2015 AUDI A8 Owners Manual

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White Active l ane assist is sw itched on
line(s) and ready to p rov ide warnings
on the side that is ind icated
¢ fig. 109 .
Red line Act ive lane assist is warning you
(left or that you are about to leave your
right) lane
¢ fig . 109. In addition, the
steeri ng wheel vibrates s light ly.
Gray Act ive l ane assist is switched on
line(s) but is not ready to provide warn-
ings
¢ fig . 110.
Mes sages in the instrument clu ster
display
When the active lane ass ist turns off automat ­
ically, the i nstrument cluster ind icator goes
out and one of the fo llow ing messages ap­
pears on the display :
Audi active lane a ssist : Curr ently un availa­
bl e. No camera view
This message appears if the camera is no lon­
ger funct ional after the system has cont inous­
ly failed to detect the lane markings . This
could happen if :
- The camera field of view¢
page 102,
fig. 108 is dirty or covered in ice. Clean the
area on the w indshield .
- The camera field of view is fogged over. Wait
until the fog has cleared before switching
active lane assist on .
- The system has been unable to detect the
lanes for an extended period of time due to
road cond it ions . Switch active lane ass ist
back on when the lines are more visible .
Audi active lane a ssist : Currently un available
A temporary ma lf u nction is preventing lane
assist from operating. Try sw itching active
lane assist on again later.
Audi acti ve lane a ssist : S ys tem fault!
Drive to you r autho rized Aud i dea le r soon to
h ave the ma lfunction co rrec ted.
Audi active lane a ssis t: Pl ea se take over
s te ering
Audi acti ve lane a ssis t 103
This message appears if yo u do not s teer the
vehicle yourself . If this is the case, active lane
ass ist does not switch off, b ut it does sw itch
to the "not ready" stat us. The system can help
you keep the vehicle in the lane. However it is
your own responsibility to steer and control
t h e ve hicle .
Setting the steering wheel vibration
Applies to veh icles: w ith active la n e assist
11> Select: !CAR ! function button> (Car )* sys­
tem s
control button > Driver a ssis t > Aud i
a ctive lan e as sis t.
You can switch the vibrat ing warn ing in t he
stee ring wheel
o n or off .
(D Tips
Your setting is a utomat ically stored and
assigned to the remote control key being
used.

104 Audi side assist
Audi side assist
Lane Change Assistant
Description
App lies to vehicles: wit h side ass ist
Fig . 111 Sensor detection range
Fig. 112 Disp lay on the exterio r mirror
Side assist he lps you monitor your blind spot
and traffic behind your veh icle. Within the
limits of the system, it warns you about
vehicles that are coming closer or that are
traveling with you within sensor range
(D
c:> fig . 111: if a lane change is class ified as crit­
ical, the display @ in the exterior mirror
c:>fig. 112 turns on.
The display in the left exterior mirror provides
assistance when mak ing a lane change to the
le ft, while the display in the right exter ior mir­
ror provides assistance when making a lane
cha nge to the right.
Information stage
As long as you do not activate the turn signal,
side assist
informs you about vehicles that are
detected and class ified as critical. The display
in the respective mirror turns on, but is d im. T
he display remains dim intentionally in the
information stage so that your view toward
the front is not disturbed .
Warning stage
If you activate the turn signal, s ide ass ist
warns you about vehicles that are detected
and classified as critical. The display in the re­
spective mirror blinks brightly . If this hap­
pens, check traffic by glancing in the rearview
mirror and over your shoulder
c:> .&. in General
information on page 105.
Applies to vehicles with active lane assist*:
The display in each mirror can a lso blink if you
have not activated the turn signal: If you are
approaching a detected lane marker line and
it appears you will leave the lane, side assist
will warn you about detected vehicles that are classified as critical.
(0 Tips
- You can adjust the brightness of the dis­
play @
c::> page 106.
-Please refer to the instructions for tow­
ing a trailer located in
~ page 105.

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General information
Applies to vehicles: with side assist
®
©
Fig . 113 Dr iving situations
AUDI
Fig. 114 Rear of t he ve hicle: positio n of t he se nsors
Side assist functions at speeds above approx i­
mately 19 mph (30 km/h).
@ Vehicl es th at ar e approaching
In certain cases, a vehicle will be classified as
cr itical for a lane change even if it is still
somewhat far away. The fas ter a vehicle ap­
p roaches, the sooner the display in the exteri­
or m irror will t urn on.
@ V ehicles traveling with you
Vehicles traveling w ith you are indicated in the
exterior m irror if they are classified as cr itical
for a lane change. All vehicles detec ted by
side assist are indicated by the time they en­
ter your "blind spot", at the latest.
Audi side assist 105
© Veh icle s left behind
If you s low ly pass a vehi cle that s ide assist has
detected (the difference in speed between the
vehicle and you r vehicle is less than 9 mph or
15 km/h), the display in the exterior mirror
turns on as soon as the vehicle enters your blind spot.
The disp lay will not t urn on if you quickly pass
a vehicle that side assist has detected (the dif­
ference in speed between the veh icle and your
vehicle is greater than 9 mph or 15 km/h).
Functi onal limitations
The radar sensors are designed to detect the
left and right adjacent lanes when the road
lanes are the normal width. In certain situa­
tions, the d isp lay in the exterior mirror may
turn on even though there is no veh icle locat­
ed in the area that is cr itical for a lane change.
For example:
- if the lanes are narrow or if your are dr iving
on the edge of your lane.
If this is the case,
the system may have detected the vehicle in
another lane that is
not adjacent to your
current lane .
- if you a re driving through a curve. Side assist
may react to a vehicle that is one lane ove r
from the adjacent lane.
- if side assist reacts to other objects (such as
high or d isp laced guard rails) .
- In poor weather conditions. The side assist
functions are l imited .
Do not cover the radar sensors
c> fig. 114 with
stickers, depos its, bicycle wheels or other ob­
jects, because this will affect the funct ion. Do
not use s ide ass ist when towing a trailer. For
i nformation on cleaning, refer to
c> page 214.
_&. WARNING
- Always pay attention to traffic and to t he
area a round your ve hicl e. S ide assist can­
not replace a driver's attention. T he driv­
er a lone is always responsible for lane
changes and similar driving mane uvers.

106 Audi side assist
-Improper reliance on the side assist sys­
tem can cause collisions and serious
personal injury:
- Never rely only on side assist when
changing lanes.
- Always check rear view mirrors to make
sure that it is safe to change lanes.
- Side assist cannot detect all vehicles un­
der all conditions- danger of accident!
- Please note that side assist indicates
there are approaching vehicles, or
vehicles in your blind spot, only after
your vehicle has reached a driving speed of at least 19 mph (30 km/h).
- In certain situations, the system may not
function or its function may be limited.
For example:
- if veh icles are approaching or being left
behind very quickly . The display may
not turn on in time.
- in poor weather conditions such as
heavy rain, snow or heavy mist .
- on very wide lanes, in tight curves or if
there is a rise in the road surface.
Vehicles in the adjacent lane may not
be detected because they are outside
of the sensor range.
(D Note
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody . This can affect the system.
Have your authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility check their
function.
@ Tips
- If the window glass in the driver's door
or front passenger's door has been tint­ ed, the display in the exterior mirror may
be misinterpreted.
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions¢
page 293.
Activating and deactivating
Applies to vehicles: with side assist
Fig. 11S Driver 's doo r: Side ass ist butto n
.. Press the button c> A in General informa­
tion on page 105
to switch the system on/
off. The LED in the button turns on when
side assist is switched on.
Adjusting the display brightness
Applies to vehicles: wit h side assist
The brightness setting can be adjusted via the
MMI.
.. Select: !CAR I function button> Car systems
control button > Driver assist > Audi side
assist .
The display brightness adjusts automatically
to the brightness of the surroundings, both in
the information and in the warning stage. In
very dark or very bright surroundings, the dis­
play is already set to the minimum or maxi­
mum level by the automatic adjustment . In
such cases, you may notice no change when
adjusting the brightness, or the change may
only be noticeable once the surroundings
change.
Adjust the brightness to a level where the dis­
play in the informa tion stage will not disrupt
yo ur view forward. If you change the bright­
ness, the display in the exterior mirror will
briefly show the brightness leve l in the infor­
mation stage. The brightness of the warning
stage is linked to the brightness in the infor­
mation stage and is adjusted along with the
information stage adjustment .

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@ Tips
-Side assist is not active whi le you are
making the adjustment.
- Your settings are automatica lly stored
and assigned to the remote control key
being used.
Driver messages
Applies to vehicles: with side assist
If side ass ist switches off by itself, the LED in
the button turns off and a message will ap­
pear in the instrument cluster d isplay:
Audi side assist: Currently unavailable . No
sensor vision
The radar sensors' vision is affected. Do not
cover the area in front of the sensors with bike
wheels, stickers, dirt or other objects. Clean
the area in front of the sensors, if necessary
c>page 105, fig . 114.
Audi side assist: Currently unavailable
Side assist cannot be swi tched on temporarily
because there is a malfunction (for example,
the battery charge leve l may be too low) .
Audi side assist: System fault!
The system cannot guarantee that it will de ­
tect vehicles correctly and it is switched off .
The senso rs have been displaced or are faulty.
Ha ve the sys tem checked by an authorized
Aud i dealer o r autho rized Aud i Service Fac ilit y
soon.
Audi side assist: Unavailable when towing.
Side assist sw itches off automatically when a
factory- installed trailer hitch is connected to
the electrical connector on the trailer. There is
no guarantee the system will switc h off when
using a retrofitted trailer hitch. Do not use
side assist when towing a trailer .
Audi side assist 107

108 Audi drive select
Audi drive select
Driving settings
Introduction
Audi drive select makes it possible to experi­
ence different types of vehicle settings in one
vehicle. The driver can select three
Comfort,
Auto
and Dynamic modes in the MMI to
switch between a sporty and a comfortable
driving mode.
You can a lso adjust the setting according to
your preferences in the
individual mode. For
example, 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 accidents and seri­
ous personal injury.
Description
The vehicle setup in each mode depends on
the vehicle's features. The engine, transmis­
sion, steering, reversible safety belt tension­
ers and adaptive air suspension are always in­
volved.
Engine and transmission
Depending on the mode, the engine and the
transmission respond quicker or in a more bal­
anced manner to acce le rator 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*
(Ai r suspension in the MMI) is
an electronically control led air suspension and
damping system. They are adjusted depend­
ing on the selected driving mode, the driver's
steering, braking and acceleration input and
the road surface, vehicle speed and load. A
sporty setting is generally used in vehicles
with adaptive air suspension sport*. The
vehicle clearance varies depending on the
selected mode and the speed .
The highway 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 steering 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 steering .
The following applies to vehicles with dynamic
steering* : the steering ratio changes based on
vehicle speed in order to maintain optimum
steering effort for the driver at all times. This
sets the steering to be less sensitive at higher
speeds in order to provide improved vehicle
control. At reduced speeds, however, steer ing
is more direct in order to keep the steering ef­
fort as minimal as poss ible when the driver is
maneuvering the vehicle. At low and average
speeds, dynamic steering additionally pro ­
vides more responsive steering performance.
Sport differential*
As a component of the all whee l dr ive system
(quattro)
r:!> page 202, the Sport differential*
distributes the driving power to the rear axle
depending on the situation . The distribution
of power varies depending on the selected
mode, from balanced (comfort) to agile (dy­
namic). The goal is a high level of agility and
ability to accelerate on curves . The vehicle is
very respons ive to steering .
Curve light*
The curve light adapts to driving on curves.
The pivoting action 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 ..,.

the drive select mode. Adaptive cruise control
also responds to the driving behavior of the
veh icle ahead in a more conservative or sporty
manner.
E ngin e soun d*
The sound of the engine is adapted to the se­
l ected mode and ranges from subtle to sporty.
(D Note
- Make sure there is eno ugh clea rance
above and below the veh icle when park­
i ng. The height of the vehicle can change
once it is parked due to temperature
fluctuations, changes to the load cond i­
tions and changes to the dr iv ing modes,
which can affect clearance.
- When transporting the veh icle on a car
carrier, tra in, ship or by other means, on­
ly tie the veh icle down at the running
surface of the tires, which is the outer
circumference. Secur ing the vehicle at
the axle components, s uspension struts
or tow ing eyes is not pe rm itted because
the pressure in the air suspension stru ts
can cha nge during transport . The vehicle
may not be sec ured s ufficient ly if this
happens.
- If you a re going to tow a trailer, you
must activate the trailer operation mode
C? poge210.
@ Tips
- In some models, the maximum vehicle
speed can only be reached in the
auto
and dynami c modes.
- Se lecting the
d ynamic mode results in
sporty shifting characteristics . The S
gear position engages automatically.
- In vehicles that have dynamic steering*,
operating noise is heard when starting or
stopping the engine. Th is does not indi­
cate a problem.
Audi dri ve sele ct 109
-In ve hicles w ith sport differentia l*, the
dynamic mode is deactivated when tow­
ing a trailer.
Selecting the driving mode
You con choose between Comfort, Auto, Dy­
namic and Individual.
F ig. 116 MMI: Drive select
.,. To select the mode, se lect the following in
the MMI:
I CARI function button > C om fort ,
Auto , Dynamic or Individu al.
You can change the driving mode when the ve­
hicle is stationary or wh ile driving. If traffic
permits, after changing modes, briefly take
your foot off the accelerator pedal so that the recently selected mode is also activated for
the engine.
comfort -provides a comfort-oriented ve hicle
setup a nd is suited for long drives on h igh­
ways .
auto -provides an overall comfortable yet dy­
namic dr iving feel and is suited for every day
use .
dy nami c -gives the driver a sporty driving fee l
and is suited to a sporty driv ing style.
indi vidual -¢page 110.
A WARNING
Pay attention to traffic when operating
Audi drive select to prevent potential risk
of an accident.

110 Audi drive select
Adjusting the Individual mode
You can adjust the vehicle settings to your personal preferences .
• Se lect : I CAR ! function button > Set individu­
al
control button. You can now adjust the in­
dividual 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.
Auto Dynamic
balanced sporty
balanced sporty
balanced sporty
Dynamic steering* comfortable/indirect balanced/direct sporty/direct
Sport differential * balanced agile sporty
Curve light* comfortable balanced sporty
Belt
tensioner Standard Standard Deployment time
adapted
Adaptive cruise control* comfortable
balanced sporty
Engine
sound* subtle subtle/sportya> sporty
a) Subt le in th e d riv ing posi tion D an d sp or ty in the driving pos itio n S
(D 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 vehicle temporarily, for ex­
ample to drive over a tall curb .
• Se lect the following in the MMI:
I CAR I 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 lower the veh icle, select the following in
the MMI:
ICARI function button > Lower con­
tro l button. •
Wait for the arrows in the display to stop
blinking and the vehicle to lower comp lete­
ly.
0 Note
- Remember that your vehicle is not suita­
ble for driv in g offroad even 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 .