2015 AUDI A8 automatic transmission

2 Table of contents Vehicle literature .. .. .. .. .. ... .
5
About this Owner's Manual . . . 6
Controls and equipment .. ... .
Ins truments and controls .. . .
General illustration ......... .. ... .
Instruments and warning /
indicator lights ........ .. .. .. . .
Instruments ............ ... .. ... .
Warning/indicator lights .......... .
Driver information display .. .. .. ... .
On-Board Diagnostic system (OBD) . . .
Opening and closing .. .. .... . .
Keys .. ...... ........... .. .. ... .
Power locking system ..... .. .. .. . .
Luggage compartment lid .. .. .. .. . .
Child safety lock . .......... ... .. . .
Power windows . .......... ... .. . .
Valet park ing . ........... .. .. ... .
Sliding/tilting sun roof ... .. .. .. .. . .
Panoramic sunroof ........ .. .. ... .
Clear vision .. ........ .. .. .. .. . .
Lights . .. .. ............. .. .. .. . .
I nterior lights .............. .. ... .
V1s1on ..... ... .... ......... .... .
Wiper and washer system ... ... .. . .
Mirrors ................. .. .. ... .
Digital compass .......... .... ... .
Seats and storage ....... .. .. . .
General recommendations ..... .. . .
Front seats ... ........... .... ... .
Rear seats .. ... .... ...... .. .. .. . .
H ead restraints .............. .. . .
Seat memory . ... ..... ... .. .. .. . .
Full-length center console .... .. ... .
L uggage compartment .. .. .. .. ... .
Pass-through with ski sack ........ .
Roof rack ....... ......... ... ... .
12-vo lt sockets ........ ... .. .. ... . 8
8
8
1 0
10
11
23
29
3 1
31
33
37
4 1
41
42
43
44
4 6
46
so
51
53
55
56
58
58
59
61
65
66
68 70
71
72
74
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Cooler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Warm and cold .......... ..... .
Climate controls . ............. ... . 78
78
On the road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Starting and stopping the engine . . . . 83
E lectromechanical parking brake . . . . 85
Start-Stop-System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Speed warning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Cruise control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Audi adaptive cruise control
and braking guard . . . . . . . . . . . .
92
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Genera l information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Audi adaptive cruise control . . . . . . . . 94
Audi braking gua rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Audi active lane assist . . . . . . . . 101
Active lane assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Audi side assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 4
Lane Change Assistant. . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Audi drive select . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Driving settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Raising/lowering the vehicle..... .. . 110
Driver messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Night vision a ssistant ........ . 111
Night vision assistant with pedestrian
and wild animal detection . . . . . . . . . . 111
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 114
tiptronic (8-speed transmission) . . . . . 114
Parking systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Parking system plus with rear view
camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Peripheral cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Adjusting the d isplay and the warning
tones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

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 ..,.

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 .

114 Automatic Transmission
Automatic
Transmission
tiptronic (8-speed
transmission)
Introduction
Your vehicle is equipped with an electronically controlled 8-speed automatic transmission .
Upshifting and downshifting occurs automati­
cally and is controlled electronically. The driv­
ing style continuously influences the selection
of the driving program .
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
transmission selects the most economical
driving mode. It will then change up early and
delay the downsh ifts to give better fuel econ­
omy .
The transmission switches to a sporty mode
after a kick-down or when the driver uses a
sporty driving style characterized by quick ac­
celerator pedal movements, heavy accelera­
tion, frequent changes in speed and traveling at the maximum speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (ti ptronic mode) ¢ page 117 .
Indicator in the display
Fig. 123 Display: selector lever posit io n
@ -The current selector lever position is dis­
played continuously. The gear is also dis­
played in manual mode M.
@ -This indicator appears temporarily if you
change the selector lever position or if you
press the button on the selector lever ¢
page 114, fig. 124
. The current selector
lever position is shown with a white back­
ground.
Selecting a selector lever position
Fig. 124 Selector lever
---p--- ---1
--- R--- --1
--- N--- --t
-D/S--
Fig. 125 Pressing the button o n the selector leve r
The current selector lever position is displayed
on the selector lever¢
fig. 124.
.. You may need to release the se lector lever
lock depending on which selector lever posi­
tion is selected and which one you would
like to select¢
page 115, Selector lever
lock .
.. To engage the nearest selector lever posi­
tion, move the selector lever forward/back
until you fee l the first pressure point. The
selector lever will return to its original posi­
tion .
.. To skip over one (or two) selector lever posi­
tions, move the selector lever past the first
(and second) pressure point into the desired
position. The selector lever will return to its
original position.
For example, to move directly from the D se­
lector lever position to P when stopping the
vehicle, you can shift past the N and R selector lever positions. ..,_

,....,
N ,....,
N
0 J:
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Selector lever lock
The selector lever lock prevents you from se­l ecting a position unintentionally, causing the
vehicle to roll. When engaging some selector lever positions, you must press the button on
the selector lever
c:> fig. 124 and/or press the
brake pedal.
You must press the brake pedal to engage a
selector lever position when the engine is run­
ning while the vehicle is stationary. The ar­
rows
c:> fig. 125 indicate when you need to
press the button on the selector lever.
The selector lever does not lock if you shift
from D to R within one second. This allows
you to "rock" the vehicle to free it when it is
stuck.
P- Park
The whee ls are locked in this position. Only
shift into park when the vehicle is stationary
c:> &. To engage the P se lector lever position,
press the button on the selector lever and
shift into the P position .
You can only shift out of park when the engine is running and you are pressing the brake ped­
al. Press the button on the selector lever to
release the parking lock and select the desired
selector lever pos it ion .
P engages automatically when you switch the
engine off while D, Sor R is engaged or in
manual mode .
If you switch the engine off when N is engag ­
ed, the transmission remains in N for approxi­
mately 30 minutes and then Pis engaged.
You must use the emergency release proce­ dure to release the parking lock before towing
the vehicle
c:> page 119.
R -Reverse
The reverse gear is engaged in this position .
Only select reverse when the vehicle is sta ­
tionary and the engine is running at idle speed
c:> &. To engage the R selector lever position,
press the button on the selector lever, press
Automatic Transmission 115
the brake peda l and move the selector lever
into the R position.
T he back-up lights turn on when you select
the R selector lever position wh ile the engine
is running .
N -Neutral
The transmission is in idle in this pos it ion . To
engage the N selector lever posit ion, press
the button on the selector lever and shift into
the N position.
If you switch the eng ine off when N is engag­
ed, the transmission remains in N for approxi­
mately 30 minutes and then Pis engaged.
You cannot select the N position when the ig­
nition is switched off. When driv ing through
an automat ic car wash, first select the N posi ­
tion and then switch the engine off
c:> table on
page 216.
The veh icle cannot be locked when the selec­
tor lever is in the N position.
D/S - Posit ion for driv ing forward
In the D/S position, the transmission can be
operated either in the normal mode D or in
the sport mode S . You can only select the S se­
lector lever position when Dis engaged. Move
the selector lever back to engage the S selec­
tor lever position. To select the D selector lev­
er position again when Sis engaged, move the
selector lever back
c:> .&. . To shift from N to D
when traveling at speeds below 1 mph (2km/
h), press the brake peda l and select the D se­
lector lever position
c:> .&. .
In the normal mode D, the transmission auto ­
matically selects the suitable gear ratio.
It de­
pends on engine load, vehicle speed and driv­
ing style.
Se lect the
sport mode S for sporty driving.
The vehicle makes fu ll use of the engine's
power. Shift ing may become noticeab le when
accelerat ing.
The S selector lever position engages auto­
matically when you select the dynamic mode
in Audi drive select.
liJI,

116 Automatic Tran sm iss ion
& WARNING
-Never e ngag e R or P w hile driving . It
could cause a cras h.
-
-Power is sti ll t ransmi tte d to t he whee ls
whe n the e ngine is runni ng at idle . To
prevent the vehicle from "creepin g", you
must keep your foot on the brake in all
selector lever positions except P and N
when the eng ine is running. Do not inad­
vertent ly press the accelerator pedal
when the veh icle is stationary . Otherwise
the vehicle will s tart to move immediate­
ly. This cou ld happen even if the parking
brake is activa ted .
- Be fore opening the hood, select the P se­
lector lever position and set the par king
brake. This red uces the risk of a crash. Al­
ways read and follow the applicable
warnings
<=)page 228.
-Never get out of the driver's seat when
the engine is running.
- If you mus t get out of the vehicle, move
the se lector lever securely into the P po ­
sition an d apply the park ing brake .
(D Tips
-If you u nin tentionally shift into the N se­
l ector lever posi tion while dr iv ing, ta ke
your foot off the acce lerator pedal and
wait for the e ngine to slow down until it
i s idling before you shift into Dor S.
Driving tips
The gears shi~ automatically .
Starting from a stop
"" Press and ho ld the brake pedal.
"" Sta rt the eng ine
c:> page 83.
"" Press the but ton on the se lector lever and
select the D, S or R selecto r lever pos it ion
c:> page 114 .
""Wait a moment until the transmission
shifts. You w ill not ice a slight movement
when the gear engages .
"" Re lease the brake pedal and press the accel­
erator pedal¢ ,& .
Stopping temporarily
""Press the brake pedal to s top the ve hicle, for
examp le a t a traffic light . Do not press the
accelerato r peda l when doing this.
"" To prevent the vehicle from ro lling when yo u
start dr iving, set the parking brake when
stopping on large incl ines
c:> ,& .
"" The parking brake will release automat ica lly
and the vehicle will start mov ing once you
press the acce lerator pedal.
Parking
If the se lector lever is not in the P position
whe n you open the driver's door, the ve hicle
could roll. The message
Transmission: Car
may roll! Shift to park!
appears .
"" Press and hold the brake pedal¢ ,& .
"" Set the park ing brake.
"" To engage the P se lector lever position,
press the button on the selector lever and
shift into the P posit ion
c:> page 114 .
Under certa in conditions such as dr iv ing in the
mountains or when towing a trailer, it may be
helpful to switch to manual mode tempo rari ly
to shift
manually to adapt to the driving con­
di tions
c:> page 117.
On s lopes, activate the parki ng bra ke first and
then move the selecto r leve r to the P position .
T his prevents too much st ress from be ing
pla ced on the locking mec hanism.
& WARNING
Read an d fol low all WAR NIN GS ¢ .&. in Se­
lecting a selector lever position on
page 116.
- The vehicle can also roll when the engine
is stopped.
- Do not press t he acceler ator pe dal when
chan ging the se lector leve r posi tion
while the veh icle is stationary and t he
engine is running . This cou ld result in a
crash.
- Never engage R o r P while driving .
It
could cause a crash.
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is runn ing at idle. To
IJJ,,

rl N
rl N
0 J:
""'. rl I.O
"' rl
"' ......
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake in all
selector lever positions except P and N
when the eng ine is running. Do not inad­
vertently press the accelerator pedal
when the veh icle is stationary. Otherwise
the vehi cle will s tart to move immediate­
ly, even if the park ing brake is set. This
cou ld result in a crash.
- Do not ride the brakes or p ress the brake
peda l too often or too long when dr iv ing
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substant ially re­
duces b raking performance, increases
braking distance or ca uses comp lete fail­
ure of the brake system.
Hill descent control
The hill descent control system assists the
driver when driving down declines.
H ill descent control is activated when these­
lector lever is in D/S and you press the brake
pedal. The transmission automatically selects
a gear that is suitab le for the incline. Hill de­
scent control tries to maintain the speed ach­
ieved at the time of braking, within physical
a nd techn ical limitations.
It may st ill be nec­
essary to adjust the speed with the brakes.
H ill descent control switches off once the de­
cline levels out or you press the accelerator
pedal.
Hill descent control is also activated when the
speed is set by starting the cruise contro l sys­
tem c::>
page 90.
A WARNING
Hill descent control can not overcome
phys ical limitations, so it may not be able
to main tain a constant speed under a ll
condi tions. Always be re ady to app ly the
br akes.
Automatic Tra nsmi ssi on 11 7
Shifting manually
The shift paddles allow the driver to shift the
gears manually .
Fig . 1 26 Steer ing w heel: sh ift ing manually
.,.. To shift to a h igher or lowe r gear tempo rari­
ly, tap the
0 or 0 shift padd le c::> fig. 126 .
.. To switch manua l mode on, press the~
button . An Mand the gear that is currently
engaged appear in the instrument cluster
disp lay @ c::>
page 114, fig. 123.
.. To shift up one gear, tap the right shift pad­
dle
0 c::> fig . 126 .
.. To sh ift down one gear, tap the left shift
paddle Q.
.. To switc h manua l mode off, press the~
button aga in, or
.. Move the selector lever back and release it .
T he transm iss ion automatically sh ifts up or
down before cr itical engine speed is reached.
The transm iss ion only allows manual sh ifting
whe n the eng ine speed is w ith in the pe rmit­
ted range.
The engine braking effect increases when you
downshift when going downhill.
Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
When you press the accelerator pedal down
beyond the resistance point, the automatic
transmission downshifts into a lower gear, de­
pending on veh icle speed and eng ine RPM .
It
shifts up into the next higher gear once the
maximum specified engine RPM is reached . ..,.

118 Automatic Transmission
8_ WARNING
Please note that the wheels could spin on
slick or slippery roads when kick-down is
active .
Transmission malfunction
r;J Transmission: please press the brake ped­
al and select the position again
Press the brake pedal and select the des ired
selector lever posit ion again. You can then
continue dr iv ing .
r;J Transmission hot: please modify driving
style
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.
r;J Gearbox malfunction: you can continue
driving
There is a system ma lfunction in the transmis­
sion. You may continue driving. Drive to your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified repair fa­
cility soon to have the malfunction corrected.
@]JIJI Gearbox malfunction: you can contin­
ue driving in D only until engine is off
There is a sys tem ma lfunction in the transmis­
sion. The transmission is switching to emer ­
gency mode. If you turn the engine off, you
will not be able to select any other se lector
lever positions after starting the engine again.
Drive to your authorized Aud i dealer or quali­
fied repair facility immediately to have the
malfunction corrected.
r;J Gearbox malfunction: you can continue
driving (limited functionality)
There is a system ma lfunction in the transmis­
sion. The transmission is switching to emer­
gency mode. Th is mode only shifts into cer­
tain gears or will not longer shift at all. The
engine may stall. Dr ive to your authorized
Aud i dealer or qualified repair facility immedi­
ate ly to have the malfunction corrected.
@]lift Gearbox malfunction: no reverse gear
(y ou can continue driving)
The re is a system malfunction in the transmis­
s ion. The transm ission is swi tching to emer­
gency mode. This mode on ly shifts into cer ­
tain gears or will not longer shift at al l. You
cannot engage the reverse gear . Dr ive to your
authorized Aud i dea ler immediately to have
the malfunction corrected.
r;J Vehicle may roll! Cannot shift to P. Please
apply parking brake
-The parking lock was released using the
emergency release
¢page 119. Or
- The parking brake cannot engage automati­
cally . Drive to your authorized Audi dea ler or
qualified repair facility immediately to have
the malfunction corrected.
r;J Gearbox malfunction: Stop and shift to P
Do not continue dr iving . Select the P selector
lever position and see your authorized A udi
dealer or qualified repair faci lity for assis­
tance.