2012 AUDI S8 airbag

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
•
•

(!) Door handle
@
®
©
®
®
Audi side assist d isplay
Power locking sw itches
Audi side assist button
A ir vents with thumbwheel
Control leve r for :
- Turn signal an high beam
- Audi lane assist ..... ... .. .
0 Multifunction steering wheel
with:
- Horn
- Drive r's airbag
- Driver information system but-
tons . ............... .. .. .
- Audio/video, telephone, navi­
gation and vo ice recognition
buttons
- Sh ift padd les ........ .. .. .
@ Instrument cluster .. ... .. .. .
® W indshield washer system
l ever .................... . .
@ Starting the engine i f there is a
malfunction . .. ..... ... .. .. .
@ Buttons for:
- MM I display
- Electronic Stab ility Contro l
( E SC) .. ............. .... .
- Emergency flashe rs . ..... . .
@ Buttons for:
- Steering wheel adjustment
- Steering wheel heating*
@ Lever for:
- Cruise contro l system
99
33
99
45
96
146
23
1 12
10
48
8 1
189
44
79
78
85
- Adaptive cruise cont ro l* . . . . . 87
(§ Eng ine hood re lease . . . . . . . . . 219
@ Data Link Connector for On
Board Diag nostics (OBD II) . . . . 26
@ Light switch and inst rument il-
l umination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43, 47
@ Buttons for :
- All-wea ther lights* 43
- Nigh t vision assista nt* . . . . . .
106
- Rea r fog lights . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
@ Power exterior mirror adjust -
ment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
In strument s and control s 9
@) Rear lid switch .... .. .. ..... .
@ Power w indows .. .......... .
@ Memo ry function buttons .... .
@ MMI display
@ I n d icator lights/buttons for
- P ASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF
- Par king system . .. ........ .
- Rear w indow power sun shade
@ G love compartment . ..... .. .
@
@
@
Front passenger's airbag .... .
Analog clock .. .. .. ........ .
Climate controls
@ MMI controls
@ Se lector lever (a utomat ic trans-
m1ss1on) . ........ .. .. ..... .
@ Center console w ith cupholder
@ El ectromechanical pa rking
br ake .. .. .. .. .... ........ .
@ I START ENGINE STOPI button
(D Tips
34
38
62
153
115
47
72
146
25
76
109
71
82
80
- Some of the equipment o r feat ures
shown in the genera l ill ustration may be
standard equ ipment on your vehicle or
may be opt ional equ ipment depending
on your model. Always ask your author­
ized Aud i dea ler if you have a quest io n
about your vehicle .
- Operat ion of the Multi Med ia Interface
(MMI) is described in a separate manua l.

when you lock the vehicle from the out­side the windows cannot be opened from
the inside .
- When you leave the vehicle, always take
the ignition key with you. This will pre­
ven t passengers (children, for example)
from accidentally being locked in the ve ­
hicle should they accidentally press the
power locking switch in the doors.
- Do not leave children inside the vehicle
unsupervised . In an emergency it would
be impossible to open the doors from
the outside without the key.
- Applies to vehicles with power side door
closer*:
- When closing a door, make sure noth­
ing can interfere with the door. This
could cause serious personal injury.
- You can stop the door from closing at
any time by pulling on the inside or
outside door handle .
(D Tips
-In the event of a crash with airbag de­
ployment all locked doors will be auto­
matically unlocked to give access to the
vehicle occupants from the outside .
- If the power locking system should mal­
function, you can lock the driver's door
using the mechanical key
r::;, page 34.
- If the power locking system should fail,
you can still open the fuel tank flap in an
emergency
r::;, page 218 .
-You are well advised not to keep valua­
bles inside an unattended vehicle, visible
or not . Even a properly locked vehicle
cannot provide the security of a safe .
- If the LED in the upper edge of the driv­
er's door panel comes on for about 30
seconds after the vehicle is locked, there
is a malfunction in the power locking or
the anti-theft warning system. Have the
malfunction corrected by an authorized
Audi dealership or qualified repair facili­
ty.
Opening and closing 31
Setting power locking
T he driver can determine the functions for
power locking in the MMI .
.,. Select: !CAR !function button> Car systems
control bu tton > Vehicle settings > Central
locking .
Unlock doors -
You can decide if All doors or
only the
Driver should unlock. The rear lid al­
so unlocks when
All is selected. If you select
Driver in a vehicle with a convenience key* ,
only the door whose handle you pull will un­
lock.
If you select
Driver , all the doors and rear lid
will unlock if you press the
ffi button on the re­
mote control master key twice .
Lock exterior trunk handle -If you select On,
the rear lid handle is locked. In this case the
rear lid can be opened with the button
a on
the master key or with the
a button* in the
driver's door . In vehicles with a convenience
key* , you can still open the rear lid using the
handle if an authorized master key is near the
proximity sensor.
Fold mirrors* -If you select On, the exterior
rearview mirrors fold in automatically when
you press the
(TI button on the remote control
master key or touch the sensor* in the handle.
Lock when driving -If you select On, the vehi­
cle locks automatically when driving. All of
the doors and rear lid lock.
Tone when locking -When you select On, a
confirmation tone sounds when you lock the
vehicle.

34 Opening and closing
- Rear doors : pu ll the door handle once to re­
l ease the lock. Pull the handle
again to open
the door .
- If you have a crash and the airbag is activat­
ed, the doors automatically unlock .
A WARNING
-The power locking switch works with the
ignition off and automatically locks the
entire vehicle when it is actuated .
- On a vehicle locked from the outside the
power locking system switch is inopera­
tive .
- Locking doors from the inside can help
prevent inadvertent door opening during
an acc ident and can also prevent unwant­
ed entry from the outs ide . Locked doors
can, however, de lay ass istance to ve hicle
occupants and hold up rescue efforts
from the out side in an accident or other
emergency.
(D Tips
Your vehicle is lock ed automatically at a
speed of 9 mph (15 km/h)
Q page 30. You
can unlock the vehicle again using the
open ing function in the power locking sys­
tem switch.
Emergency locking
Each door must be locked separately if the
pow er locking system fails.
F ig. 21 Doo r: Em erge ncy loc kin g
An emergency lock is located on the front end
of the passenger's door and the rear doors (on ly visible when door is open) .
.. Remove the mechanical key
Q page 29. ..
Pull the cover cap out of the opening
i=>fig.21 .
.. Insert the key in the ins ide slot and turn it
all the way to the right (right door) or left
(left door) .
Once the door has been closed, it can no lon­
ger be opened from the outside. The doo r can
be opened from the inside by pulling the door
handle. If the child safety lock in a rear door is
activated, you must f irst pull the door handle
on the inside . Then you can open the door
from the outside.
Rear lid
Opening/closing the rear lid
Fig. 22 Driver 's doo r: remote rear lid re lea se
a:ro
AU Dl
Fig. 23 Posit io n of l ock and handle in t he rear lid
Opening the rear lid
.,, .,, N C? r ,. a,
.. Press the c:5 button on the remote control
maste r key briefly . T he rear lid will unlock .
.. To open the rear lid, press and hold the~
button on the remote control master key for
at least one second . Or
.. Pull the button
c:5 in the driver's door
i=> fig. 22 briefly. Or
.. Press the handle in the rear lid
c> fig. 23. Ill-

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.

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.