle has reached a driving speed of at
least 19 mph (30 km/h).
- In certain situations, the system may not
function or its function may be limited.
For example:
- if vehicles are approaching or being left
behind very quickly. The display may
not turn on in time.
- in poor weather conditions such as
heavy rain, snow or heavy mist .
- on very wide lanes, in tight curves or if
there is a rise in the road surface . Vehi­
cles in the adjacent lane may not be de­
tected because they are outside of the
sensor range.
(D Note
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. This can affect the system .
Have your authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility check their
function.
(D Tips
- If the window glass in the driver's door
or front passenger's door has been tint­
ed, the display in the exterior mirror may be misinterpreted.
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions
c::>page 283.
Audi side assist 101
Activating and deactivating
Applies to vehicles: m it s ide ass ist
Fig. 105 Driver 's doo r: Side ass ist button
.,. Press the c::> A in General information on
page 100
button to switch the system on/
off . The LED in the button turns on when
side assist is switched on.
Adjusting the display brightness
App lies to vehicles: wit h side assist
The brightness setting can be adjusted via the
MMI.
.,. Select: I CAR I function button > Car systems
control button
> Driver assist > Audi side
assist .
The display brightness adjusts automatically
to the brightness of the surroundings, both in
the information and in the warning stage . In
very dark or very bright surroundings, the dis­
play is already set to the minimum or maxi­
mum level by the automatic adjustment. In
such cases, you may notice no change when
adjusting the brightness, or the change may
only be noticeable once the surroundings
change.
Adjust the brightness to a level where the dis­
play in the information stage will not disrupt
your view forward.
If you change the bright­
ness, the display in the exterior mirror will
briefly show the brightness leve l in the infor­
mation stage. The brightness of the warning
stage is linked to the brightness in the infor­
mation stage and is adjusted along with the
information stage adjustment .

102 Audi side assist
- Side assist is not active wh ile you are
making the adjus tment.
- Your settings are automatica lly sto red
and ass igned to the remote control key
being used.
Driver messages
App lies to vehicles: with side assist
If side ass ist switches off by itse lf, t he LED in
the butto n tur ns off a nd a message will ap­
pea r in the instr ume nt cl uster d is p lay:
Audi side assist : Currently unavailable. No
sensor vision
The radar se nsors' vision is affected. Do not
cover the area in front of the senso rs wi th bike
wheels, stickers, dirt or other objects. Clean
the area in front of the sensors, if necessary
c::;, page 100, fig. 104 .
Audi side assist : Currently unavailable
Side assis t ca nno t be swi tched o n tem porar ily
beca use there is a mal function (for exam ple,
the battery cha rge leve l may be too low) .
Audi side assist: System fault!
The system cannot guara ntee that it w ill de­
t e ct ve hicl es co rrec tly a nd it is sw itche d off .
The senso rs have been displaced o r a re faulty.
H ave the sy stem che cke d by an au thor ized A u­
di d eal er o r aut horiz ed Au di Servi ce Fa cili ty
s o on.
Audi side assist : Unavailable when towing .
Side assist switches off aut omatically whe n a
factory -insta lled trailer h itch is connected to
the el ectrical connector on the trailer. There is
no guara ntee the system will switc h off whe n
usi ng a retrofi tt ed traile r h itch . Do not use
side assis t when towing a tra iler .

Advanced Parking System
Advanced Parking System with rear view
camera
Introduction
Applies to vehicles: with park ing system (rear, with rear
view ca mera)
Fig . 121 Parking mode 1: reverse park ing
F ig . 122 Parking mode 2: parallel park ing
"' s ±
" m
Vehicles w ith the parking system advanced
are equipped with a rear view camera in addi­
tion to the acoustic and visua l parking system .
You can choose between two modes to assist
you with park ing. For example, you can use
"parking mode 1" when parking in a parking
space or garage
c::!;> fig . 121. When you want to
park parallel to the edge of the street, select
"parking mode 2"
¢fig. 122 .
Advanced Parking System 115
General Information
Applies to vehicles: wit h parking system advanced
Fig. 123 Area covered @and area not covered @by
the rear view camera.
AUDl
Fig. 124 Rear lid: Locat ion of the rear v iew camera
Sensors in the bumper
Sensors are located in the front and rear
bumpe rs . If these detect an obstacle, audible
and visual signals warn you. The range at
which the sensors begin to meas ure is approx­
imately :
side 3 ft (0.90 m)
front 4 ft (1.20 m)
side 2 ft (0.60 m)
rear center 5.2 ft
(1.60 m)
The close r you get to the obstacle, the shorter
the interval between the audible signals. A
continuous tone sounds when the obstacle is
less than approximately 1 foot (0 .30 meters)
away. Do not continue driving farther!
If the distance to an obstacle remains con­
stant, the volume of the distance warning
gradually drops after about four seconds (this
does not apply in the continuous tone range) . ..,.

116 Advanc ed Parking S ystem
Rear vi ew cam era co ve ra ge area
The MM I display shows the area covered by
the rear view camera
c::> fig. 123 @ . Objects
that are not in the area covered @are not
shown on the MMI display.
We recommend that you p ractice park ing with
the rear view camera in a t raffic -free location
or parking lot to become familiar with the sys ­
tem, the orientation lines, and their function.
When doing th is, there sho uld be good light
and weather conditions.
In the MMI disp lay, objects or vehicles appear
closer or further away if:
- you are driving in reverse gear from a level
surface onto an incline, or a downward
s lope,
- you are d riving in reverse gear toward pro ­
truding objects,
- the vehicle is carrying too much load in the
rear.
The accuracy of the orientation lines and blue
surfaces dim inishes if:
- the adaptive air suspension/sport* is faulty, the vehicle is lifted or dynamic mode is se­
lected
c::> page 103,
- the rear view camera does not provide a reli­
able image, for examp le, in poor visibility
cond it ions or if the lens is dirty,
- the image on the screen is not visible due to
sun glare and reflect ion.
Car in g for the rear view came ra lens
The rear view camera is located above the rear
license plate bracket . For the parking system
to operate, the lens
c::> fig . 124 must be kept
clean:
- Dampen the lens with a household alcohol­
based glass cleaner, and then wipe the lens
clean with a dry cloth
c::> CD.
- Remove snow with a hand brush and ice
preferably with a de-icing spray
c::> (D .
A WARNING
,-
- Senso rs have blind spots in which objects
cannot be detected . Pay special attention to small children and animals because
the sensors cannot always detect them.
- The parking system cannot replace the
driver's attention. The driver alone is re­
sponsible for parking and similar driving maneuvers.
- Always keep your eyes on the vehicle 's
surroundings, us ing the rear view mirror
as well.
- Do not allow yourself to be distracted
from traffic by the rear view camera p ic­
tures.
- If the position and the installation angle
of the camera has changed, for example,
after a rear end col lis ion, do not continue
to use the system for safety reasons .
H ave it checked by a qualified dea le rship.
(D Note
- Low obstacles a lready s ignaled by a
warning can disappear from the system's detection range as they are approached
and w ill not cont inue to be signaled. Ob­
jects such as ba rr ier chains, trailer draw
bars, thin painted vert ica l poles or fen­
ces may not be detected by the system,
posing risk of damage .
- N ever use warm or hot water to remove
snow or ice from the rear view camera
lens - this could ca use the lens to crack!
- When cleaning the lens, never use prod ­
ucts that are abrasive.

Switching on and off
Applies to vehicles: with parking system advanced
The rear view camera switches on automati­
cally together with the acoustic and visual
park assist when you put the vehicle in re­
verse .
Fig. 125 Cen ter con sol e: Pa rking syst em swi tc h
Fig. 126 MMI display: visual distan ce di splay
Switching on
• Switch the MMI on
• Activate
comfort or auto mode in Audi drive
select
¢ page 103.
• Shift into reverse or
• Press the switch
Pw.!l. in the center console
¢
f ig. 125. A short confirmation tone
sounds and the ind icator light in the sw itch
light s up .
Switching between the rear view camera
and visual display
• Press the Graphic control button
¢
page 118 , fig . 127 @to see the visual
display .
• Press the
Rearview control button to see
the rear view camera image¢
fig. 126 .
Switching off
• Dr ive faste r than 6 mph (10 km/h), or
Advanced Parking System 11 7
• press the switch P1#.!l. or
• switch off the ignit ion .
Segments in the visual display
The red segments in front of and behind the
vehicle
¢ fig. 126 help you to determine the
distance between yo u and an obstacle. As
your vehicle comes closer to the obstacle, the
segments move closer to the veh icle. The co l­
lision area has been reached when the next to
las t segmen t is displayed . Do not continue
driving farther ¢.&
in General Information
on page 116!
A WARNING
- The MMI display cannot show, or cannot
adequately show, certain objects (such as
small posts or grating), recesses in the
g ro und and protruding parts on another
car.
- Only use the rear view camera to assist
you if it shows a good, clear picture . For
examp le, the image may be affected by
the sun s hining into the lens, dirt on the
lens or if there is a defect.
- Use the rear view camera on ly with the
rear lid comp lete ly closed . Make sure any
objects you may have mounted on the
rear lid do not block the rear v iew cam­
era.
(D Tips
- The sensors must be kept clean and free
of snow and ice for the park assist to op­
erate.
- If your ve hicle is near an obstacle, an ad­
ditional v isual ind icator appears in the
rearview camera image. Th is superim­
posed image is there to help you to de­
termined which area of the vehicle is af­
fected .
- You can change the volume and pitch of the signals as well as the display
r:!;; page 119.
-What appears in the display is time-de­
layed .

120 Advanc ed Parking S ystem
Off -when the parking system is switched off,
only audible signa ls are given.
Warning tones
Front v olume -front sensor volume
Rea r vo lu m e -rear sensor volume
Front frequ ency -front sensor frequency
Rea r frequ enc y -rear sensor frequency
Mu sic vo lume whil e parking -when the park­
ing system is switched on, the volume of the
active audio sou rce is lowered.
The newly adjusted value is briefly heard from
the signa l generator.
(Di Tips
- The warning tones can a lso be adjusted
directly by the v isual display or the p ic­
ture from the rear v iew camera. Simp ly
press the
S ett ing s cont ro l button.
- Changed settings are activated when
parking system is switched on again .
-The sett ings are automatically stored
and ass igned to the remote control key .
Error messages
Applies to vehicles: with parking system advanced
There is an error in the system if the LED on
the
P'ljA switch is blinking and you hear a con­
tinuous alarm for a few seconds afte r switch­
ing on the parking system or when the pa rk­
ing system is already act ivated. Have your au ­
thor ized Audi dealer correct the error .
(D Tips
If
the error is not corrected before you
switch off the ignition, when you switch on
the par king system aga in , the LED in the
? ljA switch will blink.

-Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up aga inst or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before insta lling
the fo rward -facing child restraint. T he
b ackres t m ust be adjus ted to an upr igh t
posit ion.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack­
ets, and more . The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control un it when the ign it ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advance d Air ­
bag Sys tem and turn s the a irbag i ndica tor
light on when a ma lfunction in t he system
compo nents is detected . The function of the
ai rbag indicator light is described in greater
deta il below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
va nced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged . Damage to
the seat may p revent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag System
consists of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle accelera tion/decele ra ti on
to provide info rm ation to the Advanced Air ­
bag System abo ut the severity of the crash.
A irbag system 149
-An elect ron ic cont ro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to f ire
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
prete nsione rs shou ld be act iva ted.
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas generator and
cont ro l valve for the d river ins ide the steer ­
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve inside the instrument pa ne l for
the front passenger .
- A weight -sensing mat unde r the upho lstery
padding of the front passenge r seat cushion
that measures the to tal weight o n the seat.
The info rmat ion reg iste red is sent continu­
ously to the elect ronic con trol u nit to regu ­
la te deployment of the front Advanced Air ­
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag moni tor ing sys tem and ind icator
light in the instr ument cluster
¢ page 153.
-A sen sor in each fron t seat regis ters the dis ­
t ance betwee n the respec tive seat and the
steering whee l or instrument panel. The i n­
formation registered is sent cont inuo usly to
the electron ic contro l unit to regulate de­
ployment of the front Advanced A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center o f the instr u­
ment panel¢
page 153, fig. 148 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passe nger side has been tu rned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure t he tension
on the safety belt. The tension o n the safety
be lt and the weight regis tered by the
weigh t-sensi ng ma t he lp the control uni t
"de cide" whe ther the front airbag fo r the
front passenge r seat should be turned off or
not ~
page 144, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in t he safety be lt latch fo r the d riv­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses w hethe r th at safety belt is latched or
not and transmits this information to the
electronic control unit.
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