2012 AUDI A8 belt

Advanced Parking System . . . . 115
Advanc ed Pa rking System with r ear
view camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Ad justing the display and warning
tones .... .. ................. .. .. 119
E rro r messages
Homelink ® ............ .... .. . .
Universal remote control . .. .. .. .. . . 120
121
121
Safety first
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Driving Safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Prope r occupa nt seating posit ions . . . 125
Driver and passenger side footwell . . . 129
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
S towing lugg age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Report ing Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Safety belt s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Why safety be lts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 7
Safety belt pretens ioners . . . . . . . . . . 140
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Important th ings to know . . . . . . . . . . 142
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Mon itoring the Advanced Airbag
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Knee airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
S ide curta in a irbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Ch ild Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
I mportant th ings to know .. .. .. .. . .
C hil d safety sea ts ......... .... .. . .
I ns tall ing a chi ld safe ty seat .. .. .. . .
L A T C H L ower ancho rages and tethers
for chi ldren ..... .. .... ... .. .. .. . .
Addit io n al Information
Audi pre sense ..... ... .. .. .. . .
Preventative passenger protection .. . 166
17
1
175
178
184
185
185
Table of contents 3
Vehicle oper ation . . . . . . . . . . . . .
187
Intelligent technology . . . . . . . . 187
Notice about data recorded by vehicle
control modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
E lectronic Stability Control (ESC) . . . . 187
B rak ing ...... ... .. ............. .
Se rvotronic ® - advanced powe r
stee ring system ......... ........ .
D rivi ng with your q uattro ® ...... .. . 189
191
191
E nergy m anagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Driving and environment . . . . . 194
T he first 1,000 miles (1,500 km) and
a ft erwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 4
Catalytic conve rter. .. ... ...... ... . 195
Avoid damaging the vehicle . . . . . . . . . 195
Driving throug h wate r on roads . . . . . 196
Operate your vehicle economically and
min imize pollution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Driv ing with a traile r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Trai le r tow ing tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Vehicle care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Cleaning and protection . . . . . . 203
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Care of exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Car e of inte rior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank ... .. .... .......... ....
215
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
F uel tank.. .. .. .. ... ............ . 216
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . 219
E ngine hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Engine compartmen t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
E ngine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Engine cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Windsh ie ld/headlight washer
container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
T ire pressure mo nitoring system . . . . 253
•
•

12 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
Some indicators lights in the disp lay can turn
on in several colors.
A WARNING
-Failure to heed warning lights and other
important vehicle information may result
in serious personal injury or vehicle dam­
age.
- Whenever stalled or stopped for repair,
move the vehicle a safe distance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the
emergency flasher
¢ page 44.
- The engine compartment of any motor
vehicle is a potentially hazardous area.
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, stop the engine and let it
cool down. Always exercise extreme cau­
t ion when work ing under the hood
¢ page 213, Engine compartment
(D Tips
Ma lfun ctions or faults w ill be identified e i­
ther with a red symbo l (pr iority 1 -Dan­
ger!) or with a ye llow symbo l (pr iority 2 -
Warning).
Overview
Some indicator lights turn on briefly to check
the function of that system when you switch
the ign ition on. These systems are marked
with an./ in the follow ing tables . If one of
these indicator lights does not turn on, there
is a malfunction in that system .
Red indic ator light s
Red symbols indicate a priority malfunction -
Danger!
- Pull off the road.
- Stop the vehicle .
- T urn off the engine.
- Check the malfunct ion ing system. Contact
your authorized Aud i dea ler o r a qua lified
workshop for assis tance.
USA m odel s: ./
Brake malfunction
¢page 14
Canada models : ./
Brake malfunction
¢page 14
USA model s:
-
Electromechanical parking brake
¢page 15
Canada models :
Electromechanical parking brake
¢page 15
Engine cooling system
¢page 15
Engine oil pressure
¢page 17
Engine oil level
¢page 17
Battery
¢page 16
Safety belt
¢page 16
Electronic steering column lock
¢page 17
Engine start system
¢page 17
Speed warning system
¢page85
I
Adaptive cru ise control./
¢ page89
Air suspension
¢page 18
Pedestrian warning
¢page 106
Yellow ind icator light s
Yellow symbo ls indicate a priority 2 malfunc-
tion - Warning!
...

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 15
A WARNING ,~
- Always observe the warnings in
c:> page 213, Engine compartment, be­
fore opening the hood and checking the brake fluid.
- Driving with low brake fluid is a safety hazard. Stop the car and get professional
assistance.
-USA models: If the - warning light,
the
Iii warning light and them warn­
ing light come on together, the rear
wheels could lock up first under hard braking. Rear wheel lock-up can cause
loss of vehicle control and an accident.
Have your vehicle repaired immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer or a quali­
fied workshop . Drive slowly and avoid
sudden, hard brake applications.
- Canada models: If the brake warning
light ., the
Ii] warning light and the
ABS warning light
ll] come on together,
the rear wheels could lock up first under
hard braking. Rear wheel lock-up can
cause loss of vehicle control and an acci­ dent . Have your vehicle repaired immedi­
ately by your authorized Audi dealer or a
qualified workshop. Drive slowly and
avoid sudden, hard brake applications.
- If the brake warning/indicator light does
not go out after a few seconds and the
parking brake released, or lights up while
you are driving, the fluid level in the
brake fluid reservoir is too low. If you be­
lieve that it is safe to do so, proceed im­
mediately at low speed to the nearest
authorized Audi dealer or qualified repair
facility and have the brake system in­ spected.
-Always keep in mind that after several
brake applications, you will need greater
pressure on the brake pedal to stop your
vehicle . Do not rely on strained brakes to
respond with maximum stopping power
in critical situations. You must allow for
increased braking distances. The extra
distance used up by fading brakes could
lead to an accident.
PARK/( ®) Electromechanical parking
brake
The warning/indicator light monitors the
electromechanical parking brake .
If the indicator light - (USA models)/ .
(Canada models) turns on, the parking brake
was set. If the parking brake is set when the
ignition is off, the indicator light turns off af­
ter about 20 seconds.
The warning/indicator light will go out when
the parking brake is released.
- (USA models) • (Canada models)
Caution: Vehicle parked too steep
If the indicator light blinks and the message
appears, there is not enough braking power to
keep the vehicle from rolling . The brakes have
overheated. The vehicle could roll away even
on a small incline.
Press brake pedal to release parking brake
To release the parking brake, press the brake
pedal and press the button~ or start driving
with starting assist at the same time
c:> page 83.
Please release parking brake
To release the parking brake manually, press
the brake pedal and press the button ~ at the
same time. The parking brake only release au­
tomatically if the driver's safety belt is fas­
tened .
IIJ Parking brake!
If the IIJ indicator light turns on and this
message appears, there is a parking brake
malfunction . Drive to your authorized Audi
dealer or qualified workshop immediately to
have the malfunction corrected.
- L Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engine cooling system
must be repaired as soon as possible.
• Switch off engine and check coolant level IJ-

16 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the coo lant temperature is too
h igh or the coo lant level is too low.
.,. Pull off the road.
.,. Stop the vehicle .
.,. Turn off the engine.
.,. Check coolant level¢
page 22 7.
.,. Add coolant if necessary¢
page 228 .
.,. Continue driving only after the eng ine cool­
ant warn ing/indicator light goes out.
.,. Co ntact your authorized Audi dealer for as-
s istance if necessary .
If the engine coolant level is correct, then the radiator fan may be the cause of the malfunc ­
tion .
• Coolant temperature too high! Please let
engine run with vehicle stationary
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears in trailer mode*, let the engine
run at idle for a few m inutes to cool down.
A WARNING ,_
- If your veh icle should break down for
mechanical or other reasons, park at a
safe distance from moving traffic, turn
off the engine and turn on the hazard
warning lights¢
page 44, Emergency
flasher.
-
- Never open the hood if you see or hear
steam or coolant escaping from the en­
gine compartment -you risk being scald­
ed. Wait until you can no longer see or
hear steam or coo lant escaping .
- Th e engine compartment of any vehicle
is a dangerous area. Before you perform
any work in the engine compartment,
turn of the eng ine and allow it to cool.
Follow the warning stickers¢
page 213,
Engine compartment.
0 Note
Do not continue driving if the . symbol
illuminates. There is a malfunct ion in the
engine cooling system -you could damage
your eng ine .
4'-Safety belts
This warning/indicator light reminds you to
put on your safety belt.
The . warning/indicator light illuminates
when the ignition is switched on to remind
the driver and any front passenger to put on
the safety belt. Addit ionally, an acoustic warn­
ing (gong) wi ll also sound .
For more Information¢
page 134, ~ Safety
belt warning light .
f::I Battery
This warning/indicator light detects a mal­
function in the generator or in the vehicle 's
electrical system.
The. warning/indicator light illum inates
when you switch on the ignition and must go
out after the eng ine has started .
• Alternator fault: Battery is not being
charged
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is a ma lfunction in the
generator or vehicle electrical system.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer or quali­
fied workshop immediate ly . Because the veh i­
cle battery is discharging, turn off all unnec­
essary electrical equipment such as the radio.
Seek professiona l assistance if the battery
charge level is too low.
(•i Low battery charge: battery will be
charged while driving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there may be limited starting
ability.
If this message turns off after a little while,
the battery charged enough while driving.
If the message does not turn off, have your
autho rized Aud i dealer or qualified workshop
correct the malfunction.

54 Seat s a nd s tor ag e
Seats and storage
General recommen­
dations
Why is your seat adjustment so
important?
The safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide maximum protection if the front
seats are correctly adjusted.
There are various ways of adjust ing the front
seats to provide safe and comfortable support
for the driver and the front passenger . Adjust
you r seat prope rly so that :
- you can easily and quick ly reach all the
switches and controls in the instrument
panel
-your body is prope rly supported thus reduc­
ing physical stress and fatigue
- the safety be lts and airbag system can offer
maximum protection
¢ page 142 .
In the following sec tions, you will see exactly
how you can best adjust you r seats .
There are special regulations and instructions
for insta lling a child seat on the front pas­
senger's seat. Always fo llow the information
regarding child safety provided in
q page 166, Child Safety.
A WARNING
Incorrect seating position of the driver and
all other passengers can result in serious
personal in jury.
- Always keep your feet on the floor when
the vehicle is in motion -never p ut your
feet on top of the instrument panel, out
of the w indow or on top of the seat cush­
ion . Th is app lies especially to the passen­
gers .
If your seating position is incorrect,
yo u increase the r isk of injury in the case
of sudden braking or an acc ident.
If the
airbag infla tes and the seating position
is incorrect, this could result in personal
injury or even death.
- It is import ant for bo th the driver and
front passenger to keep a distance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) between them­
selves and the steering wheel and/or in­
strument panel. If you're s itting any
closer than th is, the a irbag system can­
not protect you properly . In addition, the
front seats and head restraints must be
adjusted to your body height so that they
can give you max imum protect ion.
- Always try to keep as much distance as
possible between yourself and the steer­
ing wheel o r inst rument panel.
- Do not adjust the driver's o r front pas­
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving.
Your sea t may move unexpected ly, caus­
ing sudden loss of vehicle control and
personal injury . If you adjust yo ur seat
while the veh icle is moving, yo u are out
of posit ion.
Driver's seat '
The correct seat position is important for safe
and relaxed driving.
We recommend tha t you adjus t the dr iver's
seat in the fo llowing manner :
.,. Adjust t he seat in fo re and aft direction so
t ha t you can eas ily push the peda ls to the
floor wh ile keeping your knees sl igh tly bent
q A in Why is your seat adjustment so im­
portant? on page 54.
.. Adjust the back rest so that when you sit
w ith your back agains t th e backrest, you can
still g rasp the top of the steering wheel.
.. Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge
is as even as poss ible with the top of your
head . If that is not poss ible , try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
t his pos it ion as possib le
q page 61.
A WARNING
Neve r place any objects in the dr iver's foot ­
well. An object could get into the pedal
a rea and interfere with pedal function . In
case of sudden braking or an acc ident, you
would not be able to brake or accelerate .

Front passenger's seat
Always move the front passenger seat into the rearmost position .
To avoid contact with the airbag while it is de­
ploying, do not sit any closer to the instru­
ment panel than necessary and always wear
the three-point safety belt provided adjusted correctly . We recommend that you adjust the
passenger's seat in the following manner:
.. Bring the backrest up to an (almost) upright
pos it ion .
Do not ride with the seat reclined .
.. Adjust the head restra int so the upper edge
i s as even as possib le wit h the top of you r
head .
If that is not possib le, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible ¢
page 61.
.. Place your feet on the floor in front of the
passenger's seat.
Front seats
Controls
Moving the seat forward or back and adjust­
ing the height , backrest angle and seat an­
gle.
F ig . 50 Fron t seat: adju sting th e seat
@ -Mov ing the seat forward/back: press the
button forward/back ¢ .&, .
@ -Mov ing the sea t up/down : p ress the but­
ton up/down ¢& . To ad just the front sect ion
of the seat, press the front button up/down
¢ .&, .To adjust the rear sect ion of the seat,
press the rea r button up/down
c> ,& .
@ -Turn the massage function on/off. You
can select the type of massage using the mu l­
tifunct ion button
c> pag e 56.
Sea ts a nd s to rage 55
© -Backrest forward/back: press the button
forward/back ¢ .&, .
©-Comfort head restraints¢ page 61,
¢,& .
(D -Multifunction button¢& , ¢ page 56 .
A WARNING
-Never adjust the driver's or front pas­
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving.
If you do th is while the veh icle is moving,
you will be out of position. A lways adj ust
the dr iver's or front passenger's seat
when the vehicle is not moving.
- Be ca reful when adj usting the seat
height. Check to see that no one is in the
way, or serious injury cou ld resu lt!
- Because the seats can be electrically ad­
justed with the ignition off, never leave children unattended in the vehicle . Unsu­
pervised use of the electric seat adjust­
ments may cause serious injury.
- To reduce the risk of injury in the case of
sudden braking or accident, front pas­
sengers must never ride in a moving ve­
hicle with the back rest reclined . Safety
be lts and the airbag system on ly offer
maximum protection w hen the backrest
is upr ight and the safety belts are prop­
erly positioned on the body . The more
the backrest is reclined, the greater the risk of persona l injury from an incorrect
seating position and improperly posi­
tioned safety belts.

56 Seats and storage
Multifunction button
App lies to vehicles: wit h memory fu nctio n
You can adjust the massage function, upper
section of the backrest, lumbar support, side
bolsters, seating surface and safety belt
height using the multifunction button.
F ig. 51 MMI display : seat settings
Operating
• The M MI displays the possible seat settings
@ when yo u turn the mu ltifunction button
page 55, fig. 50 to the left or right
c:> fig. 51, c:> .&_.
• To select a seat setting, turn the multifunc­
tion button
is h ighlighted with a red border.
• The arrows @ indicate the possible adjust­
ments . For example, to move the lumbar
support down, press the multifunct ion but­
ton
l ights up .
The following seat settings @are possible:
Mas sage funct ion * -Massage type Wave,
K nock in g, Stretch, Lumbar , Sho ulder or Off .
You can set the massage strength level from 1
to 5 . You can turn the selected massage on/
off us ing the button @
c:> page 55, fig. 50 .
Safety belt h eight adju stment * -Moving the
safety belt up/down
c:> page 139, c:> .&..
Upper backre st -Moving the ang le of the up­
per section of the backrest forward/back
c:> &.
Lu mb ar support -Moving the lumbar support
up/down and making it firme r/softer
c:> .&. .
Side bol ster s* -Increasing/reducing the side
support in the seat using the side bolsters on
the seating surface and backrest
c:> &.
Seat ing surfa ce -Making the seat ing s urface
longer/shorter
c:> A .
A WARNING
-
-Never ad just the driver's or front pas­
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving.
If you do this while the vehicle is moving,
you will be out of position. A lways adjust
the dr iver's or front passenge r's seat
when the vehicle is not mov ing.
- Be careful when adjusting the seat
he ight . Check to see that no one is in the
way, or serious injury cou ld result!
- Because the seats can be electrically ad­
justed with the ignition off, never leave
children unattended in the veh icle. Unsu­
perv ised use of the e lectr ic sea t adj ust­
men ts may cause serious injury.
- To reduce the risk of injury in the case of
sudden b raking or acc iden t, front pas­
sengers mus t
never ride in a movi ng ve­
hicle with the backrest reclined . Safety
be lts and the airbag system only offer
maximum protection when the backrest
is upright and the safety belts are prop­
erly positioned on the body . The more
the backrest is reclined, the greater the risk of personal injury from an incorrect
seating position and improperly pos i­
tioned safety belts .
@ Tips
-The massage function switches off auto­
matically after approximately 10 mi­
nutes.
- In vehicles w ith the reclining rear seat,
only the safety belt he ight and the seat­
ing surface can be adjusted on the front
passenge r sea t using the mul tifunc tion
butto n.

58 Seats and storage
© -Switching front passenger seat adjust ­
ment on/off: this function must be activated
in the MMI ¢
page 60, ¢& .To switch front
passenger seat adjustment on, press the but­
ton. You can now adjust the front passenger
seats us ing the buttons @ and @. If you do
not press the buttons @ or@ , front passen­
ger seat adjustment switches
off automatica l­
ly after approximate ly ten seconds.
& WARNING
- T he power adjustment for the individ ual
seats also works with the ignition . For
this reason, children should never be left
unattended in the vehicle -th ey could be
injured!
- Exercise caution when adjusting the
seats. Uns upervised or careless seat ad­
justment can p inch fingers or hands
causing injur ies.
- Vehicles with a pass through in the cen­
ter console have seat ing for four. The
long center console between the two
Reclining rear seat overv iew
Applies to vehicles: with reclining rear seat
----------------- T ® ------ -
Fi g. 54 Rear doo r: ad justi ng the recli ning posit ion
(D -Adj usting the reclining posi tion
@ -Adjusting the standard position rear seats is
n
ot a seat ing position.
Therefore, a safety belt is not provided.
(D Note
If a child seat is attached to one of the rea r
seats, this seat must not be adj usted using
the power controls under any circumstan­
ces. The easy entry funct ion for this seat
must also be deactivated in the MMI
¢
page 60 . The child seat as well as the
r ear seat can be damaged by the adjust­
ment process.
© Tips
The massage function switches off auto­
matically after approximately 10 minutes.
- If you cannot
move the front passenger
seat, it may be because
- the front passenge r's seat memory
f u nction is swi tched off ¢
page 63 or
- the child safety lock is switched on (the
@ b utton ¢ page 38 or t he righ t t
button ¢ page 38 lights up in the d riv ­
er's door), or
- the front passenger seat adjustment is
switched
off in the MMI ¢ page 60.
@ -Fold ing the leg support up/down
@ -Leg support steeper/flatter
i :c ., a,