2013 AUDI A8 service

Adjusting the disp lay and the warning
tones. ..... .. .. .. .. .... ... .. .. .. 131
Er ror messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Trailer hitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Homelink ® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Universal remote control . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Safety fir st . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Driving Safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Proper occupa nt seating positions . . . 135
Driver and passenger side footwell . . . 139
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Stowing luggage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Report ing Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . 1 42
Safety belt s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Gene ral notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 44
Why s afety be lts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 45
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Safety belt pretens ioners . . . . . . . . . . 150
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
I mportant things to know . . . . . . . . . . 152
F ront airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Monitoring the Advanced Airbag
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Knee airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Side curta in a irbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Ch ild Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Important th ings to know . . . . . . . . . . 176
C hi ld safety seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
I nstall ing a chi ld safety seat . . . . . . . . 186
L A TC H L owe r ancho rages and tethe rs
for chi ld ren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Addit ional Information
195
Audi pre sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Preventat ive passenger p rotec tion 196
Vehi cle operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Intelligent technology .. .. .. .. 198
Notice about data recorded by vehicle
control modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC) . 198
Table of contents 3
Bra ki ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Servotronic ® -advanced power
stee ring system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Driving with your quattro ® . . . . . . . . . 203
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Driving and environment . . . . . 206
The first 1,000 miles (1,500 km) and
afterwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Catalytic co nverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Avoid damaging the vehicle . . . . . . . . . 207
D riv ing throug h wate r on roads . . . . . 208
Operate yo ur vehicle economi cally and
min imize poll ution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Driving with a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
T rai le r tow ing tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Vehicle care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 15
Cleaning and protection . . . . . . 215
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Care of exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Care of interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
228
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Fuel tank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Engine hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
E n gine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Engine o il . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Engine cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Br ake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
B attery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Windsh ie ld/hea dligh t washer
container ... .... ... .. .. ..... ... .
247
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
T ires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Tire pressure monitoring system 267
Do-it-yourself service . . . . . . . . . 270
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Tr unk escape handle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 70
Emergency warning triangle . . . . . . . . 270
•
•

4 Table of contents
Vehicle tool kit . .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
C hanging a whe el . ..... ... .. .. ... .
Fuses and bulbs ....... .. .. ... .
Fuses . ...... .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Bulbs .... .. .. . .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Emergency situations ... .... . .
General ..... .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Starting by push ing or towing . .. ... .
St art ing with jumper cables .. .. ... .
Use of jumper cab les ...... .. .. ... .
E me rgency towing with commercial
tow truck .. ................ ... . .
Lift ing vehicle ... .... ... .. .. .. .. . .
Technical data .. .......... ... . .
General information .. .. .. .. . .
Exp lana tion of technical data . .. .. . .
Vehicle ident ificat ion ...... .. .. ... .
Weights ... .. .. .. .... ... .. .. .. . .
D imensions .... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Data .. .. .... ........... .. .. .. . .
A8 3 .0 T FSI engine, with all whee l
drive . ..... ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
A8 4 .0 TFSI engine, with all whee l
drive .. .. .... ........... .. .. .. . .
S8 4 .0 TFS! engine, with all wheel
d rive .. .. .. ................ ... . .
A8 6.3 FSI eng ine, wi th a ll wheel drive
Consumer Information ... ... .
Warranty coverages ....... .. .. .. . .
Operating your vehicle outside the
U. S.A. o r Canada ......... .. .. .. . .
Aud i Service Repair Ma nuals and 271
273
279
279
283
284 284
284
284
285
286 288
290
290 290
290 290
2 9 1
292
292 293
294
.295
296
296
296
L it erature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 6
M aintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Additional accessories, modifications
and parts r eplacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Declaration of Compliance,
Telecommunication or Electronic
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

In addition to t his Owner's Ma nual, your A udi
comes w ith t he
- MMI Oper ating In st ru cti ons
- Warranty
& Ma intenance boo klet.
If you are m iss ing one of these publicat ions,
or if you believ e that the information is not
comp lete, contact you r auth orized Audi dea le r
for assistanc e.
MMI Operating Instructions
contain detailed desc ription of the Aud i M ulti
Media Interface (MMI) including t he nav iga­
tion system, the so und system and the ha nd­
h e ld pho ne.
The Warranty & Maintenance booklet
explains how yo u can keep your A udi in top
driving condition by hav ing it serviced regular­
l y and conta ins detai led info rmat ion about
the wa rra nties covering your Aud i. Always
h ave the boo klet with yo u when yo u take your
ve hicl e to a n author ized Audi dealer for serv ­
i ce. Y our Audi Servi ce A dvis or will re cord each
sche duled service and can an swe r any ques­
tions you may have rega rding how to ma in tain
your ve hicle.
In Canada,
the veh icle lite rat ure is also avai lab le in
Fr ench . T o ob tain a cop y, contact your dea le r
or wri te to:
Au Canada, on peut se p rocure r un exemp la ire
e n fr an<;ais de ce do cument aupres du conces ­
sio nnair e ou de:
Volkswagen Canada Inc.
C lient Assistance
Assis tance a la Clientele
7 77 Bayly S tree t, Wes t,
A jax, On tario LlS 7G 7
If you sell your Audi
all lite ratu re should be left in the ve hicle to
make th e Warranty terms as we ll as a ll oper­
ating, safety and m aintenan ce inform ation
a vaila ble to the nex t owne r.
Vehicle literature 5
If you change your address or if you
bought this Audi used
be s ure to send in a "Notice of Add ress
Change"/ " Notice of Used Car Purchase" post
card. T his card can be fo und in the Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet or obtained from your
autho rized Aud i dea ler .
It is in your own interest that we are able to
contact you should the need arise .
•
•

18 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, do
not switch the ignition off
because you may not be able to switch it on
again.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
II! Engine start system fault. Please con­
tact dealer
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the en­
gine start system.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
0 Air suspension
• Air suspension: system fault. Can contin­
ue slowly with max. 35 mph.
There is a malfunction that can result in re­
stricted driving stability.
Carefully drive at a maximum speed of 35
mph (60 km/h) to your authorized Audi dealer
or qualified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected.
• Air suspension: service mode. Vehicle
can only be moved with restrictions
Carefully drive to your authorized Audi dealer
or qualified workshop immediately to have
the service mode deactivated.
II Air suspension fault
There is a system malfunction that can result
in restricted driving stability or reduced
ground clearance.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
II Air suspension: vehicle too low. Ground
clearance reduced
The ground clearance is very low due to a sys­
tem malfunction . Wait until the air suspen ­
sion system has restored normal ground clear­
ance. Otherwise, conditions such as an uneven
road surface can lead to vehicle damage.
AIR/ e;, 5 f BAG -, a ety systems
The fl (USA models)/E,l(Canada models) indi­
cator light monitors the safety systems e.g.
airbags, pretensioners and illuminates for a
few seconds each time you switch the ignition
on.
If the
fl (USA models)!E,I (Canada models)
indicator light does not go out, or if it illumi­
nates while you are driving, or if it starts to
blink, then there is a malfunction somewhere
in the system.
If the light does not illuminate
when you switch the ignition on, this also means there is a malfunction.
A WARNING >=
If you have a malfunction in the safety sys-
tems, contact your authorized Audi dealer
immediately. Otherwise the safety sys­
tems may not work properly in an acci­
dent.
f'!.l f); Electronic Stabilization Control
(ESC)
This warning/indicator light monitors the
Electronic Stabilization Control.
When you switch the ignition on, the indicator
light
D.1 turns on briefly to check the function.
If the
Ip] indicator lamp blinks while driving,
the ESC or ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation) is active­
ly regulating.
If the
Ip] indicator lamp illuminates, the sys ­
tem has switched the ESC off.
If the indicator light
I turns on, the ESC was
switched to ESC sport mode with the button
[!l ¢ page 198. If this is case, you can reacti­
vate the ESC by switching the ignition off and
then on again. The warning/indicator light
should go out to show that the system is fully
functional again.
Stabilization control (ESC/ABS): Fault! See
owner's manual
111-

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 21
't'::1".., Engine oil sensor
II Oil level! Sensor defective
If the symbol illuminates, contact your au ­
thor ized Audi dealer and have the oil sensor
in spected. Until you have th is done, check the
oil level each time you refuel just to be on the
safe side¢
page 23 7.
Bil Fuel level indicator
ID] Please refuel
If the indicator light turns on for the first
time and the message appears, there are
about 4 gallons (15 liters) of fuel left in the
tank. Time to refue l
¢page 229.
1B] Tank system malfunction! Contact dealer
If the indicator light turns on and th is mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
tank system .
Drive to your authori zed Aud i dea ler immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
<;;> Windshield washer flu id level
- Please refill washer fluid
If the symbol illuminates, add windshield
washer fluid to the washer system/headlight
washer system* ¢
page 247.
'1:> Windshield wipers
E•$ vVindshield wiper defective
There is a malfunct ion with the w indshield
wipers .
Drive to your authorized Audi dea ler immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
~ l}D 10$ Defective light bulb warning
i -If the indicator light turns on, a bulb has
fa iled . The message indicates the location of
the bulb.
El-if a fog lamp* has failed, the indicator
light turns on to indicate the location on the
vehicle.
au-if a rear fog lamp has failed, the indicator
light turns on to indicate the location on the
vehicle.
Vehicle lights : malfun ction
If the message appears, there is a malfunc­
tion in the headlights or light sw itch .
Drive to your au thorized Audi dealer immedi­
ate ly to have the malfunction corrected .
A WARNING
-Light bulbs are pressurized and could ex­
plode wh ile they are being changed caus­
ing serious personal injury.
- Work with due care when hand ling the
h igh-vo ltage sect ion of gas discharge
(xenon) lights . Failure to do so could re­
sult in death or serious injury.
(D Tips
Have the bu lb replaced or the connect ion
repaired by your authorized Audi Service
department .
~0 Headlight range control
II Headlight range control: defective!
If the symbol illum inates, the headlight range
control is no longer working properly. Have
the system checked and repaired at your A udi
dealer.
§0 Adapt ive Light
Applies to vehicles: with Adaptive Light
mfJ Audi adaptive light: system fault
If the indicator light turns on and this mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunct ion in the
adaptive light system . The headlights sti ll
functio n.
Go to an authorized dealership to have the
headlights or the control unit for the Adaptive
Light repaired.

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 23
@ Tips
For more information on the turn signals,
refer to
c::> page 47.
Driver information
display
Overview
Fig. 4 Driver information system in t he instr ument
cluste r
Fig. 5 Display: exa mple of th e in forma tion line
The driver information system contains infor­
mation
® that is displayed on tabs ®
c::;, fig. 4. The following content is possible de­
pending on vehicle equipment:
®
Tab
1
®
Content
Vehicle functions :
On-board computer c::;, page 24
Digital speedometer
Cruise control*
c::;, page 90
Adaptive cru ise control and braking
guard*
c::> page 93
Audi lane assist* c::;,page 102
Display darkened
-
® ®
Tab Content
2 Indicator lights and messages
Warn ing when a door, the hood or
the rear lid is not closed
c::;, page 2 8
Service interval display c::;, page 2 7
Speed warning system
c::;, page 90
3 Night vision assistant* c::;, page 112
~
I
4 Audio/video
5 Telephone*
6 Navigation*
The second and third tabs are only visible if at
least one indicator light or message is shown
or if that system is switched on .
The status line © is located in the bottom
part of the disp lay
c::;, fig. 4. It displays the ex­
terior temperature, time, selector lever posi­
tion, trip odometer and odometer .
For some vehicle functions, you can access the
trip information from the temporary memory
c::;, page 24 in the line (!)¢ fig. 5.
&_ WARNING
--
- Never rely exclusively on the outside
temperature display to determine if a
road surface is icy or not. Keep in mind
that road surfaces, especially bridges
and overpasses, could be ice cove red and
slippery even at an outside temperatu re
above 41
Of (+5 °().
-Always remember, even if the "snow­
f la ke" symbo l (ice warning) does not ap­
pear in the disp lay, black ice could be on
the road.
-Always reduce your speed and drive with
special care in cold weather cond itions
when the chance of encountering icy road surfaces increases.
(j) Tips
- At temperatures below 14 °F (+ 5 °() a
snowf lake symbol appears ahead of the
temperature display.
It is intended to re-
mind the driver to pay special attention
~

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 2 7
The date and time are shown in the instru ­
ment cluster display ¢
page 23, fig. 4. There
is also an ana log clock in the center conso le
¢fig. 12.
When you open the drive r's door, the date and
time appear in the instrument cluster display for 30 seconds. When the ign ition is switched
on, the time is always displayed in the status
line © regard less of the current d isp lay.
You can set the time on both clocks and the
date display in the MMI. Refer to the M MI
owner's manual for instructions.
Service interval display
The service interval display reminds you when
your next service is due.
Fi g. 1 3 In st rume nt cluster: Service interva l d isp lay
The schedule for the next oil change o r inspec­
tion is calculated a utomatically and displayed
according ly. The display works in two stages:
Service reminder
30 days before the next service is due, a serv­
ice reminder appears in the display when you
switch the ignition o n
r:::;,fig. 13.
After abo ut 5 sec onds the display sw itches
back to n ormal. The d istance and time re­
maining are updated each time the ignition is
switched on until the date due for serv ice is
reac hed.
Service due
W hen the due date for service is reached, the
message
Service due! appea rs in the instru­
ment clus ter immediately after you switch the
i gnit io n on . Additionally, a war ning tone sou
nds. After about 5 seconds the disp lay
switc hes back to normal.
Calling up the service schedules
If or w hen an oi l change or inspection is due,
c a n be shown in the M MI di spl ay by selec ting
t h e service in terval d isplay in the c ar menu .
Se lect the
I CAR I function button > Car s ys­
tems
control button > Ser vicing & checks >
Service interval d isp lays.
Resetting the service interval display
Your auth ori zed Audi de aler will reset the cor­
responding service sc hedule a fter pe rforming
t h e a ppropriate service o n your vehicle. You
also have t he possibility to reset the oil
change schedule after hav ing performed a n
o il change according to Aud i specifications.
Se lect the
ICAR I function button > Car sys­
tems
con trol button > Servicing & che cks >
Service Intervals > Reset oil change interval.
(D Note
If you d isconnect t he battery te rm inals , no
ca lculat ions can be made fo r the service
i nte rva l disp lay dur ing th is time and no
se rv ice rem inde r will appear. Remem ber
th at obs erving the prop er servi ce inte rva ls
i s vi tally imp ortant t o extending the lif e of
you r ve hicl e, p articu larly the engine, an d
maintain ing its val ue. Eve n if the milea ge
dr iven is low, the maximum period of one
year from one service to the next m ust n ot
be exceeded.
(D Tips
- Do not reset the display between oil
chan ges, otherwise the disp lay wi ll be in­
co rrect.
- The i nfo rmation in the Service Reminder
remains stored eve n when t he ve hicle
battery is disconnected.

28 Instr uments and warning/indicator lights
Open door/hood /rear lid warning
Fig. 14 Display : doors and rear lid open
With the ignition switched on, the warning il­
luminates when at least
one door or the hood
or the rear lid is not closed . The symbol also
shows you
which door(s) or lid is not closed .
In the illustration
c:> fig. 14 it is the driver's
door and the left rear door.
On-Board Diagnostic
system (OBD)
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL }
The Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL)¢• in
the instrument cluster is part of the On-Board
Diagnostic (OBD II) system.
The warning/indicator light illuminates when
the ignition is switched on and goes out after
the engine starts and the idle has stabilized .
This indicates that the MIL is working proper ­
ly .
If the light does not go out after the engine
is started, or illuminates while you are driv­
ing, a malfunction may exist in the engine sys­
tem .
If the light illuminates, the catalytic con­
verter could be damaged.
Continue driving
with reduced power (avoid­
ing sustained high speeds and/or rapid accel­
erat ions) and have the condition corrected .
Contact your authorized Audi dealer .
If the light illuminates, the electronic speed limiter may also be malfunctioning. For more
information
c:> page 29, Electronic speed
limiter .
An improperly closed fuel filler cap may also
cause the MIL light to illuminate
c:> page 230.
On-Board Diagnostics
Fig. 15 Location of Data Link Connector (DLC)
On-Board Diagnostics monitors the compo­
nents of your em iss ion contro l system . Each
monitored component in your engine system
has been assigned a code . In case of a mal­
function, the component will be identified
and the fault stored as a code in the control
module memory.
The MIL light may also illuminate if there is a
leak in the on-board fuel vapor recovery sys­
tem .
If the light illuminates after a refueling,
stop the vehicle and make sure the fuel filler cap is properly closed
c:> page 230.
In order to make an accurate diagnosis, the
stored data can only be displayed using spe­
cial diagnostic equipment (generic scan tool
for OBO) .
In order to connect the specia l diagnostic
equipment, push the plug into the Data Link
Connector (OLC). The DLC is located to the
right of the hood release
c:> fig. 15.
Your authorized Aud i dealer or a qualified
service station can interpret the code and per­
form the necessary repair.
A WARNING ""-=--
Do not use the d iagnost ic connector for
personal use. Incorrect usage can cause
malfunctions, which can increase the risk
of a collision!
-