2015 AUDI A8 wheel

168 Airbag system
Fully inflated airbags in combination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim­
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the risk of injury.
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­
ways wear safety belts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
airbags to provide supplemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious
injury. Wearing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used .
- The knee airbag system cannot protect
you properly if you are seated too close
to any of the airbag locations. When ad­
justing their seat positions, it is impor­
tant that both the driver and the front passenger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the following minimum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instru­
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- T he risk of personal injury increases if
you lean forward or to the side, or if the seat is improperly positioned and you are
not wearing your safety belt. The risk in­
creases even more should the airbag de­
ploy.
- Always make sure that the knee airbag
can inflate without interference. Objects
between you and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by inter­
fering with the way the airbag dep loys or by being
pushed into you as the airbag
deploys.
- Never let anybody, especially children
o r anima ls ride in the footwell in front
of the passenger seat. If the airbag de­
ploys, this can result in serious or fatal
injuries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the driver's or
passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shop­
ping bags, for example) can interfere
with or prevent proper deployment of
the airbag. Small objects can be
thrown through the vehicle if the air­ bag deploys and injure you or your pas­
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument panel where the knee air­
bags are located.
- If children are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
~page 174, Child Safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fig. 171 S id e airbag location in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
¢ fig . 171 and the rear
backrest facing the doors. They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG".
The side airbag system basically consists of:
-the electronic control module and external
side impact sensors

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-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Child Safety 175
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­ cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and si ze. The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight -sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight -sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the ..,.
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@ Tips
Your vehicle may be equipped with Audi
connect. Your use of certain Aud i connect
features req uires wireless serv ices that are
provided by a third party wireless telecom­
municat ions provider. For details regard­
ing how information obtained through
Aud i connect is collected, processed,
transmitted, used, and shared, please see
your contra ct w ith the wire less telecom ­
municat ions provider and the "About A udi
connect" tab in your vehicle's MMI:
!MENU !
button > Audi connect > About Audi con·
nect .
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects
certain difficult driv ing s ituations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of cont ro l and helps you to get the vehicle
back under control by select ively brak ing the
wheels, and/or red ucing engine powe r and
p roviding steering assistance to help hold the
ve hicle on the driver's intended course . The in­
dicator light
m in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations.
It is important to remem­
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
phys ics. It will not a lways be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
h elp you master situat ions where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of fr iction of
the road surface. When there is a sect io n of
d ry road that is s udden ly cove red with water,
slush o r snow, ESC canno t perform the same
way it would on the dry su rface.
If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a c ush ion of wate r in­
stead of the road surface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because con-
Int ellig ent technolog y 197
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast corner ing, particular ly on wind ing
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult dr iv ing s ituations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic and weather conditions . ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical lim its, in­
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a veh icle
o n the road if road departu re is a result of
driver ina ttent io n. Instead , ESC imp roves the
poss ibility of keep ing t he vehicle under con­
trol and on the road during extreme maneu­
vers by using the driver's steering i nputs to
help keep the vehicle go ing in the intended di­
rect ion. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock braking system
(ABS), brake assist
system, anti -slip regulation (ASR), electronic
differential lock (EDL), dynam ic steer ing* and
selective wheel torque contro l. ESC is switch­
ed on all the time. In cer tain situations when
yo u need less traction, yo u can switch off ASR
by press ing the b utton above ~
page 199,
fig. 188 the se lector lever. Be sure to switch
ASR on again when you no longer need less
traction.
Anti -lock braking system (ABS )
ABS prevents the whee ls from loc king up
when b rak ing. The vehicle can st ill be stee red
even during hard braking . App ly steady pres­
su re to the brake peda l. Do not pump the ped­
al. A pulsing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is helping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake assi st sy stem
T he brake ass ist system can dec rease braking
distance . It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake peda l quickly in emer­
gency s ituations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal unti l the situation is over. In
I),
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198 Intelligent technology
vehicles with adaptive cruise control*, the brake assist system is more sensitive if the
d istance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
smal l.
Anti-slip regulati on (ASR )
ASR reduces engine power when the d rive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road conditions. This makes it easier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills.
Electronic diffe rential lock (EDL )
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive power to the other d rive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
all whee l drive*. This function is available up
to about 75 mph (120 km/h).
I n extreme cases, ED L automatica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from overheating . EDL wi ll switch on again au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to normal.
Dynamic steer ing*
On vehicles with dynamic steering, ESC he lps
stabilize the steering in certain situations .
Selective wheel torque control
The se lective wheel torque cont ro l operates
when dr iving thro ugh cu rves. The front wheel
on the ins ide of the curve or both w heels on
the inside of the curve are braked selective ly
as needed. This minimizes sliding in the front
wheels and a llows for more precise driving
through curves. The applicab le system may
not activate when driving in wet or snowy con­
d itions .
Post- coll isio n br ake assis t
"Post-collision brake assist" can assist the
driver during a collision by reducing the dan­
ger of slipp ing and further collision and by au­
tomatic braking.
"Post-collision brake assist" functions d uring
collisions when the a irbag contro l modu le de­
tects a trigger level and the collision takes place at a certa in driving speed. The brak ing
of the vehicle happens automatically via the ESC as
long as the ESC, the brake system, and
the vehicle electrical system are not damaged
from the collision.
T he following ac tivit ies override the au toma t­
ic braking during a co llision:
- I f the driver p resses the acce le rator pedal.
There is no automa tic brak ing .
- When the force on the press brake peda l is
st ronger tha n the braking force initiated by
t he system. The veh icle is manua lly braked.
- When the ESC is damaged, the "Post-colli­
sion brake assist" is not available.
,&. WARNING
- ESC, ABS, ASR, ED L, dynamic steeri ng *
and the select ive wheel torque control
cannot overcome the laws of physics .
This is especially important on s lippery
or wet roads. If the systems beg in acting
to stabilize your veh icle, you should im­
mediately change your speed to match
the road and traffic conditions. Do not let the increased safety provided by
these systems tempt you to take r is ks.
D oing so will increase the risk of a loss of
veh icle contro l, col lision and ser ious per ­
sonal injuries.
- Always ad apt your speed to road, traffi c
and weather conditions . The risk of los ­
ing contro l of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, espec ially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead. ESC, ABS, the brake ass ist sys­
tem, EDL, ASR, dynam ic steering* and
the selective wheel torque cont ro l can­
not prevent collisions.
- Always accelerate with special care on
even, smooth s urfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with i ce and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even w ith
these assistance systems tha t cannot al­
ways he lp to red uce the risk of loss of ve -
-
hicle control. IJJ,,

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@ Tips
-ABS and AS R on ly wor k co rrectly when
a ll fo ur wheels are eq uipped w ith identi­
ca l tires . Different tire s izes can lead to a
r educt io n in eng ine power.
- You may hear noises when the sys tems
desc ribed are working.
Switching on and off
Intelligent technology 199
- If
the ind ica tor li ght &J or m] (US A
mode ls)/ ri] (Ca nada models) ap pears,
t h ere may be a malfunction
c::> page 19,
¢ page 18.
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine.
Fig . 188 Center co nsole with ESC O FF bu tton
ESC levels
Sport mode on
The following si tua tions are exceptions whe re
it may be usefu l to switch o n sport mo de to
allow the w heels to spi n:
- Rockin g the vehicle to free it when i t is st uck
- Dr iv ing in deep s now o r on loose g ro un d
- Dr iving with snow chains
Sport mode off
Behavior
T he E SC and AS R sta bilization f unct io ns The fu ll sta biliz ati on f uncti on o f the ES C
are limited ¢,& .
Operation Press the [ru button .
Indicator • tur ns on.
lights
Driver mes· Stabilization control (ESC): Sport
sages Warning! Reduced stability
A WARNING
Yo u should o nly sw itch sport mo de on i f
your dr iv ing abili ties and road cond itions
permit.
- The stabilization function is limited
when sport mode is sw itched on. The
dr iv ing whee ls co uld spin and the vehicle
cou ld swe rve , especially on slick or slip ­
pery road surfaces .
(D Tips
Sport mode cannot be switched o n when
adapt ive cr uise c ontrol* is sw itched on.
-
and AS R is availab le again .
Press the
[ru button again .
II turns off .
Stabilization control (ESC): On
Braking
General information
What affects braking efficiency?
Operating conditions and driving habits
The bra ke s on today's au to m obiles a re s till
sub ject t o wear, depe nding la rgely o n ope rat ­
i ng con dit ions and d riving habits ¢
A. On
vehicles that are either driven most ly in stop­
and-go city traff ic or are driven hard , the
brake pads should be checked by your author­
ized Audi dealer more often than specif ied in
t h e
Warranty & Maintenance booklet . Failure .,._

200 Intellig ent technol ogy
to have your brake pads inspected can result
in reduced brake performance.
On steep slopes, yo u shou ld use the b rak ing
effect of the engine. Th is way, you prevent un­
necessary wear on the brake system. If you
must use your brakes, do not hold the brakes
down continuously. P ump the brakes at inter ­
vals.
Operating nois e
Noises may occur when braking depending on
the speed, braking force and outside condi­
tions such as temperature and humidity.
E ff ect of water and road salt
In certain situat ions, for example after driving
through water , in heavy ra in , after overn ight
condensation or after washing your car, the braking effect can be reduced by moisture or
ice on the brake rotors and brake pads. The
brakes must be dried first with a few careful
brake applications.
At higher speeds and with the windshield wip­
ers turned on, the brake pads press against
the brake rotors for a short amount of time.
This occurs at regular intervals without the
driver noticing and provides for bet ter brake
response time under wet condit ions .
The effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is dr iven on a salt-covered
road and the brakes are not used . Likew ise,
you clean off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few caut ious ap­
plications of the brake
c:::> .&, .
Cor ro sion
There may be a tendency for dirt to build up
on the brake pads and corrosion to form on
the discs if the car is not dr iven regularly or
only for short t rips with little use of the
b rakes .
If the brakes are not used frequently , or if cor­
rosion has formed on the discs, it is advisable
to clean off the pads and discs by braking
firm ly a few times from a mode rately high
speed
c:::> .&, .
Faults in the brake syste m
If you shou ld notice a sudden increase in
brake pedal trave l, then one of the two brake
circuits may have fai led
c:::> & .
Low bra ke fluid lev el
Malfunctions can occu r in the bra ke system if
the b rake fluid level is too low. The brake flu id
level is monitored electro nica lly.
Brake booster
The brake booster works with vacuum pres­
sure which is created only when the eng ine is
runn ing
c:::> .&, .
Brake lining we ar statu s
Brake lining wear may be checked by visual in­
spect ion of the condition of the brake pads
through the open ings in the wheel. If neces­
sary, the wheel may be removed for th is in­
spect ion
c:::> page 269, Changing a wheel .
_& WARNING
-You shou ld perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system only if road conditions permit .
Other road users must not be put at risk -
you may ca use an accident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and sh ift transmission into a lower
gear or lower dr iving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too often . This could cause the
brakes to get hot and diminish braking
efficiency.
- Do not "ride the brakes" by rest ing your
foot on the pedal when you do not intend
to b rake . This may cause the brakes to
overheat, p remature wear and increased
s topping distance .
- Unde r ce rtain cl imatic and ope rat ing
conditions such as passing thro ugh wa­
ter, dr iving in heavy rain o r after washing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced. In winter, ice can
accumu late on the brake pads, lin ings,
d iscs and drums. Carefully app ly brakes
for a test. Brakes will dry and ice

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coatings will be cleaned off after a few
careful brake applicat ions.
- Driving for an extended period of time on
salt-covered roads without us ing your
brakes can also affect braking efficiency.
Clean off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads w ith a few careful
brake applicat ions.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler, be sure the air
flow to the front brakes is not obstruct­ ed. Otherwise the brake system could
overheat reducing the effectiveness of
the ent ire brake system.
- Failure of one bra ke c ircui t will impair
t he braking capabi lity res ulting in an in­
creased stopp ing distance . Avoid driv ing
the vehicle and have it towed to the near ­
est Aud i dea le r or q ualified workshop .
- Never let the vehicle ro ll to a stop w ith
the engine shut off.
- If the bra ke booster is not work ing, the
brake pedal must be pressed considera ­
bly harder to make up for the lack of
booster assistance.
Electromechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electrome chanical power assist helps the
driver when steering.
Powe r stee ring adapts electronically based on
the veh icle speed.
Indicator lights and mess ages
• Stee ring defecti ve! Stop th e vehicle
If th is ind icator light turns on and stays on
and this message appears, the power steering
may have fa iled.
Do
not co ntinu e driving . See yo ur authorized
Aud i dea ler or other qualified repa ir facility
for assistance .
'Tj Steering: System fault You can contin ue
driving
Int ellig ent technolog y 201
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steering may be more diffi­
cu lt to move or more sensitive than usual. The
steering wheel may also be at an ang le when
driv ing straight.
Drive slowly to your a uthorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop to have the ma lf u nction
corrected.
'T-ij Dynamic stee ring: Init ializing
If this d rive r message appears and the i ndica­
tor lig ht is flas hing on the instrumen t panel,
dynam ic s teer ing* is being rein it ia liz ed. After
starting the engine, the stee ring wheel will
move s light ly . Re-initialization might be nec­
essary if the steering wheel was moved hard
to the left and right whi le the vehicle was not
moving. The display goes out as soon as initi­
alization is complete .
Drive slowly to your authorized Audi dea ler or
qualified workshop to have the malf u nction
corrected.
A WARNING
H ave the dy namic steering* system mal­
f u nction repa ired as soon as possible by an
authorized Audi dea ler or qua lified wor k­
shop -risk of acc ident!
(D Tips
If the . or 'Tj indicator light only stays
on for a short t ime, you may continue dr iv­
i ng .
- The dynamic steering* stab il ity systems
are not ava ilab le in the event of a system
ma lfunction .
- For add itiona l information o n dynamic
steering*, refer to
~page 108.
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202 Intelligent technology
Driving with your
quattro
With All Wheel Drive, all four wheels are driv­
en .
General inform ation
With All Wheel Drive, power is distributed to
all four wheels . This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
conditions at the time . See also
c:;; page 197.
With the sport differential*, power d istribu­
tion to the rear wheels is variable and can be
adjusted with Audi d rive select*
c:;; page 108.
Always read and follow safety precautions
¢ .&,.
Winter tires
When driving in the winter , your vehicle with
A ll Wheel Drive has an advantage, even with
regular tir es. In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all-sea­
son tires) for improved driveability and brak­ ing: these tires must be mounted on
all four
wheels.
See also ¢ page 260, Winter tires.
Snow chains
Where snow chains are mandatory on certa in
roads, this normally a lso applies to vehicles
with A ll Wheel Drive
c:;, page 261, Snow
chains .
Replacing wheels/tires
Vehicles with All Wheel Dr ive must always
have tires of the same size. Also avoid ti res
with different tread depths. For details see
page
c:;, page 256, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels .
Off-Road driving?
Your Audi does not have enough ground clear­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle. It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un ­
even terrain as much as possible. Also refer to
c:;; page207.
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to road and traf­
f ic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by All Wheel Drive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
- Although the All Wheel Drive is very ef­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is lim ited by tire traction. You
should therefore not drive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippery road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
drive too fast because the front wheels
could begin to slide on top of the water
(aquaplaning) . If this should occur, you
will have no warning from a sudden in­
crease in eng ine speed as with a front­
wheel drive vehicle. Always drive at speeds which are suited to the road con­
ditions - risk of crash .
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting
the engine .
If a vehicle with a conventiona l ene rgy system
is not driven for a long period of time, the bat­
tery is discharged by idling current consumers
(e .g. immobilizer). In certain circumstances it
can resu lt in there being insufficient energy
available to start the engine .
Intelligent energy management in your vehi­
cle handles the distribution of e lectrica l ener­
gy. Starting ability is markedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended.
Basically, energy management consists of
battery diagnosis , idling current manage­
ment
and dynamic energy management.
Battery diagnosis
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the battery. Sensors determine
battery voltage, battery current and battery ..,.