2012 AUDI A8 brake

The following bulletins list only some sample positions that will increase the risk of serious
in ju ry and death . Our hope is that these exam­
p les will make you more aware of seating po­
sitions that are dangerous.
The refore, wh en ev er th e vehicl e is
mov ing:
- never stand up in the vehicle
-never stand on the seats
- never knee l on the seats
- never ride with the seatbac k reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit s ideways
- never lean out the window
- never put yo ur feet out the window
- never put yo ur feet on the ins trument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion o r
back of the seat
- never r ide in the footwe ll
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING
Imprope r seat ing positions increase the
r isk of se rious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occu­
pants stay in a p ro per seating pos it ion
and are properly restr ained whenever the
vehicle is be ing used.
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
A WARNING
Always make sure that the knee a irbag can
inf late without interference. Objects be­
tween yourse lf and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an acc ident by interfer­
ing w it h the way the a irbag deploys or by
being p ushed into you as the airbag de­
ploys.
-
Dr iving S afel y 129
-No persons (children) or animals sho uld
ride in the footwell in front of the pas­
senger seat. If the airbag dep loys, this
can result in ser ious or fatal injuries.
- No objects of any kind should be carried
in the footwell area in front of the driv­
er 's or passenger's seat. Bulky objects
(shopping bags, fo r example) can ham­
pe r o r prevent proper deployment of the
airbag. Small obje cts can be thrown
through the vehicle if the airbag deploys
an d inju re you or your passenge rs .
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
Make sure that a ll peda ls move free ly without
interference and that nothing prevents them
from return ing to their orig inal positions.
Only use floor mats t hat leave the pedal area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten­
ers.
If a brake circ uit fai ls, inc reased brake pedal
trave l is required to b ring the vehicle to a f ull
stop .
A WARNING
-Pedals that cannot move free ly can cause
loss of vehicle control and increase the risk
of ser ious injury.
- Never p lace any objects in the drive r's
footwell. An ob ject cou ld get into the
pedal area and interfere with pedal func­
tion. In case of sudde n brak ing o r an ac­
cident, yo u wou ld not be able to b rake or
accelerate!
- Always ma ke sure that nothing can fall
or move into the driver's footwel l. •
•

130 Driving Saf ely
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor mat fasteners and do
not interfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
~ Make sure that the floor mats are properly
secured and cannot move and interfere with
the pedals¢ ,&..
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal area
u nobstructed and that are firmly secured so
that they cannot s lip out of position . You can
obtain sui table floor mats from your author­
ized A udi Dea ler.
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi.
F loor mats used in your vehicle must be at­
tached to these fasteners. Properly secur ing
the floor mats will prevent them from sliding into pos itions that could interfere with the
pedals or impair safe operation of your vehicle
in other ways .
_& WARNING
Pedals that canno t move freely can resu lt
in a loss of vehicle contro l and increase the
risk of se rious personal injury.
- Always make su re that floor mats are
properly secured .
- Never place o r insta ll floo r ma ts or other
floo r coverings in the vehicle tha t cannot
be properly secured in place to prevent
them from slipping and interfering with
the pedals or the ability to control the
vehicle.
- Never place or insta ll floo r mats or other
floor coverings on top of a lready insta l­
led floor mats. Additional floor mats and
other coverings w ill reduce the size of
the pedal area and interfere with the
peda ls.
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor mats that have been taken out for clean­
ing.
-Always make sure that objects cannot fall into the driverfootwe ll wh ile the ve­
hicle is moving. Objects can become trapped under the brake pedal and acce
l­
erator pedal causing a loss of vehicle
control.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be prop· erly stowed and secured in the luggage com·
partment.
Loose items in the luggage compa rtment can
shift suddenly, chang ing vehicle handling
c h aracteristics. Loose items can a lso increase
the risk of ser ious persona l inju ry in a sudden
vehicle maneuver o r in a co llision.
~ Distribute the load eve nly in the luggage
compa rtment.
~ Always pla ce and properly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as far
forwa rd as possible.
~ Secure luggage using the tie-downs provid·
ed
¢ page 66, Luggage compartment .
A WARNING
-Improperly stored luggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle causing ser ious
personal injury in the event of hard brak·
i ng or an accident. To help reduce the risk
of ser ious perso nal in ju ry:
- Always put objects, for example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com­
pa rtment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compa rtment using the t ie-down hooks
and suitable st raps.
A WARNING
H eavy loads w ill inf luen ce the way yo ur ve­
hicl e ha ndles. To help reduce t he risk of a
l oss of contro l leading to serious pe rsonal
i nj ury :
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen ­
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
veh icle handling:

Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDR's are sometimes called "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.
Although 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 examp le, engine function, emis­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l 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 very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate 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 Stability
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidding and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects
Intelligent technology 187
certain difficult driving situations, 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 steering ass istance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
Ip.] in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations .
It is important to remem­
ber that ESC 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, ESC 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 with water,
slush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it would on the dry surface . If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESC 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, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult driving situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC 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, traffi<; and weather conditions. ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the available traction, or keep a veh icle
on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESC improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle under con­
trol and on the road dur ing 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 ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.
•
•

188 Intelligent technology
ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock braking system (ABS), brake assist
system, anti-s lip regulat ion (ASR), e lectronic
d ifferential lock ( EDL), dynamic steering* and
e lectronic interaxle differentia l lock*. ESC is
switched on all the time. I n certa in s ituations
when you need less tract io n, you ca n sw itch
off ASR by pressi ng the button above
~ page 189, fig. 167 the se lector lever. Be
sure to sw itch ASR on ag ain when you no lon­
ger need less trac tion.
Anti -lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents t he wheels from locking up
when braking. The veh icle can still be st eered
even d uring ha rd b rak ing . Apply steady p res­
sure to the br ake ped al. Do no t pu mp the ped­
a l. A puls ing in t he bra ke peda l ind icates that
the system is he lping yo u to b rake the vehicle .
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease b ra kin g
d ista nce. It increases braking powe r w hen the
d river p resses the brake pedal quickl y in eme r­
gency situa tions . You mus t press and ho ld the
b rake peda l until the situation is over. In vehi­
cles with adaptive cruise control*, the brake
assist system is more sensitive i f the d istance
detected to the vehicle ahead is t oo smal l.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power w hen the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the fo rce to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills.
Electronic differential lock (EDL )
The E DL brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive powe r to the o ther d rive
wheel o r whee ls if the vehic le is equipped with
a ll whee l drive*. This funct ion is available up
to about 7S mph (120 km/h).
I n extreme cases , EDL automatica lly swit ches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from overheating. ED L wi ll switch on again au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to normal.
Dynamic steering*
On vehicles wi th dynam ic s teeri ng, ES C helps
stab ilize the steer ing in cer tain sit uations.
Electronic interaxle differential lock
function*
T he ele ctronic i nte raxle di fferentia l lock f unc ­
tion ac tiva tes when dr iving t hrough curves.
B ra king is targeted towar d the whee ls on the
inside of the curve as needed . This helps to
min imi ze front whee l skid, improves traction
and allows for more precise driving throug h
cu rves .
A WARNING
- ESC, ABS, ASR , EDL, dynamic steering*
and the elect ronic interaxle differential
loc k function* cannot ove rcome t he laws
of physics . This is espe cially im po rtant
on slippery o r we t road s.
If the sys tems
begin actin g to stabilize your veh icle, you
should immediately change yo ur speed
to match the road and t raffic 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 cont ro l, collision and ser io us per­
sonal injur ies .
-Always ada pt your speed to road , traffic
and wea ther conditions. The risk of los­
ing contr ol of the vehicle i ncreases wh en
d riving too fast, espe cially through
curve s and on slippe ry or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead. ESC, ABS, the brake ass ist sys ­
tem, EDL, ASR, dynam ic steering * and
the elect ron ic interaxle differential lock
function * cannot prevent co llisions.
- Always accelerate with s pecial care on
even, smooth s urfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even w ith
these assistance sys tems that cannot al­
ways he lp to red uce the risk of loss of ve ­
h icle co nt ro l.
-

@ Tips
-ABS and ASR on ly work correctly when
all four wheels are equ ipped with identi­
cal t ires. Different tire s iz es can lead to a
reduct ion in eng ine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems
described are working.
- If the indicator light
D] or m (USA
models) ;£1 (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction¢
page 19,
c> page
18 .
Switching on and off
ESC
turn s on au tomatically when you s tart
the engine .
Fig. 167 Cen te r con sol e wit h ES C OF F but ton
Switching ASR off (sport mode )
In certain sit uat ions, you can switch ASR and
ESC in to sport mode by pressing the bu tton
[ru
c> fig. 167 . The indicator light I comes o n
and the message
Cauti on! R edu ced t ra cti on
appears. ASR deactivates completely and the
assistance provided by the ESC system is lim it­
ed . Switch to sport mode only when your driv ­
ing skills, traffic and weathe r conditions per­
mi t.
I n some s ituations, it may be useful to switc h
ASR off to let the wheels slip. Example:
- Rocking the vehicle back and forth when it is
stuck
- Driv ing in deep snow or on loose ground
- Driving with snow cha ins
Switching ASR on
Press the button [fil again. The message Sta­
bility program on
appears.
Intelligen t technolog y 189
A WARNING
-Drive whee ls can sp in and you can lose
control of the vehicle more eas ily when
ASR and ESC are in sport mode, especial­
ly whe n the road is slippe ry .
- Sw itch to sport mode only when your
driving skills, traff ic and weather condi­
tions permit.
(D Tips
You cannot sw itch sport mode on whe n
adaptive cruise control* is working .
Braking
General information
What affects braking efficiency?
Operating cond itions and driving h abits
The brakes o n today's automobiles are still
subject to wear, depend ing largely on operat­
i ng condit ions and driving habits ¢&, . On ve­
hicles that a re either dr iven most ly in stop­
and-go c ity t raff ic or are dr iven hard, the
brake pad s should be checked by yo ur author ­
i zed Audi dealer more often than specified in
the
Warranty & Maintenance booklet. Failure
to have your brake pads inspected can result in reduced brake performance.
On steep slopes, you sho uld use the braking
effect of the eng ine . T his way, you prevent un­
necessary wear on the brake system . If you
must use your brakes, do not hold the br akes
down cont inuous ly . Pump the brakes a t in ter­
vals .
Moisture o r ro ad sa lt
Under certa in conditions, for example, when
driv ing through water or very heavy ra in, or
even after washing your veh icle, the braking
effec t can be reduced due to moisture (or in
freez ing cond itions ice) on the brake pads . A
few carefu l brake applications should dry off
the b ra ke pads or remove a ny ice coatings.
When you are driving a t higher speeds with
the windsh ie ld w ipers on , the brake pads will
IJJJ,

190 Intelligent technology
briefly touch the brake discs in regular inter ­
va ls so as to improve reaction time when brak­
ing on wet surfaces. You the driver wi ll not no­
tice anything.
The effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is driven on a salt-covered road and the brakes are not used. Here too,
you sho uld clean off accumu lated salt coat ing
from brake d iscs and pads with a few careful
applicat ions of the brake¢,& .
Cor ro sion
There may be a tendency fo r dirt to bui ld up
on the brake pads and corrosion to form on
the discs if the car is not dr iven 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 advisab le
to clean off the pads and discs by brak ing
firm ly a few times from a moderately high
speed <=>,& .
Fault s in the brake sy stem
If you should notice a sudden increase in
brake peda l travel, then one of the two brake
circu its may have failed¢,& .
Low brake flu id le vel
M alfunctions can occur in the brake system if
the brake fl uid level is too low. The brake fluid
leve l is monitored electronically .
Brake lining wear status
Brake lin ing wea r may be chec ked by v is u al in­
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the openings in the whee l. If neces ­
sary, the whee l may be removed for this in­
spection ¢ page 2 59, Changing a wheel.
A WARNING
-You should perform brak ing maneuvers
for the purpose of clean ing the brake
system on ly if road con ditio ns pe rmit.
Oth er road users must not be put at r isk -
yo u may cause an ac ciden t! -
Before descend ing a steep grade, red uce
speed and sh ift transmission into a lower
gear or lower dr iving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long o r too often . This could cause the
brakes to get hot and diminish braking
efficie ncy.
- Do not "ride the brakes" by rest ing you r
foot on th e pedal whe n you do not intend
to b rake. This may c ause the brake s to
overhea t, prem ature wear and incre ased
stopping distance.
- Unde r cert ain cl im atic and ope rat ing
conditions s uch as passing thro ugh wa ­
ter, driving in heavy rain o r after washing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced. In winte r, ice can
accumu late on the brake pads, lin ings,
d iscs and drums. Carefully app ly brakes
for a test. Brakes will dry and ice coat­ i n gs w ill be cleaned off after a few care­
fu l brake applicat ions.
- Driving for an extended period of t ime on
salt-covered roads without using your
b rakes can a lso affect bra kin g efficiency .
Clea n off accum ulate d sal t coa ting from
b rake discs and pads wi th a few c areful
b rake applications .
- If you d am age t he fron t spoiler, or i f yo u
install a diffe rent spoiler, be s ure the a ir
f low to the front brakes is not obstruc t­
e d. Otherwise the brake system could
overheat reducing the effectiveness o f
the entire brake system.
- Fa ilure of one brake circuit will impa ir
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.
T he brake booster wo rks with vacuum pres­
s ur e which is created only when the engine is
runn ing
c> ,& . ..,.

& WARNING
-Never let the vehicle roll to a stop with
the engine shut
off.
- If the brake booster is not working, for
example when towing your vehicle, or
because the brake booster has somehow
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 ass istance to provide com­
fortable and safe steering response exactly matched to the veh icle speed.
Power steering wi ll not work if the engine is
off. As a resu lt, the steering whee l wi ll be hard
to turn.
The power steering fluid level is checked dur­ ing the scheduled maintenance services.
(D Note
I f there is an electronic malfunct ion, ser­
votronic
will sti ll function like a conven­
tional power steering system, providing a
constant steering support force that is no
longer proportionate to the vehicle speed.
This is most noticeable when turning the steer ing whee l at low speeds (for examp le
when parking), -more effo rt will be re­
qui red than usual.
- Be awa re of the different than usual
steering response and adjust your stee r­
i ng fo rce accord ingly.
- Have the p roblem checked and set right
by an Aud i dealer as soon as possib le .
Int ellig ent technolog y 191
(D Tips
-When the engine is running, never ho ld
the steering wheel turned all the way to
the right or to the left for longer than 15
seconds. The power steering pump will
overheat the hydrau lic fluid if you keep
holding the stee ring wheel turned all the
way. This is likely to damage the power
steering system.
- If the powe r stee ring system should fa il
entire ly, o r if the e ngine is not run ning
(for example, wh ile be ing towed), you
w ill still be able to stee r the veh icle.
However,
considerably more effor t will
be required to do so .
- If the power stee ring system sho uld
have a lea k, or is not functioning proper ­
ly, contact your authorized A udi dealer
immediately.
- The power steering system req uires a
specially formu lated hydra ulic fluid. The
power steering fluid reservoir is located
in the engine compartment
Q page 221.
The correct fluid level in the reservoir is
important for proper functioning of the
powe r stee ring.
Driving with your
quattro ®
With All Wheel Drive, all four wheels ore driv­
en.
General information
Wi th A ll Wheel Drive, power is dis tributed to
all four w heels. This happens automatically
depend ing on your driving style and the road
conditions at the time . See a lso
Q page 187.
With the sport different ia l*, power distribu­
tion to the rear wheels is variable and can be
adjusted with Audi drive select*
Qpage 103.
Always read and follow safety precautions
Q&_ ,
Winter tires
When dr iving in the winter, yo ur vehicle with
A ll Wheel Drive has an advantage, even w ith
regular tires. In winter road conditions it may ..,. •
•

194 Driving and environment
Driving and
environment
The first 1,000 miles
(1,500 km) and
afterwards
New engine
The engine needs to be run-in during the first
1,000 miles (1,500 km).
For the fir st 600 miles (1,000
kilometers ):
.,. Do not use full throttle.
... Do not drive at engine speeds that are more
than 2/3 of the max imum permitted RPM.
... Avoid hig h engine speeds.
From 600 to 1,000 mile s (1 ,000 to
1,500 kilometers):
... Speeds can gradually be increased to the
max imum pe rm iss ible road or eng ine speed .
During and after break-in per iod
.,. Do not rev the engine up to high speeds
when it is cold. Th is app lies whether the
transm ission is i n N (Neutra l) or in gear.
After the break-in period
... Do not exceed maximum engine speed un­
der any circumstances.
.,. Upshift into the next hig her gear
before
reaching the red area at the end of the tach­
ometer scale
c:> page 10.
During the first few hours of driving, the en­
g ine's interna l friction is higher than later
when all the moving parts have been broken
in . How well this break- in p rocess is do ne de­
pends to a conside rable extent on th e way the
ve hicl e is driven d uring the first 1,0 00 miles
(1, 500 k ilome ters).
0 Note
E xtremely high engi ne speeds are auto­
mat ica lly reduced. However, these rpm
lim its are progr amme d for an engine well
r u n- in, not a new engine .
{® For the sake of the environment
Do not drive with unnecessarily high en­
g ine speeds - upshifting ear ly saves fuel,
reduces no ise and protects the environ­
ment.
, New tires
If your vehicle is runni ng on new tires, drive
part icularly caref ul for the first 350 miles
(500 kilomete rs) afte r fitt ing .
A WARNING
New tires tend to be sl ippery and mus t al­
so be "broken -in" . Be s ure to remember
this dur ing the fi rst 350 mi les ( 500 kilo ­
meters) . Brake gently . Avoid fo llow ing
closely behind other vehicles or other sit­
uations that m ight require sudden, hard
braking .
New brake pads
Remember that new brake pads do not have a
full bra king effect dur ing the fi rst 250 m iles
(400 kilomete rs) afte r they a re insta lled .
New brake pads have to be "burnished in" be­
fo re t hey have optima l grab
c:> A .
During the break- in period, you should avoid
putting severe loads on the brakes. Severe
l oads include, for example, sudden hard brak­
i ng, in particular at very high speeds or, for
example, on mounta in passes .
A WARNING
New b rake pa ds don't have t he bes t stop­
pi ng power and mus t be "broke n-in " dur­
i ng the in iti al 1 00 to 150 mi les (150 to
20 0 k ilometers) of no rma l city driving . You
can compensate for this by pressing the
br ake peda l mo re f irm ly . This also applies
l ater when new pads are installed.