2017 AUDI A8 Owners Manual

C) C0 ....
"' ,....
"' .... 0 0 :r would, this could lead to accidents and
serious injuries.
- To reduce the risk of injuries, make s ure that
the Start/Stop system is turned
off when
working in the eng ine compartment
c:>page80.
(D Note
Always sw itch off the Start/Stop system when
driving through water
c:> page 80.
Starting /stopping the engine
App lies to: ve hicles with Sta rt/Stop system
Fi g. 92 Instrument cluster: eng ine switched off (stop
p h ase)
~ S low the vehicle to a stop us ing the b rake and
keep pressing the brake pedal. The engine w ill
switch off. The
rt] indicator light appears in the
infor mation li ne in the ins trumen t cluster dis­
play.
~ When you take your foot off the b rake peda l,
t h e engine restarts. The ind icator light turns
off.
Additional information
The engine w ill swi tch off in the P, D, N and S po­
sitions as we ll as in manu al mode. I n the P pos i­
tion, the engine will also remain o ff if you take
your foot
off the brake pedal. The engine starts
again when you se lect another selector lever po­
sition and take your foot
off the brake pedal.
If yo u select the R pos ition dur ing a Stop phase,
the eng ine will start agai n.
Shift from D to P quickly to p revent t he engine
from sta rting unintentionally whe n shifti ng
through R .
Drivi ng
You can de termine for yourse lf if the engine w ill
stop or not by red ucing or increasing the amount
of force you use to press the brake pedal. For ex ­
amp le, if you only lightly press on the brake ped­
al in stop-and-go traffic or when turning, the en­
gine will not switch off when the vehicle is sta ­
t io nary . As soon as you press the b rake down
harder, the engine w ill switch off.
(0 Tips
-Press the brake pedal during a Stop phase
t o keep the vehicle from rolling.
- The ignit ion w ill tur n
off if you press the
!S T ART ENGINE STOPI button d uring a stop
phase.
General information
Applies to: vehicles w ith Start/Stop system
The standard Start/Stop mode con be canceled
for various system-related reasons.
Eng ine does not sw itch off
Befo re each stop phase, the system checks if cer­
ta in conditions have been met. If the
r,J indica­
tor light appears in the instrument cluster dis­
play, the eng ine will not be stopped, for examp le
i n t he following situat ions :
- The engine has not reached the minim um re­
quired tempe rature for Start/Stop mode .
- The interior temperature selected by the A/C
system has not been reached.
- The outside temperature is extremely high/low.
-The winds hield is being defrosted
c:> poge 71.
-The pa rking sys tem* is be switched on.
- The ve hicl e battery cha rge level is too low.
- The steering wheel is t urned at a sha rp angle or
is moving.
- After engaging the reve rse gear .
- On sharp inclines.
Engine automat ically restarts
T he standard Start/Stop mode wi ll be canceled
during a stop phase in the following sit uat ions .
The engine restarts without any action by the driver .
79

Driving
-The interior temperature differs from the tem­
perature se lected in the A/C system.
- The windshield is being defrosted~
page 71.
-The brake pedal is pressed seve ral t imes in a
row.
- The vehicle ba tte ry charge leve l is too low.
- Power consumption is high .
Ignition is switched off automaticall y
To prevent the veh icle battery from drain ing, the
ignit ion will switch off
automatically under the
following conditions:
- The vehicle must have already been driven.
- The Start/Stop system has stopped the engine.
- T he driver's door must be open .
- T he driver's safety be lt mus t be unb uck led.
- The brake pedal must not be p ressed .
- The vehicle must be stationary .
In this case, the activated low beam is replaced
by the parking light. The parking lights will
sw itch off after app roximately 30 minutes or
when you lock the vehicle .
If the Start/Stop system has not turned off the
engine or if you have sw itched the Start/Stop sys­
tem off manually, the ignition will not be auto­ mat ically switched off and the engine w ill conti n­
ue to ru n ~ & .
A WARNING
To red uce the risk of poisoning, neve r allow
t he engine to r un i n confined s paces.
(D Tips
If you select the D, N or S selector lever posi­
tion after shifting into reverse, the vehicle
m ust be driven faste r than 6 mph (10 km/h)
in orde r fo r the engine to switch off again.
80
-
Manually switching the Start /Stop system
off /on
Appl ies to : vehicles wi th Start/Stop sys te m
If you do not wish to us e th e system, you con
switch i t off manually.
Fig . 93 Ce nte r console: Start/Stop system butto n
.,. To switch the Start/Stop-System off/on man­
ually, press the
l (A) ~I button. The LED in the but­
ton turns on when the system is switched off.
0) Tips
If yo u switch the system off d uring a stop
phase, the engine will start aga in automati­
cally .
Messages in the instrument cluster display
Applies to : vehicles wit h Start/Stop syste m
Start-stop system deactivated: Please restart
engine manually
This message appears w hen spec ific cond itions
are not me t during a stop phase. The S tart/S top
system will
not b e a ble to re sta rt the eng ine. If
the D or R se lector lever positions were engaged,
P will be selected a utomat ically . The eng ine must
be started with the
I START ENGI NE STOPI but­
ton.
Start -stop system: System fault! Currently
unavailable
There is a ma lfunction in the Start/Stop system.
Drive the vehicle to an authorized Audi dealer or
aut horized Serv ice Facility as soon as possible to
have the malfunction corrected .

C) C0 ....
"' " "' .... 0 0 :r Electromechanical
parking brake
Fig . 94 Center conso le: park ing brake
Your vehicle is equipped with an e lectromechani ­
cal parking brake@~
fig. 94. The parking brake
is designed to prevent the vehicle from rolling
un intentionally and replaces the hand brake.
Setting/manually releasing the parking
brake
.. Pull the<®> switch to set the parking brake. The
LED in the switch illuminates. The -(USA
models)/ . (Canada models) indicator light al­
so turns on in the instrument cluster display .
.. To release the parking brake manually, press
the brake or acce lerator pedal while the igni­
t ion is switched on and press the© switch at
the same time. The LED in the button and the
indicator light in the display turn off.
Releasing the parking brake automatically
Requirement: the driver's door must be closed,
the dr iver's safety belt must be latched and the
parking brake must be set.
.,. To start driving and release the park ing brake
automatically, press the acce lerator peda l as
usual.
In addition to releasing the parking brake auto­ mat ically, other convenience and safety funct ions
are available when you start driving~
page 82,
Starting from a stop.
Preventing the automatic parking brake
release
The vehicle could begin rolling unintentionally,
depending on the hill or if towing a trailer.
Driving
.. To prevent the parking brake from releasing au­
tomatically, pull and hold the(®) switch and press the accelerator peda l. The parking brake
remains set and prevents the vehicle from roll­
ing backward .
.,. You can release the<®> switch again once you
are sure that you are giving enough driving
force to the wheels by press ing the accelerator
pedal.
Emergency braking function
You can use the emergency braking function in an
emergency situation, or if the standard brake op­
eration malfunctions or is disabled.
.. Pull and hold the(®) switch.
.. As soon as you release the <®> switch or acceler-
ate, the braking stops.
Pulling and ho lding the© switch wh ile driving
the vehicle activates the emergency braking func­
tion. The vehicle is braked at all four wheels by
activating the hydraulic brake system. The brak­
ing effect is sim ilar to heavy braking ~_& .
To reduce the risk of activating the emergency
braking by mistake, a warning tone (buzzer)
sounds when the© switch is pulled . Emergency
braking stops as soon as the© switch is released
or the accelerator pedal is pressed.
Parking
.. Press the brake pedal to stop the veh icle.
.,. Pull the(®) switch to set the parking brake.
.,. Select the P selector lever position .
.,. Tu rn the engine off~_& .
.,. Turn the steering w heel when parking o n in­
clines so that the wheels w ill roll into the curb
if the vehicle starts moving.
& WARNING
-
-Do not press the acce lerator peda l inadver­
tently if a gear is selected when the vehicle
is stationary and the engine is running. Oth­
erwise, the vehicle will start to move imme­
diately and this could result in an accide nt.
- Eme rgency braking should only be used in
an emergency, when the normal brake pedal
has failed or the brake pedal is obstructed . ..,.
81

Driving
During emergency braking, your vehicle will
brake similar to heavy braking. ESC and the
associated components (ABS, ASR, EDL)
cannot overcome the laws of physics. In cor­
ners and when road or weather conditions
are bad, a full brake application can cause
the vehicle to skid or the rear end to swerve,
which increases the risk of an accident.
- If the power supply fails, you cannot set the
parking brake if it is released. In this case,
park the vehicle on level ground and secure
it by placing the selector lever in the P posi­
tion. See an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility for assistance.
- Always take the vehicle key with you when leaving your vehicle, even for a short period
of time. This applies particularly when chil­
dren remain in the vehicle . Otherwise chil­
dren could start the engine, release the
parking brake or operate electrical equip­
ment such as power windows, which in­
creases the risk of an accident.
- No one should remain in the vehicle when it is locked -especially children. Locked doors
make it more difficult for emergency work­
ers to get into the vehicle, which puts lives
at risk.
(D Tips
When stopping at a traffic signal or stopping in city traffic, you can set the parking brake
manually. The vehicle does not have to be
held with the brake pedal. The parking brake
eliminates the tendency to creep when a se­
lector lever position is engaged. As soon as
you press the accelerator pedal, the parking brake releases automatically and your vehicle
starts to move
c> page 82.
(D} Tips
-Occasional noises when the parking brake is
set and released are normal and are not a
cause for concern.
- The parking brake goes through a self-test
cycle at regular intervals when the vehicle is
stopped. Any noises associated with this are normal.
82
- If there is a power failure, the parking brake
will not set if it is released, and it will not release if it is set ¢&. . See an authorized
Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Fa­ cility for assistance .
Starting from a stop
Various convenience and safety functions may be
available when the vehicle begins driving, de­
pending on vehicle equipment .
Starting on hills with the parking brake set
Requirement: the driver 's door must be closed
and the driver's safety belt must be fastened.
.,. To start driving comfortably when on a hill, set
the parking brake and begin driving as usual.
The braking force of the parking brake does not
release automatically until the wheels build up
enough driving force.
Starting on hills with hill hold assist
Hill hold assist makes it easier to start on hills.
Requirement: the driver's door must be closed
and the engine must be running.
.,. To activate hill hold assist, press and hold the
brake pedal for several seconds. The vehicle
must be in an uphill direction of travel.
After releasing the brake pedal, the braking pow­
er is maintained for a brief moment
c> &. to pre ­
vent the vehicle from rolling back when starting.
During this time, you can easily begin to move
your vehicle.
&_ WARNING
A ppl ies to: ve hicles with hill hold assist
- If you do not begin driving immediately or
the engine stalls after releasing the brake
pedal, your vehicle may begin to roll back­
ward. Press the brake pedal or set the park­
ing brake immediately .
- The intelligen t technology of hill hold assist
cannot overcome the limitations imposed by
natural physical laws. The increased comfort
offered by hill hold assist should not cause
you to take safety risks .

C) C0 ....
"' " "' .... 0 0 :r -Hill hold assist cannot hold the veh icle in
place on all h ills (for example, if the ground
is slippery or icy).
- To reduce the risk of an accident, always
make sure the vehicle is situated safely
wh ile stat io nary.
Automatic transmission
Introduction
The automat ic transmission is cont rolled e lec­
tron ica lly . Power is transferred using a torque
converter.
The transm ission shifts up or down a utomat ica lly
depending on w hich drive program is sele cted.
When a
moderate driving style is used , the
transmission selects the most economical d riving
mode. The t ransm iss ion upsh ifts at a lowe r RPM
a nd downshifts at a highe r RPM to imp rove fuel
effi ciency .
The transm ission sw itches to a spo rty mode after
a ki ck-down or when the drive r uses a
sporty
driving style
c haracterized by quick accelerator
pedal movements, heavy acce leration , freq uent
changes in speed and traveling at the maximum
speed.
If desired , the dr iver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode)
c::> page 86 .
Indicator in the display
Fig . 9 5 Inst rumen t cluste r: s elec to r leve r po sit io n
@ -The current sele ctor leve r position is d is­
p layed continuously. In manua l mode, an Mis
d isp layed in addi tion to the gea r.
D rivi ng
@ -This display appea rs brief ly if you change the
sel ector lev er posit ion or if you pr ess the button
on the selector lever
c::> pag e 83 , fig . 96. The
current selector lever pos ition is shown with a
white background.
Selecting the selector lever position
Fi g. 9 6 Selecto r lever
-- p----
----R--- --1
----N - -- ---
- D/S--
Fig . 97 Pres sin g the b utto n on the se lector leve r
The current se lector lever position is disp layed on
t h e se lector lever
c::> fig. 96 .
.,. You may need to release the selector lever lock
depending on wh ich selector lever pos ition is
selected and which one yo u wou ld like to se lect
c::> page 84, Selector lever lock .
.,. To engage the ne arest se lector lever posi tion,
move the selector lever forw ard/back until you
fee l the first pressure po int. The selector lever
wi ll return to its orig inal position .
.,. To skip ove r one (or two) selector lever posi ­
tions, move the selector lever past the first
(and second) pressure po int into the desired
position . T he selector lever will return to its
or iginal position .
For example, to move directly from the D selec-
tor lever position to P when stopping the vehicle,
ll>
83

Driving
you can shift past the N and R selector lever positions.
Selector lever lock
The selector lever lock prevents you from select­ ing a position unintentionally, causing the vehicle
to roll. When engaging some selector lever posi­
tions, you must press the button on the selector lever ¢
fig. 96 and/or press the brake pedal.
You must press the brake pedal to engage a se­ lector lever position when the engine is running
and the vehicle is stationary. The arrows ~
fig. 97
indicate when you need to press the button on
the selecto r 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
This selector lever position prevents the vehicle
from rolling . Only shift into park when the vehi­
cle is stationary ~&. . To engage the P selector
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 pedal. To
release the parking lock. press the button on the
selector lever and select the desired position.
P engages automatically when you switch the en­
gine off while D, Sor R is engaged or in manual
mode.
If you switch the engine off when the N position
is selected, the transmission remains in N for ap­
proximately 30 minutes and then Pis engaged.
You must use the parking lock emergency release
before towing the vehicle~
page 88.
R- Reverse
The reverse gear is engaged in this position. Only
select reverse gear when the vehicle is stationary
and the engine is running at idle speed ~,&. . To
engage the R selector lever position, press the
button on the selector lever, press the brake ped­
al and move the selector lever into the R position.
84
The reverse lights turn on when you select the R
selector lever position while the engine is run­
ning.
N -Neutral (idle)
The transmission is in idle in this position. To en­
gage the N selector lever position, press the but­
ton on the selector lever and shift into the N po­
sition.
If you switch the engine off when the N position
is selected, the transmission remains in N for ap­
proximately 30 minutes and then Pis engaged .
You cannot select the N position when the igni­
tion is switched off. When driving through an au­
tomatic car wash, first select the N position and
then turn the engine off¢
page 306.
For safety reasons, the vehicle cannot be locked
when the transmission is in the N position.
DIS -Driving forward
When the transmission is in the D/S position, it
can be operated either in the normal D mode or
in the S sport mode . Move the selector lever back
to engage the S sport mode. You can only select
the S selector lever position when Dis engaged.
To select the D selector lever position again when
S is engaged, move the selector lever back~&. .
To shift from N to D when traveling at speeds be­
low 1 mph (2 km/h), press the brake pedal and
shift into the D position ~&. .
In the
normal mode D, the transmission auto­
matically selects the suitable gear ratio . It de­
pends on engine load , vehicle speed and driving
style.
Select the
sport mode S for sporty driving. The
vehicle makes full use of the engine's power. Shifting may become noticeable when accelerat­
ing.
The S selector lever position engages automati­
cally when you select dynamic mode in drive se­
lect .
_&, WARNING
- The vehicle can roll even if the ignition is
switched off.
-

0 co .... N ,..... N .... 0 0 :c ' -To reduce the risk of an accident, never se­
lect the R or P posit ions while driving.
- Power is sti ll transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is running at idle. To pre­
vent the veh icle from "creeping", you must
keep your foot on the brake in all se lector
lever positions (except P and N) when the
engine is ru nning. Do not inadvertent ly
press the acce le ra to r pedal when the vehicle
is sta tionary. Otherwise the vehicle will start
to move immedi ately, even if the parking
bra ke is set . Th is could result in a c rash.
- Before opening the hood, se lect the P selec­
tor lever pos ition and se t the parking bra ke.
T his reduces the risk of an accident. Always
read and fo llow the applicable warnings
¢ page 2 71, Working in the engine com­
partment.
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running wh ile in gear. If you must leave
your vehicle when the engine is running, set the parking brake and move the selector lev­
er to the P position .
If you accidentally se lect N wh ile driving, take
your foot off the acce lerator pedal and wa it
for the engine to s low down to idle before se­
lect ing Dor S.
Driving tips
Starting the engine
.. The selector lever must be in the P or the N po ­
s it io n.
Starting from a stop
.. Press and hold the brake pedal.
.. Start the engine¢
page 76.
.. Press the button o n the selector lever and se ­
lect the D, Sor R selector lever position
¢ page 83.
.. Wait a moment unt il the transm ission shifts.
Yo u w ill notice a sl ight movement when the
gear engages.
.. Release the brake pedal and press the acce lera­
tor pedal ¢ ,&. .
Driv ing
Stopping temporarily
.. Press the bra ke pedal to stop the veh icle, for
examp le at a traffic light . Do not press the ac­
celerator pedal when doing this .
.. To prevent the vehicle from ro lling when you
start driv ing, set the parking brake when stop­
ping on steep inclines¢ ,&..
.. The parking brake will release automat ically
and the vehicle will start moving once you press
the acce lerato r pedal.
Stopping /par king
If the selector lever is not in the P position when
you open the driver's door, the vehicle could roll. The message
Transmi ssion: selector lever in
drive po sition!
appears.
.. Press and hold the brake pedal¢ ,&. .
.. Set the park ing brake.
.. To engage the P selector lever position, press
the button on the selector lever and shift into
t he P position
¢ page 83 .
Under certain conditions , such as driving in the
mountains or when towing a trailer, it may be
helpful to switch to manual mode temporar ily
and shift manually to adapt to the driv ing cond i­
tions¢
page 86.
On hills, activate the park ing brake first and then
shift into the P position¢
page 81 . This prevents
too much stress from being p laced on the loc king
mecha nism .
_& WARNING
-The vehicle can roll even i f the ignit ion is
switched off .
- Do not press the a cce le ra tor pedal when
changing the se lector lever position while
the vehicle is stationary and the engine is running . This could result in a crash .
- To reduce the r isk of an accident, neve r se ­
lect the R o r P positions while driving.
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is running at idle. To pre­
vent the vehicle from "creeping", you must
keep your foot on the brake in all selector
lever positions (except P and N) when the
engine is running.
-
85

Driving
-Do not inadvertent ly press the acce lerator
pedal when the vehicle is stationary. Other­
wise the vehicle will start to move immedi­
ately, eve n if the parking brake is set. This
cou ld resu lt in a crash .
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re­
leased automatically only when the dr iver's
safety belt is engaged in the buckle .
Hill descent control
The hill descent control system assists the driver
when driving down hills .
Hill descent control activates when the transmis­
sion is in the Dor S pos ition and you press the
brake pedal. The transmiss ion automatically se­
lects a gear that is suitable for the hill . H ill de­
scent control tries to mainta in the speed ach­
ieved at the time of braking, within phys ical and
technical limi tations. If may sti ll be necessary to
adj ust the speed with the b rake pedal.
H ill descent contro l switches off o nce the hill lev­
e ls out o r you press the accelerator peda l.
When operating the cruise contro l system
i::> page 92, hill descent control is also activated
when the speed is set.
A WARNING
H ill descent control cannot overcome phys ica l
lim itations, so it may not be able to maintain
a constant speed under all condit ions. Always
be ready to apply the brakes .
86
Manual shifting
The shi~ paddles allow the driver to shift the
gears manually .
Fig. 98 Steer ing whee l: s hifting man ually
.., To shift to a higher or lowe r gear temporari ly,
tap the
0 or 0 shift padd le i::> fig . 98 .
.., To switch manua l mode on , press the~ but­
ton. Mand the gear that is currently engaged
@ appear in the instrument cluster display
i::>page 83, fig. 95.
I :i: .. m
.., To shift up one gear, tap the right shift paddle
G) c::>fig . 98.
.., To shift down one gear, tap the left shift pad­
dle
Q .
.., To switch manua l mode off, press the ~ but-
ton again, or
.., Move the se lector lever back and re lease it.
When yo u accelerate or reduce the speed, the
transmission au tomatically shifts into the correct
gear shortly before reaching the RPM limit. If yo u
select a lower gear than the one currently shown
in the disp lay, the automatic transmission will
only shift down once there is no dang .er of ex­
ceeding the maximum RPM.
The eng ine braking effect increases when you
downshift when going downh ill.
Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
When yo u press the accelerator pedal down be­
yond the res istance point, the automatic trans­
mission downshifts into a lower gear and the en­
gine ut ilizes its full power, depending on vehicle
speed and engine RPM. It shifts up into the next .,,_