2012 AUDI A8 brake

@ For the sake of the environment
Underinflated tires will a lso increase the
fue l consumption .
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of load or
weight that any vehicle and any t ire can carry.
A vehicle that is overloaded w ill not handle
well and is more difficult to stop. Overload ing
can not only lead to loss of vehicle control, but can a lso damage importan t pa rts of the
ve hicle and can lead to s udden tire failure, in­
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation that
can cause the veh icle to crash.
Your safety and that of yo ur passenge rs a lso
depends on making s ure that load limits are
not exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody
and everything in and on the vehicle. These
load limits are technica lly referred to as the
vehicle's
Gros s Vehicle We ight R ating
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the weight of the basic
vehicle, all factory insta lled accessories, a full
tank of fue l, oil, coolant and other fluids plus
maximum load. The maximum load includes
the number of passengers that the vehicle is intended to carry ("seating capacity") with an
assumed weight of 150 lbs (68 kg) for each
passenger at a des ignated seat ing pos ition
and the total we ight of any l uggage in the ve­
hi cle. If you tow a trailer, the weight of the
trailer hitch and the tongue weight of the loaded trailer must be included as part of the
vehicle load.
The
Gro ss Axl e W eight R ating ("GAWR") is
the maximum load that can be app lied at each
of the vehicle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating a re listed on the
safety compliance sticker labe l located on the
driver's side B -pillar . Your Audi has 5 seating
positions, 2 in the front and 3 in the rear for
total seating capacity of 5. Vehicles with pow­
er individual rear seats* have 4 seating posi­
tions, 2 in the front and 2 in the rear for total
Tire s an d wheel s 243
seating capacity o f 4 . Each seating position
has a safety belt~ page 134, Safety belts .
T he fact th at there is a n upper limit to yo ur
vehicle's G ross Vehicle Weight Rating means
that the total weight of whatever is being car­
ried in the vehicle (including the weight of a
tra iler hitch and the tongue weight of the
l oaded tra iler) is lim ited. The more passen­
gers in the vehicle or passengers who are
heavier than the standard we ights assumed
mea n that less we ight can be carried as lug­
gage .
The tire pressure label on your Audi also lists
the maximum combined weight of all of the
occupants and luggage or other cargo that
the vehicle can carry . For the locat ion of the
label ~page239, 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.
- Ca rrying more we igh t than your veh icle
was des igned to carry wi ll prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in ­
crease the risk of the loss of vehicle con­
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
veh icle w ith in a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been over load­
ed can fail suddenly, incl uding a blowout
and sudden deflation, causing loss of
control and a crash .
- Always make sure that the total load be­
ing transported -includ ing the weight of
a trailer hitch and the tongue we ight of a
loaded trailer -does not make t he vehi­
cle heavier than the vehicle's Gross Vehi­
cle Weight Rating.
Determining correct load limit
U se the exa mple be lo w t o cal­
c ulat e th e t otal weight of the
pa sse ngers a nd lu gg age or
•
•

246 Tires and wheels
& WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con­
trol, a crash and serious personal injury!
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica­
tors.
- Worn tires are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
your risk of "hydroplaning" and loss of control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause tire damage, such as grease, oil, gasoline
and brake fluid away from tires.
- Tires age even if they are not be ing used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then with special care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used tires on your vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in .
Fig. 187 Tir e specificat ion codes on the s idewall of a
t ire
No. Description
(!) Passenger car tire (where applicable)
@ Nominal width of t ire in millimeters
@ Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
© Rad ial
® Rim diameter code
@ L oad index and speed rating
(J) U.S. DOT tire identification number
@ Audi Original tire
@ Sever snow conditions
@ T ire ply composition and materials
used
Maximum load rating
Treadwear, traction and temperature
grades
Maximum permissible inflation pres­
sure
T he tires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle 's design . The tires and rims approved
by Audi are spec ially matched to the charac­
teristics of the vehicle and can make a major .,..

Driving with different tires reduces vehi­
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
control.
- If the spare tire is not the same as the
tires that are mounted on the vehicle -
for example with winter tires -only use
the spare tire for a short period of time
and drive with extra care. Refit the nor­
mal road wheel as soon as safely possi­
ble.
- Never drive faster than the maximum
speed for which the tires on your vehicle
are rated because tires that are driven
faster than their rated speed can fail
suddenly.
- Overloading tires cause heat build-up,
sudden tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation and loss of control.
- Temperature grades apply to tires that
are properly inflated and not over or un­
deri nflated.
- For technical reasons it is not always
possible to use wheels from other vehi­
des -in some cases not even wheels
from the same vehicle model.
- If you install wheel trim discs on the ve­
hicle wheels, make sure that the air flow
to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced air­
flow to the brakes can them to overheat, increasing stopping distances and caus­
ing a collision.
- Run flat tires may only be used on vehi­
cles that were equipped with them at the
factory. The vehicle must have a chassis designed for run flat tires . Incorrect use
of run flat tires can lead to vehicle dam­
age or accidents. Check with an author­
ized Audi dealer or tire specialist to see if
your vehicle can be equipped with run flat tires. If run flat tires are used, they
must be installed on all four wheels. Mix­
ing tire types is not permitted.
- For technical reasons, it is not generally
possible to use the wheel rims from oth­
er vehicles. This can hold true for wheels
of the same vehicle type.
Tires and wheels 249
- If the spare tire is different from the
tires that you have mounted on your ve­
hicle (for example winter tires or wide
profile tires), then use the spare tire for a
short period of time only and drive with
extra care. Replace the flat tire with the
tire matching the others on your vehicle
as soon as possible .
- Never drive without the valve stem cap .
The valves could get damaged.
@) For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old tires in accordance with the
local requirements.
' Uniform tire quality grading
-Tread wear
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the tire side wall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width
c:> page 246,
fig. 187.
For example: Tread wear 200, Traction AA,
Temperature A.
All passenger car tires must conform to Feder­
al Safety Requirements in addition to these
grades.
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified
government test course.
For example, a tire graded 1S0 would wear
one and one half (11/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded 100.
The relative performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of their use, how­
ever, and may depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving habits, serv­
ice practices and differences in road character-
istics and climate. .,.. •
•

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 .,..

Spare wheel
Applies to vehicles: with spare wheel
The spare wheel is stored in the wheel well
underneath the floor panel in the luggage
compartment.
F ig. 1 95 Luggag e compartment: spare wheel
Taking out the sp are whee l
• Lift the cargo floor by the plast ic handle
c:> fig . 195.
• Hook the hand le into the luggage compart ­
ment weather strip .
• Turn the large screw
c:> fig. 195 counter­
clockwise.
• Take out the spare tire.
• Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack*
and the replaced tire i n the luggage com­
partment
c:> page 130 .
• Unhook the ca rgo floor before closing the
rear lid.
& WARNING
Loose items in the passenger compa rt­
ment can cause serious pe rsonal in jury
during hard braking or in an accident.
- Never store the spare wheel or jack and
tools in the passenger compartment.
@ Tips
Check the inflat io n press ure of the spare
tire periodically to keep the tire ready for
use.
-
What do I d o now ? 259
Changing a wheel
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang­
ing a wheel.
• After you experience a tire failure, pull the
car well away from mov ing traffic and try to
reach
le vel ground before you stop c:> ,&.
• All passengers should leave the car and
move to a safe location (for ins tance, behind
t he guardra il)
c:> ,& .
• Engage the parking brak e to prevent your
vehicle from rolling unintentionally
c:> ,& .
• Move sele ctor lever to po sit ion Pc:> &_ .
• If you are towing a trailer, unhitch the trail­
er from your vehicle.
• Take the
jack and the spare tire out of the
luggage compartment
c:> page 257,
c:> page258 .
& WARNING
You or you r passengers could be i njured
while changing a wheel if you do not fo l­
low these safe ty pre caut ions :
-I f you have a flat tire, move a safe d is­
tance off the road. Turn off the e ngine,
turn the emergency flashers on and use
other warning devices to a lert other mo­
torists .
- Make sure that passengers wait in a safe
place away from the vehicle and well
away from the road and traffic.
- To help prevent the vehicle from moving
suddenly and possib ly slipping off the
jack, always full y set the parking brake
a nd b lock the wheel d iagonally opposite
the wheel be ing changed. When one
front wheel is lifted off the ground, plac­ ing the Au tomatic Transmission in "P"
( P ar k) will
not prevent the vehicle from
mov ing .
- Before you chang e a whee l, be s ure the
g round is level and firm. If necessary,
use a sturdy board un der the jac k.
- After insta lling the spare wheel , make
sure that you replace t he f lat t ire/wheel
-

262 What do I do now ?
ho ld on to the car to keep your ba lance
and take care not to slip .
Raising the vehicle
The vehicle must be lifted with the jack first
before the wheel can be removed .
Fig. 199 Sill panels: markings
Fig. 200 Sill: posit ion ing t he veh icle jack
.. Activate the vehicle jack mode in the MMI:
I CAR ! function button > Ca r sys te m s control
button>
S ervic ing & c h ecks > Air susp .:
jack mod e > On .
.. Engage the par king brake to prevent your
vehicle from ro lling u ninten tionally.
.. Move the
se lector l ever to po siti on P .
.. Find the marking (imprint) on the sill that
is nearest the wheel that will be changed
o fig. 199 . Behind the marking, there is a
lifting point on the s ill for the vehicle jack .
.. Turn the
ve hicle jack located under the lift­
ing point on the si ll to raise the jack until its
arm @
o fig. 200 is located under the des ­
i gnated plastic mount
o ,& o0.
.. Align the jack so that its arm @ o fig. 200
engages in the designated lifting po int in
the door sill and the movable base @ lies
flat on the ground. The base @ must be
ver­
tical
under the lifting point @. ..
Wind the jack up fu rther until the f lat tire
comes off the ground
o .&, .
Position t he vehicle jack o nly under the desig ­
nated lifting points on the si ll
¢fig. 199.
There is exactly one location for each wheel.
The jack must not be positioned at any other location
c:> .&, c:>Q).
An un sta ble surf ace under the jack ca n cause
the vehicle to slip off the jack . Always provide
a firm base for the jack on the ground . If nec­
essary place a sturdy board or similar support
under the jack. On
hard, sl ipp ery su rfaces
(such as tiles) use a rubbe r mat or similar to
prevent the jack from slipping
c:> .&, .
A WARNING ~
-You or your passengers could be injured
while changing a wheel if you do not fo l­
low these safety preca utio ns:
- Position the vehicle jack on ly at the
designated lifting points and align the
jack. Otherwise, the vehicle jack could slip and cause an injury if it does not
have sufficient hold on the vehicle.
- A soft or unstable surface under the
jack may cause the vehicle to slip off
the jack . Always provide a firm base for
the jack on the ground. If necessa ry,
use a stu rdy board under the jack.
- On hard, s lippery surface (such as t iles)
use a rubber mat or simi lar to prevent
the jack from slipping.
- To help prevent injury to yourself and
your passe ngers:
- Do not raise the vehicle until you are
sure the jack is securely engaged.
- Passengers must not remain in the ve­
hicle when it is jacked up.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a
safe place away from the vehicle and
well away from the road and traffic .
- Make sure jack pos ition is correct, ad ­
just as necessary and then continue to raise the jack.
- Changes in temperature or load can af­
fect the height of the vehicle.

266 Fuses and bulbs
Fuse panel @ (brown)
No. Equipment
1 Headlight control switch
2 Emergency start coil (key
identification)
3 Rear door
control module
(driver's side)
5 Horn
6 Interior lights
(headliner)
Steering column lever, mul-
8
tifunction steering wheel
controls, steering wheel
I heating
10 Power steering column ad-
justment
11 Driver door control module
12 Diagnost
ic connector, light/
rain sensor
14 Power steering column ad-
justment
15 Power
steering, AC compres-
sor
16 Brake booster
Fuse panel © (black)
No. Equipment
1 Front seat heating
2 Windshield wiper
3 Front exterior lighting
4 Sun roof
5 Driver power window
6 Driver seat (pneumatic)
7 Panoramic
sunroof
8 Dynamic steering
9 Front exterior lighting
10 Windshield/headlight
wash-
er system
11 Rear power window (driver's
side)
Panoramic sunroof
Amps
5
5
7,5 15
7,5
10/5
5
7,5 10
25
20 15
Amps
30
30
30 20
30 15
20
35
30
35
30
40
Front passenger side cockpit fuse
assignment
Fig. 206 Front passe nger side cockpit: fuse pane l with
plastic bracket
Fuse panel ® (black)
No. Equipment Amps
1 Anti-theft alarm system
5
2 T
ransmission control mod-
15
ule
3 Front climate control fan 40
4 Engine supply 35
6 Engine
control module
5
7 Front passenger door con-
7,5
trol module
8 Front passenger
power win-
30
dow
9 ESC control module 10
10 E5C control modu le 25
11 Right rear power window
30
12 Front
passenger seat (pneu -
15
matics)

Fuse s and bulb s 267
Luggage compartment fuse assignment
Fig. 207 Luggage compartment: fuse pa nel with plastic bracket
Fuse panel @ (black ) Fuse panel @ (b la ck)
No . Equi pment Amps No. Equipment Amps
[ru button, data logger, diag-
11 Dynamic
steering
5
l nostic connector, BCM -1,
5
Selector lever, BCM-2 5
adaptive light ing system
Audi side assist
5
2 Networking gateway 5
Engine control module 5
3 adaptive air suspension
5
Starter 40
4 Parking system 5
Left headlight/Headlight
16 10/5
5 Steer
ing column lever
5
range control system
Suspension control system
6 5 Fuse panel @ (red ) sensor
Belt tensioners, airbag con-
No. Equipment Amps
7
trol module 5 1 Left
reversible be lt tens ione r
25
Heated washer fluid nozzles, 2 Right reversible belt ten-
25
Homelink (garage door sioner
8 opener), night vision system
5 3 Starter diagnosis 5
control module, sport differ- 4 DC/DC converter
7,5
ential, ioni zer
5 Adaptive cruise contro l 7,5
9
Electromechan ica l parking
5 Right headlight (headlight
brake contro l modu le
6 with adaptive light) 10 -
10 Rear seat heating, cooler, in-
5 7 ESC co ntrol modu le 5 ... terior rearview mirror