2016 AUDI A8 light

adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possible before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright posit ion .
- Make sure that the
PAS SEN GER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and chi ld
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must in­
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional cir­
cumstances.
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front passen­
ger seat can put too much pressure on the
weight-mat in the seat and register a heavi ­
er weight in the Advanced Airbag System .
The heavier weight registered can make the system work as though an adult were on the
seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when
it must be suppressed causing serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR B AG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
sta ll the rear-fac ing ch ild safety sea t in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
Ch ild safety
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint .
Always heed the child sa fety seat manuf actu rer 's
ins truc tions when ins talling a child restraint in
your vehicle . To activate the convertible locking
retractor:
.. Place the child rest raint on a seat, prefe rably
on the rear sea t.
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the w ay out .
.. Route it around or through the child restra int
be lt path ¢,&. .
.. Push the ch ild safety seat down with you r full
weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for that
seating position.
.. Guide the safety belt back into th e retractor un­
til the belt lies flat and snug on the child safety
seat .
.. You should hear a ''cl icking" noise as the belt
w inds back into the inertia reel. Test the con ­
vert ible lock ing retractor by pulling on the belt .
You shou ld no longer be able to pull the belt
out of the retractor. The convertib le locking re­
t ractor is now activated.
.. Make sure that the red release button is facing
away from the child restraint so that it can be
unbuckled quickly .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is
properly tight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward or sideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
A WARNING
Using the wrong ch ild rest raint or an improp­
e rly installed child restra int can cause se rious
personal injury or death in a crash .
- Always make sure that the safety be lt re­
tr actor is locked when installing a child
safety seat . An un locked safety be lt retrac­
tor cannot hold the chi ld safety seat in p lace
during normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firm ly in
p lace even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a crash. .,.
179

PASSENGER A IR BAG O FF light does not
come on and stay on, immediate ly install
the rear-fac ing child safety seat in a rear
seating posit ion and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 185 Tether strap: p roper ro uting a nd moun tin g
In sta ll ing the tether strap
• Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restraint according to the child restra int manu ­
facturer's instruct ions.
• Gu ide the upper tether strap
unde r the rear
head restra int ~
fig. 185 (raise the head re­
straint if necessa ry) .
• Center seating position*: Guide the upper teth­
er strap over the rear head restraint .
• Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket.
• Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of the tether anchorage .
• Pullon the tether strap hook so t hat the spring
catch of the hook engages .
• Tighten the tether strap firmly fo llow ing the
c hild rest raint ma nufactu rer's inst ruct ions.
Releasing the tether strap
• Loosen the tens ion following the child restrai nt
manufacturer's instructions .
• Depress the spring catch on the hook and re­
lease it from the anchorage .
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the tether
strap fi rm ly installed fo r several days, this
co uld leave a ma rk on the upholstery on the
Ch ild sa fety
seat cushion and backrest in the area where
the tether strap was installed. The upholstery
would a lso be permanently stretched around
the tether strap. T his applies espec ia lly to
leather seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently , few rear-facing child restraint systems
come with a tether. Please read and heed the
child restraint system manufacturer's instruc ­
tions carefully to determine how to properly in­
stall the tether .
A WARNING
- -
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
i nstalled on the front passenger seat will be
seriously in jured and can be killed if the front
a irbag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild safety
seat or infant carr ier w ith great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and ch ild
against the backrest, cente r a rm rest, or
door.
- A t ight tether or other strap on a rearward­
faci ng chi ld restraint attached to the fro nt
passenger sea t can put too much pressure
on the weig ht-mat in the seat and register a
heavier weight in the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem . The heavier weight registered can
make the system work as though an adu lt
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced
A irbag when it must be suppressed causing
serious or even fatal injury to the child .
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PA SSEN GER AIR BA G OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rea r-facing child safe ty seat in a rear
seating posi tion and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
185

Audi pre sense Preventative passenger
protection
A ppl ies to: ve hicles with Audi pre se nse
Audi pre sense can initiate steps to help protect
vehicle occupants in certain situations. The func­
tions described depend on equipment installed in
your veh icle:
Audi pre sense basic
The following functions can be triggered in cer­
tain driving situations:
- Tightening of the safety belts (for examp le,
during heavy braking): the front safety belts
have reversible belt pretensione rs. If a collision
does not occur, the safety belts loosen slightly
and are ready to be t ightened again.
- Closing the windows and the sunroof*: the win­
dows and the sunroof* close leaving a small
open gap .
Audi pre sense basic functions can be triggered at
speeds above 20 mph (30 km/h). The deploy­ ment time is adapted in the drive select mode dy­
namic.
Audi pre sense front (vehicles with adaptive
cruise control*)
Audi pre sense front includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic . In addition, within the lim ­
its of the system, the likelihood of a collision
with the vehicle immediately ahead is also calcu­ lated.
If the system senses an imminent collision
the following functions can be triggered:
- Braking guard
~ page 96
- Tightening the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leaving
a small open gap)
Audi pre sense rear (vehicles with Audi side
assist*}
Audi pre sense rear includes the functions in Audi
pre sense basic. In addition, the likelihood of a
rear-end collision with the vehicle coming from
behind is also calculated.
If the risk of a collision
is detected , the following functions can be trig­
gered:
Audi pre sense
-Tig htening the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* ( leaving
a small open gap)
- Adjusting the seats: the settings for the power
head restrains, the upper sections of the backr­
ests and the pneumatic side bolsters* are opti­ mized for the front seats and the outboard rear
seats*. If a co llision does not occur, the previ­
ous seat settings are restored.
Audi pre sense plus
Audi pre sense plus includes the functions in Audi
pre sense front and Audi pre sense rear.
Error message
Audi pre sense: not available
Preventative passenger protection is not availa­
ble . See your authorized Audi dealer immediately
to have the malfunction corrected .
A WARNING
-
Audi pre sense cannot overcome the laws of
physics. It cannot prevent a collision. Do not
l et the increased safety provided tempt you to
take risks. This will increase the risk of a colli­
sion and serious personal injuries.
- The sensors cannot always detect all ob­
jects. This increases the risk of a collision.
-Audi pre sense does not detect people or an­
imals or objects that are crossing the vehi­
cle's path
~ page 90.
-The radar sensor's vision can be reduced by
heavy rain, ice, snow, heavy road sp ray and
reflections from guard rails, tunne l entran­
ces, etc. These and similar conditions can prevent vehicles from being accurately de­
tected and in some cases they may not be
detected at all.
(D Note
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. This can affect the function of the
Audi pre sense system . Have your authorized
Audi dealer check to make sure that the sys­
tem is work ing properly.
187

Smart Technology
shared, please see your contract with the
wireless te lecommunications provider and the
"About Audi connect" tab in your vehicle's
MMI:
! MENUI button> Audi connect> About
Audi connect.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of skid­
ding and loss of vehicle control. It works only
when the engine is running. ESC detects certain
difficult dr iving situations, including when the
veh icle is beginn ing to spin (yaw) out of contro l
and helps you to get the vehicle back under con­
trol by se lectively braking the wheels, and/or re­
ducing engine power and providing steering as­
sistance to help hold the vehicle on the driver's
intended course. The indicator light
GI in the in­
strument cluster blinks when ESC is taking action
to help you control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations. It is important to remember
that ESC cannot overcome the laws of physics. It
will not always be able to help out under all con­
ditions you may come up against . For example,
ESC may not always be able to help you master
situations where there is a sudden change in the
coefficient of friction of the road surface. When
there is a section of dry road that is suddenly cov­
ered with water, slush o r snow , ESC cannot per­
form the same way it wou ld on the dry surface. If
the vehicle hydrop lanes (rides on a cushion of wa­
ter instead of the road surface), ESC wi ll not be
able to he lp you steer the vehicle because contact
with the pavement has been interrupted and the
vehicle cannot be braked or steered. During fast cornering, part icularly on w inding roads, ESC
cannot always deal as effective ly w ith difficult
driving situat ions than at lower speeds . When
towing a trailer, ESC is not able to help you re­
ga in control as it would if you were not towing a
trai ler.
Always adjust your speed and driving sty le to
road, traffic and weather conditions. ESC cannot
override the vehicle's physical limits, increase the
190
available traction, or keep a vehicle on the road if
road departure is a result of driver inattention.
Instead, ESC improves the possib ility of keeping
the vehicle under control and on the road during extreme maneuvers by using the driver's steering
inputs to help keep the vehicle going in the in­
tended direction . If you are traveling at a speed
that causes you to run off the road before ESC
can provide any assistance, you may not exper i­
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC is switched on all the time. In certa in s itua­
tions when you need less traction, you can sw itch
off ASR by press ing the button above
~ page 192, fig. 186 the selector lever. Be sure
to switch ASR on again when you no longer need
l ess traction.
The following systems are integrated in the ESC:
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up when
braking. The vehicle can still be steered even dur ­
i ng hard braking . Apply steady pressure to the
brake pedal. Do not pump the pedal. A pulsing in
the brake pedal indicates that the system is help ­
i ng you to brake the vehicle.
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease braking dis­
tance. It increases braking power when the dr iver
presses the brake pedal quickly in emergency sit­
uations. You must press and hold the brake pedal
u nt il the situation is over. In vehicles with adap ­
tive cruise control*, the brake assist system is
more sensitive if the d ista nee detected to the ve­
hicle ahead is too sma ll.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine powe r when the dr ive wheels
begin to spin and adapts the force to the road
cond itions. This makes it easier to start, acceler­
ate and drive up hills.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other wheels.
This function is not available at higher speeds .

Smart Technology
Switching on and off
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine.
Fig. 186 Center console w it h ESC O FF but ton
ESC level s
Sport mode on
The following situations are exceptions where it
may be useful to switch on sport mode to allow
the wheels to spin:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Driving in deep snow or on loose ground
- Dr iving with snow chains
Sport mode off
Behavior
The ESC and ASR stabilization functions The full stabilization function of the ESC
are limited ¢
A:,.. and ASR is ava ilable again .
Operation Press the 00 button. Press
the[!] button again.
Indicator II turns on. II turns off .
lights
Driver mes- Stabilization control (ESC): Sport Warn- Stabilization control (ESC): On
sages ing! Reduced stability
A WARNING
You should only switch sport mode on if your
dr iv ing abilities and road condit ions perm it .
- The stabilization function is limited when
sport mode is sw itched on. The driving
wheels cou ld spin and the vehicle could
swerve, espec ially on s lick o r sli ppery road
s urfac es.
Sport mode cannot be sw itched on if t he
cruise cont rol system* or the adaptive cru ise
cont rol* is switched on.
Braking
What affects braking efficiency?
New brake pads
During the first 250 miles (400 km), new brake
pads do not possess the ir full braking effect, they
have to be "broken in" first ¢
.1:,.. The break-in pe­
riod can be considerably longe r fo r vehicles with
192
ceramic brake rotors*. You can compensate for
this slightly reduced braking power by push ing
harder on the brake pedal. Avoid heavy braking
lo ads during the break-in period.
Operating conditions and driving habits
The brakes on today's automobiles are still sub ­
j ect to wear, depending large ly on operating con­
ditions and driving habits¢,& . On vehicles that
are either driven mostly in stop-and-go city traf­
fic or are driven hard, the brake pads should be
checked by your authorized Audi dealer more of ­
ten than specified in the
Warranty & Mainte­
nance booklet .
Failure to have your brake pads
inspected can result in reduced brake perform­
ance.
On steep slopes, you should use the brak ing ef­
fect of the engine. T his way, you prevent unnec­
essary wea r on the brake system. If you mus t use
your brakes, do not hold the brakes down contin-
u ously. Pump th e brakes at intervals. ..,.

Smart Techn olo gy
- Under certain climatic and operating condi­
tions such as passing through water, driving
in heavy rain or after washing the vehicle,
the effectiveness of the brakes can be re­
duced . In w inter, ice can accumulate on the
brake pads, linings, discs and drums . Care­
fully apply brakes fo r a tes t. Brakes w ill dry
and ice coatings wi ll be cleaned off after a
few careful brake applications .
- Driving for an extended pe riod of time on
salt-covered roads witho ut using your
brakes can also affect bra king efficiency.
Clean off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few carefu l
brake applications.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you in­
stall a different spoiler, be sure the air flow
to the front brakes is not obstructed. Other­
wise the brake system could overheat reduc­
ing the effectiveness of the entire brake sys­
tem.
- Failure of one brake circuit will impair the
braking capability result ing in an increased
stopp ing distance. Avoid driving the vehicle
and have it towed to the nea rest Aud i dealer
or qualified workshop.
- Never let the vehicle roll to a stop with the
engine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not working, the
brake pedal must be pressed considerably
harder to make up for the lac k of booster
assistance.
Electromechanical power
assist, dynamic steering
The electromechanical power assist helps the
driver when steering.
Power steering adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed.
Ind icator light s and messages
• Stee ring defective! St op th e ve hicle
If th is ind icator light turns on and stays on and
this message appears, the power steer ing may
have fa iled.
194
Do not continue driving. See your authorized
Audi dealer or other qualified repair facility for
ass istance .
,Ion Steering : System faul t You can c ontinue
dri ving
If the indicato r light turns on and the message
appears, the steeri ng may be more diff icult to
move o r more sensitive than usu a l. T he steer ing
whee l may also be at an angle when driving
straight.
D rive slowly to your a uth orized Aud i dea ler or
qualified wo rkshop to have the malfunct ion cor­
rected.
1;r,ij D ynamic steering : Init ializing
If this driver message appears and the indicator
light is flashing on the instrument panel, dynam­
i c steer ing* is being re initialized . After starting
the engine, t he steering wheel w ill move slightly.
Re- initializa tion might be necessary if the steer­
i ng whee l was moved hard to the left and right
while the vehicle was not moving . The display
goes out as soon as initialization is comp lete .
D rive slowly to your a uth orized Aud i dea ler or
qualified wo rkshop to have the mal func tion cor­
rected.
.&_ WARNING
Have the dynamic steering * system malfunc­
tion repaired as soon as possible by an au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop -
risk of acc ident!
(D Tips
If the . or ,Ion indicator light only stays on
for a short time, you may continue driving.
- The dynamic steering* stabi lity systems are
not ava ilable in the event of a system mal­
function.
- For additiona l information on dynamic
steering *, refer to~
page 106 .

Smart Technology
ignition switched off, it controls the energy sup­
p ly to the various electrical components. Data
from battery diagnosis is considered.
Depending on the battery's state of charge, indi­
vidual consumers are gradually turned off to pre ­
vent excessive discharge of the battery and thus maintain starting capability.
Dynamic energy management
While the vehicle is being driven, dynamic energy
management distributes the energy generated
according to the needs of the individual compo­
nents.
It regu lates consumption, so that more
electrical energy is not being used than is being
generated and ensures an optimal state of
charge for the battery.
(D Tips
- But even energy management cannot neg­
ate the limits of physics . Cons ider that the
power and life of a battery are limited.
- If starting ability is threatened, the indica­
tor light (•) appears
9 page 15, Cl Battery.
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining start­
ing capability .
The battery is severely taxed in short-distance
driving, in city traffic and during the cold time of
year. Abundant electrical energy is required, but
only a little is generated . It is also crit ica l if the
engine is not running and electrical components
are turned on . In this instance energy is be ing
consumed but none is being generated .
It is in precisely these situations that you will no­
tice energy management actively regulat ing the
d istr ibut ion of energy .
Vehicle stands for an extended period
If you do not driv e your vehicle over a period of
several days or weeks, electrical components are
gradually cut back or switched off. This reduces
energy consumption and ma inta ins starting ca­
pability over a longer period . Some of the con­
ven ience funct ions may not operate, such as the
interior l ights or the power seat adjustment. The
196
convenience functions will be availab le again
when you switch on the ignition and start the en­ gine.
With the engine turned off
If you listen to the radio, for example, with the
engine turned off or use other MMI funct ions,
the battery is being d ischarged .
If starting capab ility is jeopardized due to energy
consumption, a message appears in the MMI dis­
play .
The message indicates that the system will be
switched off automat ically in a moment . If you
wish to cont inue using the functions, you have to
start the engine.
With the engine running
Although electrica l energy is generated when the
vehicle is being driven, the battery can become
discharged. This happens mostly when little en­
ergy is being generated and a great deal con ­
sumed and the battery's state of charge is not
opt imal.
To bring the energy balance back into equilibr i­
um, consumers wh ich require espec ially large
amounts of energy are temporarily cut back or
switched off. Heating systems in particular re­
quire a great dea l of energy. If you notice , fo r ex­
amp le, that the heated seats* or the heated rear
window are not heating, they have been tempo­
rarily cut back or switched off. These systems will
be available aga in as soon as the energy balance
has been restored.
You will also notice that engine idle speed has
been increased slig htly. This is norma l and not a
cause for concern . By increasing engine idle
speed the additional energy required is generat­
ed and the battery is charged.

Driving and th e en vironm ent
Avoid full throttle
Driving at moderate speeds saves fuel and im­
proves your mileage .
.,. Try and keep well below your car's maximum
speed .
Accelerating gent ly reduces fue l consumption,
engine wear, and does not disturb the environ­ ment.
Fue l consumption, exhaust emissions and engine
noise increase d isproportionately at high speeds.
If you drive at approximately three quarters of
top speed, fuel consumption will be reduced by
one half. Never drive faster than the posted
speed limit and weather conditions permit.
Reducing unnecessary idling
Even when your car is just idling it burns up fuel.
.,. Shut the engine off when you are not driv ing
the vehicle.
.,. Do not warm up the vehicle by letting the en-
gine run at idle .
The idling phase is automatically reduced for
veh icles with the Start-Stop-System*. It is effi­
cient to switch off the eng ine in vehicles without
the Start -Stop -System when stopped at ra ilroad
crossings and long red lights . Turning the engine
off for just 30-40 seconds saves more fuel than is bu rned by starting the engine aga in.
It takes a long t ime for the engine to warm up
fu lly when it is running at idle . However, wear
and noxio us em iss ions are espec ially high when
the engine is wa rm ing up. So you sho uld drive
away as soon as you start the engine a nd avoid
running at high rpms while the engine is still
warming up.
(D Note
Do not leave engine idling unattended a fter
starting . If warn ing lights should come on to
indicate improper operation, they wou ld go
unheeded. Extended idling a lso produces
heat, wh ich co uld result in overheat ing or
200
other damage to the vehicle or othe r proper ­
ty.
Regular maintenance
A badly tuned engine unnecessarily wastes a lot of fuel.
.,. Have you r veh icle serviced at regula r interva ls.
By hav ing your veh icle regularly serv iced by an
Audi dealer he lps to ensure that it runs p roperly
and e conomi cally. The cond ition of you r vehicle
not only affects its safety and ab ility to hold its
val ue, it also affects
fuel con sumption .
Check your oil each t ime you fill your tank .
The amount of oi l used is related to engine load
and speed .
It is normal for the oil consumption of a new en­
gine to reach its lowest value after a certain mile­
age has been driven .
You must drive your vehicle about 3,000 mi les
(5,000 kilometers) before you can properly as­
sess oil consumpt ion.
This also app lies to fue l consumption and engine
output .
(D Note
-Have your ve hicle ma intained properly and
in accordance with the se rvice recommenda ­
tions in your Warranty
& M aintenance book­
let. Lack of proper maintenance as we ll as
improper use of the veh icle w ill impair the
function of the em ission control system and
cou ld lead to damage .
- Do not alter or remove any component of
the Emission Contro l System u nless ap­
proved by the man ufacturer.
- Do not alter or remove any device, such as
heat shields, switches, ign ition w ires,
valves, which are designed to protect your
vehicle's Emission Contro l System and other
impo rtant ve hicle compone nts.