2013 AUDI A8 automatic transmission

2 Table of contents Vehicle literature .. .. .. .. .. ... .
5
About this Owner's Manual . . . 6
Controls and equipment .. ... .
Ins truments and controls .. . .
General illustration ......... .. ... .
Instruments and warning /
indicator lights ........ .. .. .. . .
Instruments ............ ... .. ... .
Warning/indicator lights .......... .
Driver information display .. .. .. ... .
On-Board Diagnostic system (OBD) . . .
Opening and closing .. .. .... . .
Keys .. ...... ........... .. .. ... .
Power locking system ..... .. .. .. . .
Luggage compartment lid .. .. .. .. . .
Child safety lock . .......... ... .. . .
Power windows . .......... ... .. . .
Valet park ing . ........... .. .. ... .
Sliding/tilting sun roof ... .. .. .. .. . .
Panoramic sunroof ........ .. .. ... .
Clear vision .. ........ .. .. .. .. . .
Lights . .. .. ............. .. .. .. . .
I nterior lights .............. .. ... .
V1s1on ..... ... .... ......... .... .
Wiper and washer system ... ... .. . .
Mirrors ................. .. .. ... .
Digital compass .......... .... ... .
Seats and storage ....... .. .. . .
General recommendations ..... .. . .
Front seats ... ........... .... ... .
Rear seats .. ... .... ...... .. .. .. . .
H ead restraints .............. .. . .
Seat memory . ... ..... ... .. .. .. . .
Full-length center console .... .. ... .
L uggage compartment .. .. .. .. ... .
Pass-through with ski sack ........ .
Roof rack ....... ......... ... ... .
12-vo lt sockets ........ ... .. .. ... .
Storage .. .. .. . .......... .. .. ... .
Cooler ... .. .................... . 8
8
8
1 0
10
11
23
28
30
30
32
36
40
40
41
42
43
4 5
45
49
so
52
54
55
57
57
58
60
64
65
67
69 70
71
73
74
75
Warm and cold .......... ..... .
Climate controls . ............. ... . 78
78
On the road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Starting and stopping the engine . . . . 83
E lectromechanical parking brake . . . . 85
Start-Stop-System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Speed warning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Cruise control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Audi adaptive cruise control
and braking guard . . . . . . . . . . . .
93
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Genera l information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Audi adaptive cruise control . . . . . . . . 95
Audi braking gua rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Audi lane assis t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Lane assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Audi side assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Lane Change Assistant. . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Audi drive select . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Driving settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Raising/lowering the vehicle . . . . . . . . 111
Driver messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Night vision a ssistant . . . . . . . . . 112
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Pedestrian detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Pedestrian warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Switching on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Settings in the MMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
D river messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 115
t iptron ic (8-speed transmission) . . . . . 115
Parking systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Advanced parking system with rear
view came ra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Peripheral cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

22 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
@.D Light/rain sensor
II Automatic headlights/automatic wipers:
system fault
If the indicator light turns on and this mes­
sage appears, the light/rain sensor is not
functioning correctly.
For safety reasons the low beams are turned
on permanently with the switch in AUTO .
However, you can continue to turn the lights
on and off using the light switch. You can still
control all functions that are independent of
the rain sensor through the windshield wiper
lever.
Contact your authorized Audi dealer as soon
as possible to have the problem corrected.
@! Dynamic steering
'T-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 slowly to your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected.
(;y.ij Dynamic steering: initializing
If this driver message appears and the indica ­
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 will be easy to move . Re-initi­
alization might be necessary if the steering
wheel was moved hard to the left and right
while the vehicle was not moving. The display
goes out as soon as initialization 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!
(D Tips
- The dynamic steering stability systems
are not available in the event of a system
malfunction.
- For additional information on dynamic
steering, refer to¢
page 109.
~= Sport differential
I'll Sport differential: system fault
There is a malfunction with the sport differen­
tial.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
I'll Sport differential: overheating
The transmission temperature has increased
significantly 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.
.&_ WARNING
Contact your authorized Audi dealer or a
qualified workshop if the sport differential
is faulty or malfunctioning. The repair
must be performed by trained personnel
using the correct oil in order to ensure
safety.
¢i ¢ Turn signals
-
The indicator light blinks when you use either
turn signal.
Whenever you use the left Hor the right II
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. Carefully drive to your authori zed Audi
dealer immediately 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. ..,

Audi drive select Driving settings
Introduction
Aud i drive select makes it possible to experi­
ence different types of vehicle settings in one
veh icle. The driver can select th ree
Comfort,
Auto
and Dynamic modes in the MMI to
switch between a sporty and a comfortable
driving mode.
You can also adjust the setting according to
your preferences in the
individual mode. For
examp le, you can combine settings such as a
sporty engine tuning with comfortab le steer­
ing.
A WARNING
Improper use of the Audi drive select can
cause collisions, other acc idents and seri­
ous personal injury .
Description
The vehicle setup in each mode depends on
the vehicle's features. The engine, transm is­
sion, steering, reve rsible safety belt tension­
ers and adaptive air suspension are always in­
volved.
Engine and transmission
Depending on the mode, the engine and the
tra nsmission respond quicker or in a more bal­
anced manne r to acce lerator pedal move­
ments. In the sporty dynamic mode, the
transmission shifts at higher RPMs .
Air suspension
The adaptive air suspension/adaptive air sus­
pension sport*
( Air suspension in the MMI) is
an electronically con trolled air suspension and
damping sys tem. They are adjusted depend­
ing on the selected driving mode, the drive r's
steering, braking and acceleration input and
the road s urface, vehicle speed and load. A
sporty setting is generally used in vehicles
with adaptive air suspension sport*.
Audi drive select 109
The vehicle clearance varies depending on the
selected mode and the speed .
T he hig hway setting is activated automatically
when you drive above 75 mph (120 km/h) for
more than 30 seconds in the
auto or dynamic
mode. The ground clearance is increased auto­
matically if the speed drops below 44 mph
(70 km/h) for more than 120 seconds.
Steering
The steering adapts in terms of steering effort
and steering ratios . Indirect stee ring that
moves easily, like the steering in comfort
mode, is best suited to long drives on a high­
way . In contrast, dynamic mode provides
sporty, direct steer ing .
The following applies to vehicles with dynamic steering* : the steering ratio changes based on
vehicle speed in order to ma inta in optimum
steering effort for the driver at all times. This
sets the steering to be less sens itive at higher
speeds in order to provide improved vehicle
control. At reduced speeds, however, steer ing
is mo re direct in order to keep the steering ef­
fort as minimal as possible when the driver is
maneuvering the vehicle. At low and average
speeds, dynamic steering additiona lly pro­
vides more responsive steering performance.
Sport differential*
As a component of the all whee l dr ive system
(quattro ®)
<:!) page 203, the Sport differen­
tia l* distributes the driving power to the rear
axle depending on the situation . The distribu ­
tion of power varies depending on the select ­
ed mode, from balanced (comfort) to agile
(dynamic). The goal is a high level of agility
and ability to accelerate on curves . The vehicle
is very responsive to steering.
Curve light*
The curve light adapts to driving on curves.
The pivoting act ion and the lighting are also
adapted to the mode.
Adaptive cruise control*
The behavior when accelerating can be adjust­
ed from comfortab le to sporty, depending on .,..

Audi drive select 111
Adjusting the Individual mode
You can adjust the vehicle settings to your personal preferences.
"Se lect: ICARlf unction button> Set individ·
ual
control button. You can now adjust the
individual systems.
The
individual driving mode will automatical­
ly be activated when you have finished config­
uring the settings .
Systems Comfort
Engine
and Transmission balanced
Air suspension comfortable
Steering comfortable The equipment
in your vehicle will determine
which settings you can adjust. The following
table provides an overview of the characteris­
tics of each driving mode.
Dynamic
balanced sporty
---~-
sporty
balanced
Dynamic steering* comfortable/ind ire ct balanced/direct sporty
sporty/direct
sporty
Sport
differential *
Curve light*
Belt tensioner
Adaptive cruise control* Engine sound* balanced
comfortable
Standard
comfortable
subtle agile
---~· balanced
Standard
---~· balanced
subtle/sportyal
sporty
Deployment t ime
adapted
sporty
sporty
al Subt le in the d riving position D and sporty i n the driving pos itio n S
© Tips
Your individual mode settings are auto­
matically stored and assigned to the re­
mote control key being used.
Raising/lowering the
vehicle
Raising the vehicle
You can raise your veh icle temporarily, for ex­
ample to drive over a tall curb.
" Select the following in the MMI: ICARI func­
tion button >
Raise control button.
" Wait for the arrows in the display to stop
blinking and the vehicle to reach its final po­
sition .
Lowering the vehicle
" To lowe r the vehicle, select the following in
the MMI: ICARlfunction button>
Lower con­
t rol button. "
Wait for the arrows in the display to stop
blinking and the vehicle to lower comp lete­
ly.
(D Note
- Remember that your vehicle is not suita­
ble for driv in g offroad eve n when it is
raised. There is not enough ground clear­
ance.
- If the vehicle is raised, it will lower auto­
matically when driving 62 mph (100 km/
h) or faster.
Driver messages
Air suspension: vehicle currently too low.
Level control running
Air suspension: vehicle currently too high.
Level control running
The driver message switches off when the lev­
el control process is complete .

Automatic Transmission
tiptronic (8-speed
transmission)
Introduction
Your vehicle is equipped with an electronically
controlled 8-speed automatic transmission .
Upshifting and downshifting occurs automati­
cally and is controlled electronically. The driv­
ing style continuously influences the selection
of the driving program.
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
transmission selects the most econom ical
driving mode. It will then change up early and
delay the downshifts to give better fuel econ­
omy.
The transmission switches to a sporty mode
after a kick-down or when the driver uses a
sporty driving style characterized by quick ac­
celerator pedal movements, heavy accelera­
tion, frequent changes in speed and traveling
at the maximum speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode) ¢ page 118.
Indicator in the display
Fig. 122 Display: selector lever pos it ion
@ -The current selector lever position is dis ­
played continuously. The gear is also dis­
played in manual mode M.
@-This indicator appears temporarily if you
change the selector lever position or if you
press the button on the selector lever
Automatic Transmission 115
¢ page 115, fig. 123 . The current selector
lever position is shown with a white back­
ground.
Selecting a selector lever position
Fig. 123 Selector lever
---R--- -t
--- N---_..
- D/S--
Fig. 124 Pressing the button o n the selector leve r
The current selector lever position is displayed
on the selector lever¢
fig. 123.
.. You may need to release the selector lever
lock depending on which selector lever posi­
tion is selected and which one you would
like to select ¢
page 116, Selector lever
lock .
.. To engage the nearest selector lever posi­
tion, move the selector lever forward/back
until you fee l the first pressure point. The
selector lever will return to its original posi­
tion .
.. To skip over one (or two) selector lever posi­
tions, move the selector lever past the first (and second) pressure point into the desired
position. The selector lever will return to its
original position.
For example, to move directly from the D se­
lector lever position to P when stopping the
vehicle, you can shift past the N and R selector
lever positions . ..,.

116 Automatic Transmission
Selector lever lock
The selector lever lock prevents you from se­
l ecting a position unintentionally, causing the
vehicle to roll. When engaging some selector lever positions, you must press the button on
the selector lever<=>
fig. 123 and/or press the
brake pedal.
You must press the brake pedal to engage a
selector lever position when the engine is run­
n ing while the vehicle is stationary. The ar­
rows¢
fig. 124 indicate when you need to
press the button on the selector lever.
The selector lever does not lock if you shift
from D to R within one second . This allows
you to "rock" the vehicle to free it when it is
stuck.
P - Park
The whee ls are locked in this position. Only
shift into park when the vehicle is stationary
¢ & .To engage the P selector lever position,
press the button on the selector lever and
shift into the P position.
You can only shift out of park when the eng ine
is running and you are pressing the brake ped­
al. Press the button on the selector lever to
release the park ing lock and select the des ired
selector lever posit ion.
P engages automatically when you switch the
engine off while D, Sor R is engaged or in
manual mode.
If you switch the engine off when N is engag ­
ed, the transmission remains in N for approxi­
mately 30 minutes and then Pis engaged.
You must use the emergency release proce­
dure to release the parking lock before towing
the vehicle
¢ page 120.
R - Reverse
The reverse gear is engaged in this position.
Only select reverse when the vehicle is sta ­
tionary and the engine is running at idle speed
¢ & .To engage the R se lector lever position,
press the button on the selector lever, press the
brake pedal and move the selector lever
into the R position.
T he back-up lights turn on when you select
the R selector lever position while the engine
is running .
N -Neutral
The transmission is in idle in this position. To
engage the N selector lever position , press
the button on the selector lever and shift int o
the N position.
If you switch the engine off when N is engag­
ed, the transmission remains in N for approxi­
mately 30 min utes and then Pis engaged.
You cannot select the N position when the ig­
nition is switched off . When driving through
an automat ic car was h, first select the N posi­
tion and then switch the engine off
¢page 216.
The vehicle cannot be locked when the selec­
tor leve r is in the
N position.
D/S - Position for driving forward
In the D/S pos ition, the transmission can be
operated either in the normal mode Dor in
the sport mode S. You can only select the S se­
lector lever position when Dis engaged. Move
the selecto r lever back to engage the S selec­
tor lever position. To select the D selector lev­
er position again when S is engaged, move the
selector lever back¢& . To shift from
N to D
when traveling at speeds below 1 mph (2km/
h), press the brake pedal and select the D se­
lector lever position ¢
&.
In the normal mode D, the transmission auto­
matically selects the suitable gear ratio.
It de­
pends on engine load, vehicle speed and driv­
ing style.
Select the
sport mode S for sporty driving.
T he vehicle makes full use of the engine's
power. Shift ing may become noticeab le when
acce lerat ing.
The S selector lever position engages auto­
matically when yo u select the dynamic mode
in Audi drive select.
...

118 Autom atic Tran smissi on
preve nt the vehicle from "creep ing" , you
must keep your foot on the brake in all
selector lev er positions except P and N
when the e ng ine is r unning. Do not inad­
vertently press the accelerator pe dal
w hen the veh icl e is stationary . Otherwise
the vehicle will s tart to move immediate­
ly, even if the park ing brake is se t. This
cou ld result in a c rash.
- Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
peda l too often or too long when dr iving
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to ove rheat and s ubstant ially re­
duces braking performance, increases
braking distance or causes comp lete fail­
ure of the brake system.
Hill descent control
The hill descent control system assists the
driver when driving down declines.
H ill descent control is activated when these­
lector lever is in D/S and you press t he b rake
pedal. The transmission automat ically se lects
a gear that is suitab le for the incline. Hill de­
scent control tries to maintain the speed ach­ ieved at the time of brak ing, within physical
and techn ical limitations. If may still be nec­
essary to adjust the speed with the brakes .
H ill descent control switches off once the de­
cline levels out or you press the accelerator
pedal.
Hill descent control is also activated when the
speed is set by starting the cruise control sys­
tem c:>
page 90.
A WARNING -
Hill descent control ca nnot overcome
physical limitations, so it may not be able
t o maintain a constant speed under all
condi tion s. Alw ays be ready to ap pl y the
bra kes.
Shifting manually
The shift paddles allow the driver to shift the
gears manually .
Fig . 1 25 Steer ing whee l: sh ift in g manually
" To shift to a higher or lowe r gear tempo rari ­
ly, tap the
0 or 0 shift padd le c:> fig. 125.
" To switch manual mode on, press the~
button. An M and the gear that is current ly
engaged appear in the instrument cluster
disp lay @ c:>
page 115, fig. 122.
" To shift up one gear, tap the rig ht shift pad­
dle
0 c:> fig . 125 .
" To s hift down one gear, tap the left shift
paddle Q.
" To swi tch manual mode off, press the~
but ton again, or
" Move the se lector lever back and release it .
T he transm iss io n automatically sh ifts up or
down before cr itical engine spee d is reached.
T he transm iss ion only allows manual sh ifting
whe n the eng ine speed is w ith in the pe rmit­
ted range .
The eng ine braking effect increases when you
downsh ift when going downhill .
Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration .
When you press the accelerator pedal down
beyond the resistance point, the automatic
transmission downsh ifts into a lower gear, de­
pending on veh icle speed and eng ine RPM . It
shifts up into the next higher gear once the
max imum specified engine RP M is reached .
Iii>

A WARNING 1=
Please note that the wheels could spin on
slick or slippery roads when kick-down is
act ive.
Transmission malfunction
[O] Transmission: please pre ss the brake ped­
al and select the position again
Press the brake pedal and select the des ired
selector lever pos it ion again. You can then
continue dr iv ing .
[O] Transmission hot: please modify driving
style
The transmission temperature has increased
significantly due to the sporty driving manner. Drive in a less sporty manner until the tem­
perature returns to the normal range and the
in dicator light switches of .
[O] Gearbox malfunction: you can continue
driving
There is a system ma lfunction in the transmis­
sion. You may continue driving. Drive to your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified repair fa­
cility soon to have the malfunction corrected.
l'§J/1;1 Gearbox malfunction: you can contin­
ue driving in D only until engine is off
There is a system malfunction in the transmis­
sion. The transmission is switching to emer ­
gency mode. If you turn the engine off, you
will not be able to select any other selector
lever positions after start ing the engine again.
Drive to your authorized Aud i dealer or quali­
fied repair facility immediately to have the
malfunction corrected.
[O] Gearbox malfunction: you can continue
driving (limited functionality)
There is a system ma lfunction in the transmis­
sion. The transmission is switching to emer­
gency mode. This mode only shifts into cer­
tain gears or will not longer shift at all. The
engine may stall. Dr ive to your authorized
Aud i dealer or qualified repair facility immedi ­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
Automatic Transmission 119
[o];ffl Gearbox malfunction: no reverse gear
(you can continue driving)
The re is a system malfunction in the transmis­
s ion. The transmission is switching to emer­
gency mode. This mode on ly shifts into cer ­
tain gears or will not longer shift at a ll. You
cannot engage the reverse gear . Dr ive to your
authorized Aud i dea ler immediately to have
the malfunction corrected.
[O] Vehicle may roll! Cannot shift to P. Please
apply parking brake
-The parking lock was released using the
emergency release ¢
page 120. Or
- The parking brake cannot engage automati­
cally . Drive to your authorized Audi dea ler o r
qualified repair facility immediately to have
the malfunction corrected.
[O] Gearbox malfunction: Stop and shift to P
Do not continue dr iving . Select the P selector
lever position and see your authorized Audi
dealer or qualified repair facility for assis­
tance.