2013 AUDI A8 tow

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

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 17
If th is message turns off after a litt le whi le,
the battery charged enough whi le driving.
If the message does not turn
off, have your
authorized Audi dealer or qua lified workshop
correct the malfunction .
'l:::7-: Engine oil pressure malfunction
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol
requires immediat e servic e 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 turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the oil pressure is too low.
.,. Pull
off the road .
.,. Stop the vehicle .
.. Turn
off the engine .
.,. Check the engine oil level c::> page 23 7.
.,. If the engine oil leve l is too low, add engine
o il
c::> page 238. Make sure that the oil p res ­
s ur e warning symbol. appears no longe r
in the display before you start driving again.
.. If the engine oil leve l is correct and the indi­
cator light st ill turns on, turn the engine
off
and do not continue driving. Seek professio­
nal assistance.
-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
II. By then, your engine
may already have suffered serious dam­
age .
~ Engine oil level
• WARNING: Please add oil immediately
When the symbol and the driver message ap ­
pear, the oil has to be replen ished right now
c::> page235.
If the indicator light and the message appear,
add engine oil immediately
c> page 238 .
II Add oil, max. x qt (l). You may continue
driving
When the symbol and the driver message ap ­
pear, add the amount of oil appearing in the
display at the next opportunity
c::>page 235.
@-Steering column lock
• Do not drive vehicle: Steering defective
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is an e lectronic steering
column lock malfunction. You cannot switch
the ignition on.
Do
not tow your vehicle because it cannot be
steered. Seek professiona l assistance .
1!11 Steering lock: system fault. Please con­
tact dealer
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is an electronic stee ring
column lock malfunct ion.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immed i­
ate ly to have the malfunction corrected .
.8, WARNING
-
Your vehicle must not be towed in the
event of a malfunction in the elec tron ic
steering column lock because it cannot be
steered due to the locked steering . If it is
towed with the steering locked, there is
the r isk of an accident.
© -Engine start system
• Engine start system fault. Please con­
tact dealer

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. ..,

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 25
select the time period for evaluat ing trip in­
formation yourself.
F or some veh icle functions, you can access the
t r ip information from the temporary memory
in the
line @~page23, fig. 5.
The current fuel consumpt ion can be dis­
p la yed using a bar ~
page 26, fig. 10. The
average consumption (mpg) stored in the
short-term memory is also displayed. Electri­
cal energy can be stored in the battery when
the vehicle is coast ing or driving downhill (re­
cuperation) . The bar will move toward D.
Efficiency program*
The eff ic iency program can help you to use
l ess fuel.
It evaluates driving information in
reference to fue l consumption and shows oth ­
er equipment influencing consumption as well
as shift recommendations.
q page 25. Fuel
economy messages
q page 25 provide tips
for efficient driving. The effic iency program
uses distance and consumption data from tr ip
computer
1.
To display the efficiency program, call up Ve­
hicle functions and select the menu option
Efficiency prog ram . If the data are deleted in
the efficiency program, those values are also
reset in trip computer.
(D Tips
- All stored values w ill be lost if the veh i­
cle battery is disconnected.
- Fuel consumptions (average and cur­ rent), range and speed are displayed in
metric units on Canadian models.
Other equipment
Applies to vehicles: with efficiency program
Fig. 8 Trip computer: ot her equipment
Requirement: The efficiency program must be
displayed
q page 25.
.,. Turn the thumbwheel until the other equip-
ment appears in the display .
Other equipment that is currently affecting
fuel consumption is listed in the efficiency program . The display shows up to three other
items of equipment @. The equ ipment using
the most fuel is listed first. If more than three
items using fuel are switched on, the equip­
ment that is currently using the most fuel is
displayed .
A scale ® also shows the current total con­
sump tion of all other equipment.
Fuel economy messages
App lies to vehicles: with efficiency program
Fig. 9 Disp lay : example o f a fu el econo my m essa ge
Fuel economy messages are displayed when
fuel consumption is increased by certain con­
ditions. If you follow these fuel economy mes­
sages, you can reduce your vehicle's consump­
tion of fuel. The messages appear automati-
cally and are only displayed in the efficiency
111,,

46 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 22 .
- 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. 38 Center console: emergency flasher switch
.,. Press the switch 11 ¢ fig. 38 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 light s
N 1B 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.
~ Select: 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 .
Automatic high beams*
You can switch th e high beam assist on and
off .
Daytime running lights
USA models :
You can sw itch the dayt ime ru n­
n ing 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 switched on. This menu item is shown "greyed out" .
Coming home, Leaving home
The coming home function illuminates the
a rea outside the vehicle when yo u switch the
i gnit ion off and open the driver's door. To turn
the function o n, select
Lights when leaving
car > On .
The leav ing home function illuminates the
area outside the vehicle when yo u un lock the
ve hicle. To t urn the funct ion on, select
Lights
when unlocking car > On .
The coming home and leaving home functions
only operate when it is dark and the light
switch is in the
AUTO pos ition.
Clear vision 4 7
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 w ell as th e headlight flash­
er.
Fig. 39 T urn 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,
~ Push 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 . 39 .
~ Move the leve r br iefly u ntil yo u meet res ist ­
ance and re lease 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 high
beam (veh icles with hig h beam ass ist*
¢ poge4 8).
~ Pull the lever back towards you to sw itch off
the high beam .
Headlight flasher ~D ©
~ Pull the lever towar d the steering wheel to
use the headlight flasher.
Notes on these features
- The turn signals on ly wor k w it h t he igniti on
sw itche d on . T he indica to r li ghts
II or B in
the inst rument cluster¢ page 11 also blink .
- Aft er you h ave tu rned a cor ner, the tu rn s ig -
na l swi tches off au toma tica lly .
- The
high beam wo rk s onl y w hen the he ad-
lights a re on . The indic ator ligh t
ii in the .,.

50 Clear vision
• Turn the knob to the desired vehicle area
and press the knob. The bar that appears in­
dicates the selected brightness.
• To increase or reduce the br ightness, turn
the knob and press it.
Selecting a color profile*
• Select in the MMI: ICAR l function button >
Car systems control button > Vehicle set­
tings
> Interior lighting > Color profile .
The ambience lighting turns on when the
function is activated in the MMI and when you
turn the headlights on whi le the ign ition is
switched on.
Adjusting the brightness
You can adjust the brightness for the four
zones
Front top , Front footwell , Rear top and
Rear footwell or for All areas at the same
t ime.
Selecting a color profile
You can select from the Ivory, Polar and Ru­
by/Polar
color profiles.
(D Tips
The settings are automatically stored and
assigned to the remote control key that is
in use .
Instrument illumination
You can adjust the brightness of the instru­
ment and display illumination.
Fig . 43 Instrument illumin ation
• Press the knob to release it.
• Turn the knob toward"-" or"+" to reduce or
increase the brightness . •
Press the knob again to return it to its origi ­
na l position .
(D Tips
The instrument illum ination (for dials and
needles) lights on when the ignition is
switched on and the vehicle lights are
turned off . As the daylight fades, the illu­
mination of the dials likewise dims auto­
matically and will go out completely when
the outside light is very low. This feature is
meant to rem ind you to switch on the
headlights when outside light conditions
become poor.
Vision
Sun visors
E )
Fig. 44 Sun visor
I ± .., m
T he sun visors for the driver and passenger
can be released from their brackets and
turned toward the doors~
fig. 44 (!). They
can a lso be moved back and forth lengthwise
in this position.
T he mirror light swi tches on when the cover
over the vanity m irror @opens .
T he re is a shade between the dr iver's and pas­
senger's s un visors that can be used to cover
the gap above the rearview mirror.