2012 AUDI A8 tow

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
•
•

4 Table of contents
Do-it-yourself ser vice . . . . . . . . .
256
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Trunk escape hand le . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Emergency warning triangle . . . . . . . . 256
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Changing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Fuses and bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Bulbs .. .. .. ... .... ...... ... ... .. 269
Emergency situations . . . . . . . . . 270
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Start ing by push ing or tow ing . . . . . . . 270
Starting with jumpe r cables . . . . . . . . 270
Use of jumper cab les . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 1
E mergency towing with comme rcial
tow truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Lifting vehicle .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... 274
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
General information . . . . . . . . . . 276
Explanation of technical data . . . . . . . 276
Vehicle ident ificat ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Dimensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
372 hp, 8-cylinder engine, w ith all
wheel drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
500 hp, 12-cyl inder engine, with all
wheel drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Consumer Information . . . . . . . 280
War ranty coverages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Operating your vehicle outside the U.S.A . o r Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Aud i Service Repair Man uals and
Li terature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Addit ional accessories, modifications
and parts replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Declaration of Compliance,
Te lecommunication or Electronic
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Index ..... ..... ..... ...... ..... 285

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 17
9::;r: Engine oil pressure malfunction
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol
requires immediate service or repair . Driving
with a Low-oil-pressure indication is Likely to
inflict severe damage to the engine .
• Switch off engine and check oil level
If the indicator light t urns on the message ap­
pears, the oil press ure is too low.
~ P ull off the road.
~ Stop t he ve hicle .
~ Turn off the engine.
~ Check the engine oil level¢ page 224 .
~ If the engi ne oil leve l is too low, add engine
o il ¢
page 225. M ake sure that the oil p res­
s ur e warning symbol. appears no longer
in t he d is pl ay befo re y ou start driving aga in.
~ If the engine oil leve l is cor re ct an d the ind i­
c a tor lig ht still tur ns o n, tur n t he eng ine
off
and do not contin ue d riving . Seek professio ­
nal assistance.
(D Tips
- The engine oil pressure symbol. is
not an indicator for a low engine oil lev­
el. Do not rely on it. Instead, check the
oil level in your engine at regular inter­
vals, preferably each time you refuel,
and always before going on a long trip.
- The yellow oil level warning indication
II requires oil refill or workshop serv­
ice without delay. Do not wait until the
red oil pressure warning. starts to
flash before you respond to the low oil level warning
l!I. By then, your engine
may already have suffered seriou s dam­
age .
~ . Engine oil level
• WARNING: Please add oil immediately
When t he sy mbo l and the dr iver message a p­
pea r, the oil has to be reple nished r ight now
¢page 222.
If the indicator lig ht and th e message ap pear,
a d d engine o il i mm edi ate ly
¢page 225.
II Add oil , max . x qt (l). You may continue
driving
Whe n the symbol and the d river message ap­
pear, add the amoun t of oil appear ing in the
display at the nex t oppo rtuni ty ¢
page 222.
® -Steering column lock
• Do not drive vehicle: Steering defective
If th e indic ator li ght turns on and the mes ­
sa ge appe ars, there is an e lectroni c steering
column lock malf unct ion . You cannot switch
the ignit ion on.
D o
not tow yo ur vehicle beca us e it cann ot b e
s tee red. See k profession al assistance .
!'J!I Steering lock : system fault . Please con­
tact dealer
If the indicato r light turns on and the mes­
sage appea rs , t here is an e lectronic stee ring
column lock malfunct io n .
Drive to your auth orized A udi dealer immedi­
ately to hav e th e m alfunction corr ect ed .
A WARNING -
Your vehicle m ust not b e tow ed in t he
eve nt of a ma lfunction in the elec tronic
st eer ing col umn lo ck b eca use i t cann ot be
s teere d du e to the lock ed s tee ring. If it is
towe d wit h the steer ing lo cke d, there is
the r isk o f an acci dent.
© -Engine start system
• Engine start system fault. Please con­
tact dealer
If the indica to r li ght tur ns on and the mes­
sage a ppea rs, do
not switch the ignition off
because you may not be ab le to sw itch it on
again.
D rive to your autho rized A udi de aler imme di­
ate ly to have the ma lfunction corrected.
• Engine start system fault . Plea se con­
tact dealer

22 Instruments and warning /indicator lights
However, you can continue to turn the lights
on and
off using the light switch . You can still
control a ll funct ions that are independent of
the rain sensor through the windshield wiper lever.
Contact your authorized Audi dealer as soon
as possible to have the prob lem corrected.
@! Dynamic steering
1;r.ij Steering: system fault. you can continue
driving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steering may be more diffi­
cult to move or more sensitive than usual. The
steering wheel may also be at an angle when
driving straight .
Drive slow ly to your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected.
tT@ Dynamic steering: initialising
If th is driver message appears and the ind ica­
tor light is flashing on the instrument panel,
dynamic steering is being reinitialized. Once
you start the engine after this is finished, the steering wheel w ill be easy to move . Re-initi ­
alization might be necessary if the steering
wheel was moved hard to the left and r ight
while the veh icle was not moving . The display
goes out as soon as init ialization is complete .
A WARNING
-
Have the dynamic steering system mal­
function repaired as soon as possible by an
authorized Audi dealer or any qualified
workshop -risk of accident!
@ Tips
-The dynamic steering stability systems
are not available in the event of a system
malfunction.
- For additional informat ion on dynamic
stee ring, refer to
¢page 103.
I-: Sport differential
II Sport differential: system fault
There is a malfunction with the sport d ifferen ­
t ial.
Drive to your authori zed Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected .
II Sport differential: overheating
The transmission temperature has increased
s ignificantly due to the sporty driving manner.
Drive in a less sporty manner until the tem­
perature returns to the normal range and the
indicator light switches of.
A WARNING
Contact your authorized Audi dealer or a
qualified workshop if the sport differential
is faulty or malfunct ioning . The repair
must be performed by trained personnel
using the correct oil in order to ensure
safety.
¢ 9 Turn signals
-
The indicator light blinks when you use either
turn signal .
Whenever you use the left B or the right B
turn signal, the indicator light blinks. When
you use the emergency flashers , both indica­
tor lights flash .
If one of the turn signal light bulbs burn out,
the turn signal will blink twice as fast as nor­ mal. Carefu lly dr ive to your authorized Audi
dealer immed iately to have the malfunction
corrected. The indicator light does not indi­
cate a malfunction if a turn signal on the trail­
er or on the vehicle fails in trailer towing
mode.
@ Tips
For more information on the turn signals,
refer to
¢ page 45.

44 Clear vision
Highway light function* (vehicles with LED
headlights) -this function adapts the lighting
for highway driving based on vehicle speed.
.&_ WARNING
- Automatic headlights are only intended
to assist the driver. They do not relieve
the driver of his responsibility to check
the headlights and to turn them on man­
ually according to the current light and
visibility conditions. For example, fog
cannot be detected by the light sensors.
So always switch on the headlights §.0
under these weather conditions and
when driving in the dark.
- Crashes can happen when you cannot see the road ahead and when you cannot be
seen by other motorists. Always turn on
the headlights so that you can see ahead
and so that others can see your car from
the back.
- Please observe legal regulations when
using the lighting systems described.
(D Note
The rear fog lights should only be turned
on in accordance with traffic regulation, as
the lights are bright for following traffic.
@ Tips
- The light sensor* for automatic dynamic
headlight range control* is located in the
rear view mirror mount. You should
therefore not apply any stickers to the
windshield in this area in order to pre­
vent malfunctions or failures .
- In the event of a light sensor malfunc­
tion, the driver is notified in the instru­
ment cluster display¢
page 21 .
- You will hear a warning tone if you open
the driver door when the exterior lights
are switched on.
- In cool or damp weather, the inside of
the headlights, turn signals and tail
lights can fog over due to the tempera­
ture difference between the inside and
outside. They will clear shortly after switching them on. This does not affect
the service life of the lighting.
Emergency flasher
The emergency flasher makes other motorists
aware that you or your vehicle ore in an emer ­
gency situation.
,--~
,_'
. ;.' --- --~-.sc-
Fig. 35 Center console: emergency flasher switch
.,. Press the switch 11 ¢ fig. 35 to turn the
emergency flashers on or off .
When the emergency flasher is on, all four
turn signals blink at the same time. The turn
s ignal ind icator lights
ea in the instrument
cluster, as well as the light in the emergency
flasher switch
11 blink likewise. The emergen­
cy flasher also works when the ignition is
turned off.
The emergency flashers will turn on automati­
cally if you are in an accident where the airbag
has deployed.
(D Tips
You should turn on the emergency flashers
when:
- you are the last vehicle standing in a traf­
fic jam so that any other vehicles coming
can see you, or when
- your vehicle has broken down or you are
in an emergency situation, or when
-your vehicle is being towed by a tow
truck or if you are towing another vehicle
behind you.

Adjusting the exterior lighting
The settings are adjusted in the MMI.
• Se lect: ICARI f u nct ion button> Car systems
control button > Vehicle sett ings > E xterior
lighting .
Automatic headlights
You can a djust the fo llow ing settings in the
Automatic headl ights men u:
Headlight s activation time -You can adjus t if
the hea dlights sw itch on
Early , Med . or Late
according to the sensitivity of the light se nsor .
Audi adaptive light* -You can sw itch adaptive
l ig ht
On a n d Off .
Daytime running lights
USA models :
You can switch the dayt ime ru n­
ni ng lights
on and off .
Canada models:
The function ca nnot be
turned off. It is activated a utomat ica lly each
time the ignition is switc hed o n. This menu
item is shown "gr eyed out" .
Coming home, Leaving home
The coming home function illuminates the
area outside the vehicle when yo u switc h the
i gn it io n off and open the driver's door. To tur n
the function o n, select
Lights when leaving
car > On .
The leav ing home function illuminates the
area outside the vehicle when yo u unl ock the
ve hicle. To turn th e f unc tion on, select
Lights
when unlocking car > On .
The com ing home and leaving home fu nctions
only operate whe n it is da rk a nd the light
sw itch is in the
AUTO p os itio n.
Clear vision 45
Turn signal and high beam lever
The lever on the left side of the steering col ­
umn is used to operate the turn signals and
the high beam as well as th e headlight flash­
er.
Fig. 36 Turn signal and high beam lever
The t urn signa l and hig h beam lever has t he
fo llow ing funct ions :
Turn signals ¢ Q ©@
N 0 ,._
± .. a,
• Pu sh t he leve r up as fa r as i t can go t o tur n
on t he righ t turn s igna l or d own to t urn on
t he le ft turn s ignal -=>
fig. 36 .
• Move the leve r br iefly u ntil yo u meet res ist ­
ance and release it to f lash three times.
• Move the lever (up or down) until you meet
resistance and hold it there to determine
the flashing t ime for the tu rn signals.
High beam ~D @
• Push t he leve r forward to sw itch on the hig h
beam.
• Pull the lever bac k towards yo u to sw itch off
the high beam.
Headlight flasher ~D ©
• Pull the lever towar d the stee rin g wheel to
use t he headlight flasher .
Notes on these features
-The turn signals o nl y wor k w ith t he ignition
sw itche d on. T he indi ca tor light s
R or II in
t he inst rumen t cluste r¢
page 11 also blink .
- Afte r yo u h ave t urned a corner, the tu rn s ig -
n al swi tches off au tom atic a lly .
- The
hig h beam wo rks o nly w he n the he ad-
lights a re on . The ind ic a tor ligh t
II in the .,,.

Selecting a color pr ofile
You can select from the Iv ory , Polar and Ru­
b y/ Pol ar
color profiles .
(D Tips
The settings are automa tically sto red and
assigned to the remote con tro l key that is
in use.
Instrument illumination
You con adjust the brightness of the instru ­
ment and display illumination .
Fig . 39 In strument ill um ination
• Press the knob to release it.
• Turn the knob toward"-" or"+" to reduce or
increase the brigh tness .
• Press the knob again to return it to its or igi ­
nal position .
Q Tips
The instrument illumination (for dials and
needles) lights on when the ig nitio n is
sw itched on and the vehicle lig hts are
turned off. As the daylight fades, the ill u­
m ina tion of the dials likewise dims auto­
mat ica lly and will go out com plete ly when
t he o utside light is very low . This fea ture is
meant to remind you to switch on the
headlights when o utside light conditions
become poor. Clear vi
sion 4 7
Vision
Sun visors
E J
Fig . 4 0 Sun viso r
The sun visors for the driver and passenger
can be re leased from their bracke ts and
turned toward the doors
c:> fig. 40 (D . They
can a lso be moved back and forth lengthwise
in th is position .
The m irror light switches on when the cover
over the vanity m irror @opens.
T here is a shade between the dr iver 's and pas­
senge r's s un visors that can be used to cover
the gap above the rearview mirror.
. Sun Shade
Fi g. 41 Cock pit: Sun shad e swit c h
Fig. 4 2 Rear doo r: S un s had e butto n

66 Seats and storage
Luggage compartment
Tie-downs and luggage compartment
net
The luggage compartment net prevents small
objects from sliding.
Fig. 64 Locat ion of the faste ning eyes in the luggag e
compartment
Fig. 65 Luggage compartment net unhooked
" To secure objects with the luggage com­
partment net*, fold the t ie-down bracket
upward
9 fig . 64 .
" Insert the hooks on the luggage compart­
ment net* into the tie-downs
9 fig. 65.
" Read and heed all WARNINGS 9page 130,
Stowing luggage.
In a collis ion, the laws of phys ics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will turn into heavy missiles that can cause
serio us injury . Items in the vehicle pick up ki­
netic energy which varies w ith the vehicle and
the weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the
most signif icant factor.
F or example, in a frontal collis ion at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a
10 -lb (4.5 kg) object are about
20 times the
normal weight of the item . This means that
the we ight of the item would suddenly be the equivalent of about
200 lbs (90 kg). One can
easily imagine the injuries that an item of that
weight flying freely through the passenger compartment can cause in a collision at a
speed considered relatively low.
A WARNING
-Weak, damaged or improper straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur­
in g hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury.
- Always use su itable retaining straps and
p roperly secu re items to the tie-downs in
the lu ggage compartment to help pre­
vent it ems from shifting or flying for­
ward.
- Never attach a child seat tether strap to
a tie-down.
- Fo r strength-related reasons, the mount­
ing hooks can only be used to secure ob­
jects weighing up to 10 lb. (5 kg) . Heavi­
er objects will not be adequately secured
- there is a risk of injury.