2013 AUDI S8 ABS

132 Homelink®
Homelink®
Universal remote
control
General information
Applies to vehicles: with Homelink® universal remote
control
The Homelink universal remote control can
be programmed with hand-held transmitters
from existing equipment.
Using the Homelink universal remote control
you can operate equipment such as garage doors, property gates and house l ights from
ins ide your vehicle . '
Using the Homelink universal remote control '
you can replace up to three separate hand-
held transmitte rs for equipment on your
property with just one universal remote con­
trol. Most of these transmitters a re used to
ope rate ga rage doo rs and property g ates. The
individua l transmitters are programmed at
the front bumper. That is where the control
module is located.
The transmi tters must be p rogrammed first in
orde r to operate systems using the Homelink
universal remote control.
A WARNING
- Never use the Homelink ® transmitter
with any garage door opener that does have not the safety stop and reverse fea­
ture as requ ired by federa l safety stand­
ards . T his includes any garage door open­
er model manufact ured before April 1,
1982.
- A garage door opener which cannot de­
tect an object, signaling the door to stop
and reverse does not meet current feder­
al safety s tandards . Us ing a ga rage doo r
opener witho ut these fea tures increases
risk of serious injury or death.
- For safety reasons never release the
parking brake or start the engine while
anyone is standing in front of the vehicle .
- A garage door or an estate gate may
sometimes be set in motion when the Homelink
® remote control is being pro­
grammed. If the device is repeatedly ac ­
tivated, th is can overstrain motor and
damage its e lectrica l components - an
overhea ted mo tor is a fire hazard !
- To avo id possib le injuries or property
damage, please always make absolutely
certa in that no persons or ob jects are lo­
cated in the rang e of motion of any
eq uipme nt bei ng ope rated.
(0 Tips
- If you would like add itional information
on the Hom e Link ® Unive rsal Transce iver
'
Home link compatib le p rod ucts, or to
pur chase other acce ssories s uch as the
Homel ink® Light ing Package, please
contact Homelin k at 1-800 -355 -3515 o r
on the Internet at www.homelink .com.
- For Declaration of Comp liance to Unite d
States FCC and Ind ustry Canada reg ula ­
tions ¢
page 299.
'Operation
Applies to vehicles: with Homelink
F ig. 151 Contro l u ni t in the head liner
-"' 8 ± .. .,
Requi rement: The buttons must be program­
med
¢ page 133.
'" Press the p rogrammed button¢&_ in Gen­
eral information on page 132
to open the
ga rage door. The light @will blink or turn
on.
'" Press the b utton again to close the garage
door ¢
&. in General information on
page 132.
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-Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat­
ing or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick­
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per­
missible weight standards can cause the
vehicle to slide and handle differently .
- Please observe information on safe driv­
ing
o page 134 .
A WARNING
-
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always
keep the rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than those fitting completely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
-Close all windows,
- Close the power roof,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win­
dows, the power roof and the rear lid are
securely closed and locked to reduce the
risk of injury when the vehicle is not being
used .
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es­ pecially with the rear lid left open. A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out . Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury .
-
Driving Safely 141
-Never let children play in or around the
vehicle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions .
(D Tips
-Air circulation helps to reduce window
fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel, on the
left side of the luggage compartment. Be sure to keep these slots free and
open .
- The tire pressure must correspond to the
load . The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la­
bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar.
The tire pressure label lists the recom­
mended cold tire inflation pressures for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured.
For recommended tire pressures for nor­
mal load conditions, please see chapter
opage253 .
Tie-downs
The luggage compartmen t is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and o ther
items .
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo prop­
erly
o page 140, Loading the luggage com­
partment .
In a collision , the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en ­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most
significant factor.
For example, in a frontal collision 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 weight of the item would suddenly be
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-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person­
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 156 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 157 The vehicle cras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
veh icle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en­
e rgy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h), the ene rgy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of th is vehicle are not
using safety belts¢
fig. 156, they will keep
mov ing at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just before the crash, unt il something
stops them - here, the wall ¢
fig. 157.
Safety belts 145
The same principles apply to people s itting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision.
Even at c ity speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
reach one ton (2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or
more . At greater speeds, these fo rces are even
higher.
Peop le who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle . In a frontal colli­
s ion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was travelling just before
the crash . Of co urse, the laws of physics don't
just app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of accidents and col­
li s ions.
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
F ig . 158 A driver not wea ring a safety be lt is vio lently
th rown forwa rd
Fig. 159 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt
w ill fly forward a nd strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestra ined .,..

146 Safety belts
occupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what­
ever else is in the way
c::> fig. 158. This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
t hey had just before the crash.
Never rely on a irbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup­
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver , must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi­
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen­
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them­
selves but also the driver and othe r passen­
gers
~ fig. 159. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas­
senger .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It's simply
not true !
Fig. 160 Driver is co rr ect ly re strain ed in a sudd en brak­
ing maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement tha t can
cause serious injuries . In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing " the kinetic energy over a longer
period of ti me, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less
likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron­
tal collision, safety belts can also substantial­
ly reduce the r isk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen­
tal airbags to do their job in a collision . For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid­
ed. Front airbags , for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air­
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is no t enough decelera tion
through impact to the front of the vehicle .
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi . So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!

156 Airbag system
-An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de ­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
seat or carrier .
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­ tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system con provide supplemental
protect ion to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 165 Location of dr iver airbag: in stee ring wheel
Fig. 166 Locat ion of front passenger's airb ag: in the in­
s trument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
A irbag System" in compliance w ith United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time you r
vehicle was manufactured. The system senses
the position of the front seats and controls
front airbag inflation with a valve, depending on
the distance between the respective seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel.
The safety belts for the seats have "preten­ sioners" that help to take slack out of the belt
system. The pretensioners are also activated by the electronic control unit for the airbag
system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body in a crash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
wheel hub
¢fig. 165 and the airbag for the
front passenge r is in the instrument panel
¢ fig . 166 . The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of you r passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplementa l protection .
-Airbag work most effective ly when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve ­
hicle is properly restrained .
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat , es­
pecially infants and sma ll children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee ..,.

158 Airb ag sys te m
an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory .
I f the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld,
but less than the weight of a small adu lt, the
front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR B AG OFF light does not
come on).
For exa mple , the airbag ma y depl oy if :
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whe ther the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
¢ page 178),
- a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the cente r
of the instrument panel w ill come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright wit h
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the veh icle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criteria to help re­
d uce the risk of inju ry through interaction
with the airbag. " Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de­
celerations as defined in the electronic control un it
¢ page 163.
Alw ays re memb er: Even tho ugh you r vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat . Please be sure to read the impor­
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an a irbag
i nflates, always wear safety be lts properly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
flates -even w ith an Advanced A irbag
¢ page 152.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in­
stalled on the front passenger se at will be
se riously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing
child restraint has been installed on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso­
lutely guarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant car rier with g reat force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door, or
roof.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild re­
s traints on the rear seat.
- I f you must ins tall a rearward fac ing
child seat on the fron t passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
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and safety belts with pretensioners are
scrapped, all applicable laws and regula­
tions must be observed. Your authorized
Audi dealer is familiar with these require­
ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer perform this service for you .
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem performs in a crash. For example, using
tire-rim combinations not approved by Audi,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag
sensors and sent to the electronic control
unit. Some suspension changes can, for exam­ ple, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in which it would not deploy if the
changes had not been made. Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it should.
The sensors in the safety belt buckle for the
driver and front passenger seat tell the elec­
tronic control module if the safety belt is
latched or not. If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will deploy at a slightly high­
er rate of vehicle deceleration than if the safe­
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par­
ticular collision, it is possible that an airbag
will not deploy at a seating position where the safety belt is being used but will inflate at the
position where the safety belt is not being
used . It is important that nothing interfere
with the safety belt buckles so that the sen­
sors can send the correct information about
safety belt use to the electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension includ­
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina­
tions can change Advanced Airbag per-
Airbag system 167
formance and increase the risk of serious
personal injury in a crash.
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance characteristics as the components origi­nally installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that have not been approved by Audi.
A WARNING
Items stored between the safety belt buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the buckle to send the
wrong information to the e lectronic con­
trol module and prevent the Advanced Air­
bag System from working properly.
- Always make sure that nothing can inter­
fere with the safety belt buckles and that
they are not obstructed.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants.
Fig . 169 Driver 's knee airbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument
panel underneath the steering wheel
¢ fig . 169, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan­
el underneath the glove compartment.
The knee airbag offers additional protection
to the driver 's and passenger's knees and up­
per and lower thigh areas and supplements
the protection provided by the safety belts.
Ill-

ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock braking system (ABS), brake assist
system, anti-s lip regulat ion (ASR), electronic
d ifferential lock (EDL), dynamic steering* and
electronic interaxle differential lock*. ESC is
sw itched on all the time . In certain s ituations
when you need less tract ion, you can sw itch
off ASR by pressing the button above
~ page 200, fig. 188 the se lector lever. Be
sure to sw itch ASR o n aga in when yo u no lon­
ger need less traction.
Anti -lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braking. The veh icle can still be steered
even du ring ha rd b raking . Apply steady p res­
sure to the brake pedal. Do not p ump the ped­
a l. A pulsing in the brake peda l indicates that
the system is he lping you to brake the vehicle .
Brake as sist system
The brake assist system can decrease bra king
d istance.
It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake pedal qu ick ly in eme r­
gency situations . You must p ress and ho ld the
brake peda l until the situation is over. In
vehicles with adaptive cruise control*, the
brake assist system is more sensit ive if the
d istance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
small.
Anti- slip regulati on (A SR )
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to the road condit ions. This makes it eas ier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills.
Electronic diff erential lo ck (EDL )
The ED L brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
all whee l drive*. This funct ion is available up
to about 75 mph (120 km/h).
In extreme cases, EDL automatica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from overheating. EDL w ill switch on again au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to normal.
Int ellig ent technolog y 199
Dynamic ste ering *
On vehicles with dynam ic steering, ESC helps
stabilize the steering in certain situations.
Electronic intera xle differential l ock
function*
T he electron ic i nteraxle differential lock f unc ­
tion activa tes when dr iving th ro ugh curves.
Braking is targeted toward the wheels on the
inside of the curve as needed. This he lps to
minimize front whee l skid, improves traction
and allows for more precise driving through curves .
A WARNING
- ESC, ABS, ASR, EDL, dynamic steering*
and the elect ronic interaxle differential
loc k function* cannot ove rcome the laws
of physics. This is espec ially important
on slippery or we t roads.
If the systems
begin acting to stabilize your veh icle, you
should immediately change yo ur speed
to match the road and traffic conditions .
Do not let the increased safety provided
by these systems tempt you to take risks.
Doing so will increase the risk of a loss of
veh icle contro l, collision and ser ious per­
sonal injur ies.
- Always adapt your speed to road, traffic and weather conditions. The risk of los­ing con trol of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, espe cially through
curves a nd on slippe ry or wet roads, and
when dr iving too close to vehicles up
ahead. ESC, ABS, the brake assist sys­
tem, EDL, ASR, dynam ic steering* and
the electron ic interaxle d ifferential lock
function" cannot prevent co llisions.
- Always accelerate with spec ial care on
even, smooth surfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even w ith
these assistance systems that cannot al­
ways he lp to red uce the risk of loss of ve­
hicle control.
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