2012 AUDI A8 ECO mode

230 Check ing and filling
• Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoi r¢
fig. 180, ¢ page 221. The
brake f lu id leve l must be between the "MIN"
and "MAX" markings.
The location of the brake fluid reservoir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
co page 221.
The fl uid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the brake pads . This is not cause for alarm .
I f the brake fluid level falls
considerably be­
l ow the "MIN" mark, the brake wa rning/indi ­
cator light- (U.S.
models) ;II (Canadian
models) will come on ¢
page 14. Do not con­
tinue to operate the vehicle. The comp lete
brake system should be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or other quali­
fied fac ility and the cause corrected. If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake war ning/
in dicato r light w ill illuminate . Contact an au­
thor ized A udi dealer
immediately .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moistu re from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
h igh, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime . The bo iling po int of the
b rake fluid w ill also decrease considerably and
dec rease braking per formance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
e ver y two yea rs. A lways use new b rake fluid
which confo rms to Fede ral Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 1 16 DO T 4".
The brake flu id rese rvoi r ca n be difficult to
r ea ch, therefo re , we re commend that yo u
have the brake fl uid changed by yo ur a utho r­
ized
Audi dealer. Your dea ler has the correct
too ls, the right brake fluid and the know-how
to do this for you .
A WARNING
-Brake flu id is poisonous. It must be stor­
ed only in the closed or iginal conta iner
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inap­
prop riate brake flu id . Obse rve these pre ­
cautions:
- Use only brake fluid that meets SA E
specification
J 1703 and conforms to
Federa l Moto r Ve hicle Standard 1 16 .
A lways check with your authorized A udi
dealer to make sure you are using the
correct brake fluid . The cor rect type of
brake flu id is also ind icated on the
brake flu id rese rvoir .
- The brake fluid must be new . Heavy use
of the brakes can cause a vapo r lock if
the b ra ke fluid is left i n the system too
l o ng. This can se riously affect the effi ­
c iency of the br akes as well as your
sa fety. This co uld resu lt in an accident.
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the pai nt of you r
vehicle.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the p rob lem of proper disposal
of b ra ke fluid as well as the spec ial too ls
r equired and the nece ssary expe rti se, we
r ecommend that yo u have the brake fl uid
changed by yo ur authorized Aud i dea ler.
Battery
General information
U nder normal operat ing cond itions, the bat­
te ry in yo ur Audi does not need any ma inte­
nance . With
high outside temperatures or
l o ng da ily d rives we recommend that you have
the e lec trolyte leve l checked by a serv ice fa­
c ility. The electrolyte leve l should also be
checked each time the battery is cha rged
¢ page 233. .,..

240 Tires and wheels
change. In the event of discrepancies, the tire
pressure labe l is located on the driver's side B­
p ill ar a lways takes precedence.
The table below lis ts the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the Audi model covered
by your Owner's Literature at the vehi ­
cle's capacity weight and the tire sizes instal­
l ed on the respective models as orig inal
equipment, or as a factory option.
Tire pressure
Engine Tire designation normal load condition full load condition
fronta> reara>
front rear
AS 4.2 Ii-235/55 Rla 104H XL all
ter season
a -cylinder 255/45 R19 104H XL all
season
265/40 R20 104V XL
IA8 L4.2 Ii-235/55 Rla 104H XL all
ter season
a-cylinder 255/45 R19 104H XL all
season
6.3 li­
ter12-cyl­
inder 265
/40 R20 104V XL
265/40 R20 104V
255/45 R19 104H all sea-
son PSI
35
35
33
35
35
35
36
kPA
240
240
230
240
240
240
250
PSI
32
32
30
32
32
32
32
kPA
220
220
210
220
220
220
220
PSI kPA
36
250
36 250
33 230
36 250
36 250
36 250
39 270
PSI
38
38
35
38
38
35
38
kPA
260
260
240
260
260
240
240
260
I
I
I
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side­
wall.
a l nor mal load co nd it io n"'> page 238 .
The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
located on a label on the driver's side B-pillar.
Because technical changes may be made to
vehicle equipment during the model year, a l­
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure label on your vehicle with the
tires on your vehicle. Make sure that the tire
size information on the veh icle label is the
same as the size of the tires on the vehicle.
This is especially important if the vehicle be­
l ongs to someone else or you bought the veh i­
cle with different rims/tires or you bought the
vehicle as a previously owned vehicle .
Remember, your safety and that of your pas­
sengers also depends on mak ing su re that
l oad limits are not exceeded. Vehicle load in­
cludes everybody and everything in and on the
vehicle . These load limits are technically refer- red to as the veh
icle's Gross Vehicle Weight
Rat ing ("GVWR"). The Gross Axle Weight Rat­
ing ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be applied at each of the vehicle's two axles .
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety compl iance sticke r label located on the
driver's side B-pillar. The tire pressu re labe l on
your Audi lists the maximum combined
weight of all of the occupants and luggage or
other cargo that the vehicle can carry. For the
location of the tire pressure label
¢ fig. 183.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve­
hicle contro l, a crash or other accident, se­
rious personal injury, and even death.
- Carrying more we ight than your veh icle
was designed to carry will prevent the

252 Tire s and wheel s
chains because the vehicle will be ex­
tremely low. If you do drive with snow
chains on while the vehicle is at this lev­
el, the snow chains might severe ly dam­
age the wheelhouse and other parts of
the veh icle.
(D} Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer­
tain roads, this normally also applies to ve­hicles with All Wheel Drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of whee l bolts is matched to the
factory installed r ims. If different rims
are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
secure ly and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same mode l
¢page 282.
_& WARNING
Imprope rly tig htened o r maintained whee l
bolts can be come loose ca using loss of
contro l, a co llision and serious persona l in­
jury.
- Always keep the wheel bol ts an d the
threads in the wheel hubs clea n so the
wheel bolts can tu rn easily and be prop­
er ly tightened .
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel h ubs. They can
become loose w hile driving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Always maintain the correct tighten ing
torq ue for the wheel bo lts to reduce the risk of a whee
l loss. If the tightening tor­
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi­
cle is mov ing. If the tighte ning torque is
too high, the wheel bolts a nd threads
can be damaged and the whee l can be­
come loose.
([) Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a tolerance of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm). Torque whee l bolts diago­
nally. Afte r changing a whee l, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible wi th a
torque wrench -pre ferably by an au thor­
ized Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped with low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoro ughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb performance, road fee l
and hand ling u nder a var iety of d riv ing condi ­
t ions . As k your author ized Audi dealer for
more details.
The low aspect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation . The numeral rep resents the ratio
of the t ire's s idewa ll height in relation to its
t read width ex pressed in percentage. Conven­
tiona l tires have a he igh t/w idth rat io of 60 or
more.
The performanc e of low -a sp ec t-ratio tires i s
pa rticularly sensitive to improper inflation
pre ssure . It is therefore important that low
a spect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pressure i s
regularly checked and maintained. Tire pre s­
sures should be checked at least once a month and always befo re a long trip
¢ page 241, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, gull ies .,..

260 What do I do now ?
in its storage area properly and tighten
the knurled retaining screw securely.
@ Tips
Before changing the wheel, you m ust acti ­
vate t he jacking mode , so that the auto­
matic controls for the Adaptive Air Sus­
pension do not make it more diff icu lt to
lift the vehicle with the jack
q page 262.
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel, follow these­
quence de scribed below s tep-by-s tep and in
exac tly tha t order.
1. Act ivat e the vehicle jack mod e
¢page 262.
2. Remove the de corat ive wh eel co ver* . For
more details see also¢
page 260, Deco­
rative wheel covers
or ¢ page 261 ,
Wheels with wheel bolt cops.
3 . Loosen the wheel bolts¢ page 261 .
4. Locate the proper mo unt ing po int for the
jack and align the jac k below that point
¢ pag e 262.
5. R ais e the car with the jack¢ page 262.
6. Remove the wheel with the fl at tire and
then in stall
the spare ¢ page 263 .
7. Tigh ten all wheel bol ts ligh tly.
8 .
Lo wer the veh icle with the jack .
9 . Use the whee l bolt wrench and
firml y
tighte n all whee l bolts ¢ page 261.
10. Replace the decorative wheel c over*.
11. De activate the veh icle jack mode in the
MMI:
! CARI function button> Ca r syst em s
control button > Se rv icing & chec ks > Air
sus p.: jack mode > Off.
The vehicle jac k mode sw itches off automati­
cally at speeds above 10 km/h.
A WARNING
Always read and follow all WARNINGS and
information
¢ &. in Raising the vehicle on
page 262
and ¢ page 264.
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the
doing the following .
.,. Alw ays store the vehicle tool kit, the jack*
and the repl aced tire in the luggage com­
pa rtment
¢ page 130.
... Check the tir e pres su re on the spare wheel
immed iate ly afte r mounting it.
.,. As soon as possib le, have the
tight ening
torque s
on all whee l bolts checked with a
torque wrench . The correc t tightening tor ­
que is 90 ft lb (120 Nm).
... Hav e the flat tire
repl aced as soon as possi­
ble .
@ Tips
-If you notice that the wheel bo lts are
corroded and difficult to turn while
changing a tire, they should be rep laced
before you check the tightening torque.
- Dr ive at reduced speed until you have the
tightening torques checked.
- After changing a whee l, the t ire press ure
in all four tires must be checked/correct­
ed and the tire pressure monitoring ind i­
cator must be stored in the MMI
¢ page 255.
' Decorative wheel covers
Applies to vehicles: w ith decorative whee l covers
The decora tive wheel covers mus t be removed
first to access the wheel bolts.
Fi g. 1 96 Chang ing a whee l: Re mov ing th e w hee l cov er
Removing
.,. Insert the hook (prov ided with the vehicle
too l kit) in the ho le in the whee l hub cover . .,..

CD Note
Do not lift the vehicle by the sill. Position
the vehicle jack only at the designated lift­ ing points on the sill. Otherwise, your vehi­
cle will be damaged.
(D Tips
The vehicle jack mode switches off auto ­
matically at speeds above 10 km/h.
Taking the wheel off/installing the spare
Follow these instructions step-by-step for
changing the wheel.
Fig . 201 Chang ing a whee l: using the screwdrive r han ­
dle (with the blade removed) to turn the bolts
Fi g. 202 Ch anging a wheel: alignment pin inside the
top hole
After you have loosened all wheel bolts and
raised the veh icle off the ground, remove and
replace the wheel as follows:
Re moving th e wh eel
.. Use the hex agon al so cket i n the s cre wdr iv ­
e r handle
to completely remove the top­
most wheel bolt and set it aside on a
clean
surface ¢fig. 201.
What do I d o now ? 263
.. Sc rew the threaded end o f the alignment
pin
from the tool kit hand-tight into the
empty bolt hole¢
fig. 202 .
.. Then remove the other wheel bolts as de­
scribed above.
.. Take off the wheel leaving the alignment
pin in the bolt hole
¢ (D .
Putting o n the spare w heel
.. Lift the spare wheel and carefully slide it
over the alignment p in to guide it in place
¢(]) .
.. Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriver
handle to screw in and tighten all wheel
bolts
slightly.
.,. Remove the a lignment pin and insert and
tighten the rema ining wheel bolt slightly
like the rest .
.. Turn the jack hand le counter-clockwise to
lower the vehicle until the jack is fully re ­
leased .
.. Use the wheel bolt wrench to tighten all
wheel bolts firmly¢
page 261. Tighten
them
crosswise, from one bolt to the (ap­
proximately) opposite one, to keep the
wheel cente red.
CD Note
When removing or installing the wheel,
the r im cou ld hit the b rake rotor and dam­
age the rotor. Wor k carefully and have a
second pe rson help you.
@ Tips
Neve r use the hexagonal socket in the han­
dle of the screwdr iver to loosen or tighten
the wheel bo lts.
- Pull the reversible blade from the screw­
dr iver before you use the hexagonal
socke t in the hand le to turn the wheel
bolts.
- Whe n mount ing tires w ith
unidire ctional
t read de sign
make sure the tread pat ­
tern is pointed the right way
¢page 264.
- The wheel bo lts s hou ld be clean and ea sy
to turn . Check for dirt and corrosion on
the mating surfaces of both the wheel

@ Tips
- The discharged battery must be properly
connected to the vehicle's electrical sys­
tem. When jump start ing or charging the
battery, never connect the negative
ground cable to the battery negative post because the battery manager sys­
tem must be able to detect the battery's
state of cha rge. A lways connect the neg­
ative g round cab le to the negative
gro und post o f the battery manage r con­
trol uni t.
Use of jumper cables
Make sure to connect the jumper coble
clomps in exactly the order described below!
Fig. 2 08 Engine compartment: connecto rs for jump
start cables and charger
Fi g. 209 Jump start ing w ith the battery of another ve ­
hicle: @-booste r batte ry, @ -discharged vehicle bat ­
te ry
The procedure described below fo r connecting
jumper cab les is intended to provide a jump
start for your veh icle.
Vehicle with discharged batt ery:
.. Turn off lights and acc esso ries, move leve r
of automat ic t ransm ission to N (Neutral) o r
P (Park) and set pa rking brake .
Emergenc y situ ation s 2 71
Connect POSI TIVE(+) to POSITIVE (+ )
(red )
.. Open the red cover on the positive terminal
¢fig. 208.
1. Connect one end of the red positive cable
on the
jump sta rt bolt ¢ fig. 209 (D (bolt
under the red cover = "positive") of the ve­
hicle to be started @.
2. Co nnect th e other end to the pos itive ter-
mina l@ of the booster battery @.
Connect NEGATIVE( -) to NEGATIVE(-)
(black )
3. Connect one end of the black negative ca­ ble to the negat ive termina l@ of the
booster b attery @.
4 . Connect the othe r end to the
jump start
pin @ (bolts with hex head bolt = "nega­
tive") of the vehicle to be started @.
Starting the engine .. Sta rt the engine of the veh icle w ith the
booste r ba ttery @. Ru n the engine at a
moderate speed .
.. Start engine wit h discha rged vehicle battery
@ in the usual manner .
.. If the eng ine fails to start, do not keep the
starter cranking for longer than 10 seconds.
Wait for about 30 seco nds a nd the n try
aga in .
.. With engi ne runni ng, remove j umper cab les
from both vehicles in the exact
reverse o r­
de r .
.. Close the red cover on the positive term inal.
T he battery is vented to th e outside to p revent
gases from en ter ing the veh icle in ter io r. Ma ke
s ur e th at the j umper clamps are well connec t­
ed with their meta l parts in full con ta ct w ith
the battery term inals.
A WARNING
To avoid se rious personal injury and dam­
age to the veh icle, heed all warnings and
instructions of the jumper cable man ufac­
turer. If in doubt, call for road service .
- J umper cables m ust be long enough so
that the veh icles d o not touch.
-

280 Consumer Information
Consumer Information
Warranty coverages
You r Audi is covered by the following war­
ranties:
- New Vehicle Limited Warranty
- Limited Warranty Against Corrosion Perfo-
ration
- Emissions Control System Warranty
- Emissions Performance Warranty
- California Emissions Control Warranty (USA
vehicles only)
- California Emissions Performance Warranty
(USA vehicles only)
Detailed information regarding your warran­
ties can be found in your
Warranty & Mainte­
nance booklet .
Operating your vehicle
outside the U.S.A. or
Canada
Government regu lations in the United States
and Canada require that automobiles meet
specific emission regulations and safety
standards. Therefore, veh icles built for the
U.S.A . and Canada differ from vehicles sold in
other countries .
If you p lan to take your vehicle outside the
continental limits of the United States or Can­
ada, there is the possibility that
- unleaded fuels for vehicles with cata lytic
converter may not be available;
- fuel may have a considerably lowe r octane
rating. Improper fuel may cause engine
damage ;
- service may be inadequate due to lack of
proper service facilities, tools or testing
equipment ;
- replacement pa rts may not be readily availa­
ble.
- Navigation systems for vehicles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada will not necessar ily work
in Europe, and may not work in other coun­
tries outside North America .
(D Note
Audi cannot be responsible for mechanical
damage that could result from inadequate
fuel, service or parts availability.
Audi Service Repair Manuals and Literature
Audi Official Factory Service Manuals and Lit­
erature are published as soon as possible after
model introduction. Service manuals and lit­
erature are available to order from the Audi
T echnical Literature Ordering Center at:
www.audi.techliterature.com
Maintenance
General
Your vehicle has been designed to help keep
maintenance requirements to a minimum.
However, a certain amount of regular mainte­
nance is still necessary to assure your vehicle's
s afety, economy and rel iability. For detailed
vehicle maintenance consult your Warranty &
Maintenance booklet.
Under difficult operating conditions, for ex­
ample at extremely low outside temperatures,
i n very dusty regions , when towing a trailer
very frequently, etc., some service work
should be performed between the intervals
specified. This applies particularly to:
- oil changes, and
- cleaning or replacing the air filter .
(® For the sake of the environment
By regularly maintaining your vehicle, you
help make sure that emission standards
are maintained, thus minimizing adverse
effects on the environment.
Important considerations for you and
your vehicle
The increasing use of electronics, sophisticat­
ed fuel injection and emission contro l sys-
tems, and the genera lly increasing technical
liJJ,

Convertible locking retractor .... .. .. . 17 5
How do I prop erly install a child safety
seat in my vehicle? ....... ... .. .. .. .
169
Infant seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Instal ling .. ............. .... .. ... 175
Instal ling a child restraint us ing the
L A T C H system .... .. ... ... .. .. .. .. .
18 1
LATCH system ................... .. 181
Lower ancho rages ........ .. .. .. .. . 179
M ounti ng and releas ing the anchorage
hook . ..... .. .. ... ..... ... .. .. ...
181
Safety instructions ..... ... .. .. .. .. . 169
C leaning and protection .............. 203
Alcantara (synthet ic suede) . .. .. .. .. . 2 12
Cooler . .. .. .... ........... .. .. ... 213
Eng ine compartment ... ... .. .. .. .. . 213
Exhaust tail p ipes . ..... ... .. .. .. .. . 209
Fabrics and fabric coverings . ... .. .. . 209
Instrument panel .................. 210
Interior .......................... 209
Leather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
MMI disp lay/controls ............. .. 209
Plastic and v inyl .... ... ... .. .. .. .. . 206
Plastic pa rts ...................... 210
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 12
tr im str ips . ............. .... .. ... 207
Trim str ips .... .. ..... ... .. .. .. ... 20 6
Climate controls ............ ...... ... 75
C lock ... .... .. .. .. .. .... .. . .. .. .. .. 25
C losing
Panor amic su nroof ........ .. .. .. .. ..
4 1
Sliding/ tilting sun roof .. ... .. .. .. .. .. 4 0
Sun shade (panoramic sunroof) ... .. .. 42
Cold ti re i nflat ion p ressu re ... .. .. .. .. .
239
Coming home ............. .... .. .... 45
Compact spare tire . ..... ... .. .. .. .. .
258
Compartments ................... ... 7 1
Compass in the mirro r ... ... .. .. .. .. .. 52
Comp lian ce .. ............. .... .. ... 283
Consumer Information . . . . . . . . . . 132, 280
Consumption (fue l) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Contact ing N HTSA ................ ..
132
Conven ience key ........... .... .. .... 32
Starting the engine ................. 80
Stopping the engine (START ENGINE
STOP button) ......................
81 Inde
x 287
Switching the ignition on .... ... .. .. . 80
U nl ocking and locking vehicle . ... .. .. . 32
Conve rtib le child safety seats ......... 172
Convertible locking retractor
Activati ng ........................
177
Deact ivating ...... ........... ..... 178
U sing to secure a child safety seat 1.75, 17 7
Coolant
refer to Eng ine coolant ............. 227
Cooler ... .. .. .... ... .. .. ..... ... .. . 72
Cleaning . ... .... .. . .. .. ..... ... .. 213
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Cooling mode (automa tic climate cont rol) 76
Cornering light .. .. ................. 103
C ruise cont ro l
Changing speed .... . .. ..... ... .. .. .
85
Presetting your speed .. ..... ... .. .. . 86
Switch ing off .. .. ............... .. . 86
Switching on . .. .. ................. . 85
Cu pholder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
D
Data .............................. 278
Data recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Date disp lay . ..... ... .. .. ..... ... .. . 25
Daytime runn ing lights .............. .. 43
Declarat ion of compliance
Adaptive cruise control .............
283
Audi side ass ist .............. .... . 283
Cell phone package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Convenience key .................. . 283
Electronic immob ilizer .......... .. .. 2 83
Homel in k® uni versal remote control .. 283
Remote con tro l key ... ...... ... .. .. 283
DEF
What does this mean when it appears in
t h e tr ip odometer display? ...........
25
Defective light bulb warning ........... 21
Defrosting (windows) .. .. ..... ... .. .. . 77
Del uxe a utomat ic cl imate control .. .. .. . 76
Determ ining correct load limit ........ 243
Digi tal compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
52
Dimens ions ... .. .. .. . .. .... ...... .. 277
Dimming the rearview mirror .. ... .. .. . 51
Dista nce . .. .. .. .. .. ............... . 24
Door/rear lid warning ............ .. .. .
23
•
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