2012 AUDI A8 light

-If the indicato r light - (USA mod ­
els)
,111 (Canada models) or I.I turns
on, there may be a malfunction in the
parking brake
¢page 15.
@ Tips
-You can apply the parking brake at any
time - even w ith the ignition switched
off. The ignit ion must be on in order to
release the parking brake.
- Occasiona l noises when the park ing
brake is applied and released are norma l
and are not a cause for concern.
- When the vehicle is parked, the parking
brake goes through a self-test cycle at
regular intervals. Any assoc iated noises
are norma l.
Parking
Various rules apply to prevent the parked ve­
hicle from rolling away accidentally.
P a rking
~ Stop the vehicle w ith the foot brake.
~ Pu ll the switch© to apply the parking
brake.
~ Se lect the P selector lever position
¢page 109.
~ Turn the eng ine off ¢,& .
In addition on incline s and grade s
~ Turn the steering wheel so that your vehicle
will roll against the curb in case it should
start to move.
A WARNING
-When you leave your veh icle - even if on­
ly b riefly - always take the ignition key
with you. This applies particu la rly when
children remain in the veh icle. Otherw ise
the ch ild ren could sta rt the engine, re­
lease the parking brake or operate elec­
trical equipment (e .g. power windows).
There is the risk of an accident.
- When the vehicle is locked, no one - par­
t icu larly not ch ildren should remain in
the vehicle. Locked doors make it more
On th e ro ad 83
difficult for emergency workers to get in­
to the vehicle - putting lives at risk.
Starting from rest
The starting assist function ensures that the
parking broke is released automatically upon
starting.
Stopping and appl ying p arking brake
~ Pull the switch(®) to apply the pa rking
brake.
Sta rting and automaticall y releasing the
parking brak e
~ When you start to drive as us ual, the pa rk­
ing brake is automatically released and your
veh icle begins to move .
When stopp ing at a traffic signal or stopping
in city t raff ic, the parking b rake can be ap­
plied. The vehicle does not have to be held
with the footbrake. The parking brake elimi­
nates the tendency to creep w ith a dr ive range
engaged. As soon as you drive off as usua l,
the parking brake is released automatically
and the vehicle starts to move.
St arting on slope s
When starting on inclines, the sta rting assist
prevents the vehicle from unintentionally roll­
ing back. The braking force of the parking
brake is not re leased until suff ic ient driving
force has been built up at the wheels.
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re­
l eased automatically on ly when the driv­
er's safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Starting off with a trailer
To prevent rolling back unintentionally on an
incline, do the following:
~ Keep the switch(®) pulled and depress the
accelerator. The parking brake stays applied
and prevents the vehicle from roll ing back-
ward . ..,.

84 On th e road
• You can release the switch (®) once you are
sure that you are developing enough for­
ward momentum at the wheels as you de­
press the accelerator .
Depending on the weight of the rig (vehicle
and trai ler) and the severity of the incline, you
may roll backwards as you start . You can pre­
vent roll ing backwards by holding the parking
brake switch(®) pulled out and accelerating -
just as you would when starting on a hill with
a conventional hand brake .
Emergency braking
In the event that the conventional brake sys­
tem fails or locks .
• In an emergency, pull the switch(®) and
continue to pull it to slow your vehicle down
with the parking brake .
• As soon as you release the sw itch
C®> or ac-
cele rate , the braking p rocess stops.
If you pull the switch(®) and hold it above a
speed of about 5 mph (8 km/h), the emergen ­
cy braking function is in it iated. The veh icle is
b raked at all four wheels by activa ting the hy­
d raul ic br ake system. The b rake performance
is simi lar to making an emergency stop
c::> & .
In order not to activate the emergency brak­
i ng by m ista ke, an audible wa rning tone (bu z­
z er) sounds when the swi tc h
C®> is pulled. As
soon as the switch(®) is released, or the accel­
erator pedal is depressed, emergency braking
stops .
.&_ WARNING
Emergency braking should only be used in
an emergency, when the normal foot brake
has failed or the brake pedal is obstructed.
Using the parking bra ke to perform emer­
gency braking will slow yo ur vehicle down
as if you had made a fu ll brake applicat ion.
T he laws of physics cannot be s uspended
even w ith ESC and its associate d compo­
nents (ABS, ASR, EDL). In corners and
when road or weather conditions are bad, a full brake application can cause the vehi- cle to sk
id or the rear end to break away -
risking an accident.
Speed warning system
, Introduction
The speed warning system helps you to stay
under a specified maximum speed .
The speed warning system warns you if you
are exceeding the maximum speed that you
have set . You will hear a warning tone when
your speed exceeds the stored value by ap­ proximate ly 3 mph (3 km/h). An ind icator
l ight . (USA
models) ;a (Canada mode ls) in
the instr ument cluster d isp lay also tur ns on at
the same time. The indicator light.,.
turns off when the speed decreases be low the
stored maxim um speed.
Setting a th reshold is recommended if you
would like to be rem inded when you reach a
certain maxim um speed. Situations whe re you
may want to do so include driving in a co untry
with a genera l speed limit or if there is a
specified maximum speed for winter tires.
(D Tips
Even though your vehicle is equipped w ith
a speed warn ing system, you should still
watch the speedometer to make sure you
are not dr iv ing faster than the speed limit.
Setting the threshold
You can set, change and delete the threshold
in the MMI.
• Select: !CAR ! function b utton > Car systems
contro l button > Dri ver ass ist > Speed warn ­
ing .
You can set any threshold between 20 mph
(30 km/h) and 150 mph (240 km/h). Sett ings
can each be adj usted in increments of 5 mph
(10 km/h).

Cruise control
Switching on
The cruise control system makes it possible to
drive at a constant speed starting at 20 mph
(30 km/h).
0
f
~
0
Fig . 84 Control lever with set button
Fig . 85 D isplay: Selected speed
.,. Pull the lever to position (D ~ fig . 84 to
swit ch the system on .
.,. Drive at the speed you wish to set.
.,. Press button @to set that speed.
The stored speed and the ind icator light
[lj;(i)~1ij (US models) 1 11 (Canad ian models) ap­
pear in the instrument cluster display
¢ fig. 85. The display may vary, depending on
the type of disp lay in your vehicle. The indica­
tor light
Ill in the instrument cluster also illu­
minates.
The speed is kept constant via an engine out­
put adjustment or active brake intervention.
A WARNING
-Always pay attention to traffic even when
the cruise control is switched on . You are
always responsible for your speed and
the distance between your vehicle and other vehicles.
On the road 85
-For safety reasons, the cruise control
should not be used in the city, in stop­
and-go traffic, on twisting roads and
when road conditions are poor (such as ice, fog, gravel, heavy rain and hydro­
plan ing) - risk of accident .
- Turn off the cruise control temporarily
when enter ing turn lanes, highway exit
lanes or in construction zones.
- Please note that inadvertently ''resting"
your foot on the accelerator pedal causes
the cruise control not to brake. This is
because the cruise control is overridden
by the driver's acceleration .
- If a brake system malfunction such as
overheating occurs when the cr uise con­
trol system is switched on, the braking
function in the system may be switched
off . The other cruise contro l functions re­
main active as long as the indicator light
tij;[i)~1ij (US models) 111 (Canadian mod­
els) is on.
(D Tips
The brake lights illuminate as soon as the brakes decelerate automatically.
Changing speed
.,. Press lever in the 0 or 0 direction
¢ page 85, fig . 84 to increase or decrease
your speed .
.,. Release the lever to save that speed.
Change speed in increments of 1 mph (1 km/ h) by lightly press ing the lever. If you keep the
lever pressed down , you will alter your speed
in 5 mph (10 km/h) increments.
You can also press the accelerator pedal down
to increase your speed, e.g. if you want to
pass someone. The speed you saved earlier
will resume as soon as you release the acceler­
ator pedal.
If, however, you exceed your saved speed by
6 mph (10 km/h) for longer than 5 m inutes,
the cruise control wil l turn off temporarily.
The green symbol
[ljlIJll (US models) ill in ..,_

90 Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard
• You must also press the brake pedal when
the vehicle is stopped.
Switching adaptive cruise control off
• Push the lever away from you into position
@ until it clicks into p lace. The message
ACC off appears.
@ Indicator lights
II-Adaptive cruise control is switched on . No
vehicles are detected up ahead. The stored
speed is maintained.
I-A moving vehicle is detected up ahead .
The adaptive cruise control system regulates
the speed and d istance to the moving vehicle
ahead and acce lerates/bra kes automatica lly.
f§ . Adaptive cru ise control is switched on . A
mov ing vehicle up ahead was detected. Your
vehicle remains stopped .
I -When automatic braking is not able to
keep enough distance to a p reviously detected
mov ing vehicle up ahead, you must take con­
trol and brake¢
page 92, Prompt for driver
intervention.
© Display
If adap tive cruise control is not shown in the
d isplay, you can call it up with the multifunc ­
tion steering wheel buttons~
page 23.
Based on the symbols in the display , you can
determ ine if the system is maintaining a dis­
tance to the vehicle ahead and w hat that dis ­
tance is.
No vehicle -No vehicle ahead was detected.
White vehicle -A vehicle ahead was detected .
Red vehicle -Prompt for the driver to take ac­
tion ¢
page 92.
Both
arrows on the scale © indicate the dis­
tance to the vehicle ahead . No arrow appears
when the vehicle is on an open road and there is no object ahead. If an object is detected
ahead, the arrow moves on the scale.
The green zone on the scale shows the stored d istance. For information on changing the stored distance, refer to
¢
page 91. If the
distance se lected is too close or may soon be­
come too close, the arrows move into the red
z one on the sca le.
A WARNING
Improper use of the adaptive cruise con­
trol can cause collisions, other accidents
and serious personal injur ies .
- Pressing the
!SET ! button when driving at
speeds below 20 mph (30 km/h), w ill au­
tomatically accelerate the vehicle to 20
mph (30 km/h), which is the minimum
speed that can be set .
(D Tips
-If you switch the ignit ion or the adaptive
cruise control off, the set speed is erased
from the system memory.
- You cannot switch the Electron ic Stabili­
ty Control (ESC) to the SPORT mode
when adaptive cruise control is switched
on .
Changing the speed
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cru ise control
0
f
• 0
Fig. 92 Selecto r lever : chang ing t he spee d
• To increase or reduce the speed in incre ­
ments,
tap the lever up or down.
-
-a)
N
q :r
~
"' To increase or reduce the speed qu ickly,
hold the lever up or down until the red L ED
@ reaches the desired speed ¢ page 89,
fig . 91.
Following any changes, the new stored speed
will be displayed briefly in the display @
¢page 89, fig. 91.

92 Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard
control will also accelerate up to the stored
speed.
The higher the speed , the greater the distance
in yards (meters)¢ .&.. T he
Distance 3 setting
is recommended .
The distances p rov ided are spec ified values.
Depending on the driving situation and the
how the vehicle ahead is dr iving, the actual
distance may be more or less than these tar­
get distances .
The various symbols for the time increments
appear briefly in the info rmation line @
¢ page
89, fig. 91 when you change the set­
tings .
c:::,_c:::, ___ Distance 1: This setting corre-
sponds to a distance of 92 feet/28 meters
when traveling at 62 mph ( 100 km/h), or a
time interval of
1 second.
c:::, __ c:::, __ Distan ce 2: Thi s setting corre­
sponds to a dis tance of 118 feet/36 meters
when traveling at 62 mph ( 100 km/h), or a
time interva l of 1.3 seconds.
c:::, ___ c:::,_ Distance 3: This setting corre-
sponds to a distance of 164 feet/SO meters
when traveling at 62 mph ( 100 km/h), or a
time interva l of 1.8 seconds.
c:::, ____ c:::, Distance 4: This setting corre-
sponds to a distance of 210 feet/64 meters
when traveling at 62 mph ( 100 km/h), or a
time interval of 2.3 seconds.
.&_ WARNING
Following other vehicles too closely in­
creases the risk of collisions and serious
personal injury.
- Setting short distances to the traffic ahead reduces the t ime and distance
available to br ing your vehicle to a safe
stop and makes it even more necessary
to pay close attention to traffic.
- Always obey applicable traffic laws, use
good judgment, and select a safe follow­
ing distance for the traffic, road and
weather conditions .
(D Tips
-Distance 3 is set automatically each time
you switch the ignition on.
- Your standard settings are automatically
stored and assigned to the remote con­
tro l key being used.
Selecting the driving mode
Applies to veh icles: w ith Audi adapt ive cr uise contro l
.,. Select the desired driving mode in dr ive se­
lect
¢ page 103 .
@ Tips
Your settings are automatically stored and
assigned to the remote control key being
used.
Prompt for driver intervention
Applies to vehicles : w it h Audi ada ptive cr uise cont ro l
Fig. 95 Instrument cluster: request for driver inte rven ­
tio n
In certa in s ituations, the system will prompt
yo u to take action . Thi s could happen, for ex­
amp le, if braking by the adaptive cruise con­
trol system is not enough to maintain enough
distance to the veh icle ahead .
The indicator light
I and the symbol in the
display will warn you about the situa tion
¢fig.
95. You w ill also hear an acoustic signal.
- Press the brake pedal to slow your vehicle
down.

Audi adaptive cruise control and braking guard 93
Audi braking guard
Description
Applies to vehicles: with Audi adaptive cruise control
Fig. 96 Instrument cluster: approach warning
Audi braking guard uses radar sensors and a
video camera. It also functions within the lim­
its of the system when adaptive cruise control
is switched off.
What can Audi braking guard do?
When detected in time, the system can assess
situations when a vehicle ahead brakes sud­
denly or if your own vehicle is traveling at a
high speed and approaching a vehicle up
ahead that is moving more slowly . Audi brak­
ing guard does not react if it cannot detect
the situation.
The system advises you of various situations:
- The
distance warning is given if you are too
close to the vehicle ahead for a long time. If
the vehicle ahead brakes sharply, you will not be able to avoid a collis ion. The indicator
light
I i n the display comes on .
- The
approach warning is given when a de­
tected vehicle up ahead in your lane is mov ­
i ng much more slowly than you are or if it
brakes sharply . When this warning is given,
it may only be possible to avoid a collision
by swerving or braking sharply. The indicator
light
I and indicator in the display will warn
you about the danger
c::> fig . 96. You will a lso
hear an acoustic signal.
If you do not react fast enough or do not react
at all to the situation, Aud i braking guard will
11
This is not ava ilable in som e coun tri es.
intervene by braking and the message braking
guard intervention
will appear.
- If a coll is ion is imminent, the system wi ll
first provide an
acute warning by briefly and
sharply applying the brakes.
- If you do not react to the acute warning,
braking guard can brake with increas ing
force within the limits of the system. This
reduces the vehicle speed in the event of a
collision.
- The system can initiate complete dece lera­
tion shortly before a collision
1>. Full deceler­
ation at high speeds occurs only in vehicles
with adaptive cruise control and side assist
(pre sense plus).
- If the Audi braking guard senses that you
are not braking hard enough when a colli­
sion is immi nent, it can increase the braking
force.
- The pre sense functions also engage when a
collision is imm inent
c::> page 185 .
Which function s can be controlled?
You can switch Audi braking guard and the
distance/approach warning on or off in the
MMI c::> page 94, Settings in the MMI.
A WARNING
Lack of attention can cause collisions, oth­
er accidents and serious personal injuries .
The Audi braking guard is an assist system
and cannot prevent a collision by itself.
The driver must always intervene. The driv­
er is always responsib le for braking at the
correct time.
- Always pay close attention to traffic,
even when the Audi braking guard is
switched on. Be ready to intervene and
be ready to take complete control when ­
ever necessary. Always keep the safe and
legal distance between your veh icle and
veh icles up ahead.
- Audi brak ing guard works within limits
and will not respond outside the system
lim its, for example when approaching a

96 Audi la ne a ssis t
Audi lane assist
Lane assist
Description
Appl ies to vehicles: with lane assist
Lane assist helps you keep your vehicle in your
lane .
Lane assist detects lane marker lines within
the limits of the system using a camera in the
windshield. If you are approaching a detected
lane marker line and it appears likely that you
will leave the lane, the system will warn you
with a light vibration . Lane assist is operable
when the line marki ng the lane is detected on
at least one s ide of the vehicle .
The system will not warn you before cross ing
a lane ma rker line if you have activated the
turn signal. In t his case, it assumes tha t you
a re cha nging lanes intent ionally.
The system is designed for driv ing on free­
ways and expanded highways and thus works
on ly at speeds of 40 mph (65 km/h) o r more .
.&_ WARNING
-Lane ass ist will not keep your vehi cle in
yo ur lane. The system only warns the
dr iver w hen the vehicle is leaving the
lane . The driver is always responsib le for
keeping the vehicle in the lane .
- The camera is not able to detect all lane
boundary lines and in some cases might
also detect lane structures or objects as
boundary lines. This can lead to incorrect
warnings or warnings that fail to go off
at all .
- The camera's visibility can be impaired by
vehicles ahead of you, for instance, or by
rain, snow, heavy spray or light shin ing
in to the camera lens. This can cause lane
a ssist to fa il to detec t bou ndary lines.
- Activating and deactivating
Applies to
vehicles: with lane assist
Fig. 9 7 Turn signal lever: Lane-ass ist button
Fig . 98 W ind shi eld: Lane assist camera viewing win­
dow
"' Press the q fig . 97 button to activate or de­
activate the system. The. or. indicator
light in the instr ument cluster w ill illumi­
nate or go out.
Instrument cluster indicator light
• Ready : The green indicator light shows
that th e system is ready to use . Th e system
can now warn you if yo u are about to cross a
known lane mar ker line.
• Not r ead y: The yellow indicator light
shows that the system is t urned on bu t unable
to send a warning . This can be due to the fol ­
lowing :
- There is no lane boundary line .
- The relevant lane marker lines are not de-
tected (for example, markings in a construc ­
tion zone or because they are obst ructed by
snow, d irt, water or backlighting) .
- The vehicle's speed is below the speed need·
ed to activate it, wh ich is about 40 mph (65
km/h).
- The lane is narrower than about 8
ft . (2.5
m) .

98 Audi lane assist
Setting the warning point and steering
wheel vibration
Applies to vehicles: with lane assist
You can adjust individual settings in the MMI.
.. Se lect: ICARI funct ion button> Car systems
control button > Driver assist > Audi lane
assist .
Setting the warning point
Early: With this setting, a warning is provided
before a wheel touches the detected lane
boundary line . The warning depends on the
angle in which the veh icle is approaching the
line. The distance at which the warning is giv­
en increases as the angle becomes sharper. If
you dr ive towa rd a bounda ry line at a very
sha rp angle, the warning will come just before
a wheel touches the line.
Medium : With this setti ng, the warn ing po int
is adapted to the course of the road, the lane
width and the speed. You wi ll sti ll be warned
if you cross slightly over a dotted line when
driving on curves.
Late : This setting has the same properties as
medium. You will only be warned once a
wheel crosses a detected line.
Setting the steering wheel vibration
The steering wheel v ibration can be set to
Low , Medium or Strong . Selecting each of the
settings will cause the steering wheel to vi­
b rate so you can check the strength of the vi­
bration in that setting.
(D Tips
Your settings are automatically stored and
assigned to the remote contro l key being
used .