2017 AUDI A8 headlights

Cockpit overv iew
CD Note
-Auxiliary headlights and other accessories in
front of the cooling-a ir intake impair the
cooling effect of the coolant. This increases
the r isk of the engine overheat ing during
high outside temperatures and heavy en-
gine load.
- The front spoiler also he lps to distr ibute
cooling air correctly wh ile driving. If the
spoiler is damaged, the cooling effect will
be impaired and the risk of the engine over­
hea ting will inc re ase. See an a uthorized
A udi dealer or au thori zed A udi Service Fa­
cility for assistance .
Tachometer
The tachometer display s the engine speed in rev­
olutions per minute
(RPM).
You shou ld shift to the nex t lowest gea r whe n
the speed is below 1,500 R PM. The beginn ing of
the red zone in the t achometer indic ates the
maxim um permissible eng ine speed fo r all gears
once the engine has been broken in an d when it is
warmed up to operating temperature . Before
reaching this zone, you should shift into the next
h ighest gear, select the D selector lever pos ition,
or remove your foot from the accelerator pedal.
CD Note
The needle in the tachometer @ <=:> page 9,
fig. 3 may only be in the red area of the gauge
for a short t ime or the re is a risk of engine
damage. The locat ion where the red zone be­
gi ns varies depending on the engine.
@ For the sake of the environment
Upshifting early helps you to save fuel a nd re­
duce operating noise.
Fuel level
The display ® only works when the ignition is
sw itched on. If the fuel level d rops below 4 gal
(15
L), a red L ED will light up and the ll) ind ica­
tor light will tur n on
<=:> page 24 . The red LED
will blink when the fuel level is very low.
10
The fuel tank capacity of your ve hicl e is listed in
the
Techn ical Data section <=:> page 334 .
CD Note
Never dr ive until t he ta nk is comp letely emp­
ty. The irreg ular su pp ly of fuel t hat res ults
from that can cause engine m isfires . Uncom­
b uste d fue l w ill then enter the exhaust sys ­
tem. This ca n cause overheating and damage
to the catalyt ic converter.
Odometer
Fi g. 4 Instru ment cluster: odometer a nd reset button
Upper odomet er
The trip odometer shows the distance driven
since it was last reset. It can be used to measure
short distances.
The trip odometer can be reset to zero by press ­
ing the ~ reset button.
Lower odometer
The lower odomete r shows the tota l distance
that the vehicle has d riven.
Malfunction indicator
If there is a malfunction in the instr ument clus­
te r,
DEF will appear in the trip odometer display.
Have the malfu nction corrected as soon as possi­
ble.

Cockpit over view
light also turns on. Make sure t hat the speed
does not go above the speed displayed. Drive to
an author ized Audi dealer or authorized A udi
Serv ice Facility immediately to have the malfunc­
tion corrected .
_,.,. Engine oil sensor
• Oil l eve l! Se nsor def ectiv e
The sensor to check the engine oil leve l has
fa iled. Drive to an authori zed Aud i dea ler or au­
thor ized Audi Service Facility immediate ly to have
the malfunction corrected .
r Engine warm-up request
n Plea se warm up eng ine
F uel has entered the engine oil, either from low
outside temperatures or frequent short drives .
Drive unt il the engine is warm so that the fuel in
the eng ine oi l will evaporate . Avo id high engine
speeds, full acce le rating and heavy eng ine loads
when doing this.
Bil Tank system
liD Plea se refuel
If the indicator lig ht t urns on for the fi rst time
and the mess age appears, there are abo ut 4 gal ­
lons (15 lite rs) of fue l le ft in the tank.
II] Fuel tank s ystem malfunction! Pl ea se con­
tact dealer
There is a malfunction in the fue l tank system .
Drive to an authorized Audi dea ler or authorized
Aud i Serv ice Facility immediately to have the
malfunct ion corrected.
(D Tips
More information on ref ue ling is avai lab le on
page
c:> page 268.
~ Washer fluid level
C Please refill washer flu id
24
Fill the washer fluid fo r the windshie ld washer
system and the headlight washer system when
the ignit ion is switched off
c:> page 281 .
• Windshield wipers
m Windshield wiper defecti ve
There is a ma lf u nction with the winds hield wip­
ers .
D rive to an authori zed A udi dealer or au tho riz ed
Audi Se rvice Facility immediate ly to have the
malfunction corrected.
~ /0~ Bulb failure indicator
If the S:i indicator light turns on, a bulb has
failed . The message indicates the location of the
bulb.
If the
II indicator light also t urns on, then a rear
fog light has failed. The position of the indicator
li ght corresponds with the location on the vehi­
cle.
Vehicle light s: system fault!
There is a m alfu n ction in the headlights o r the
li ght sw itch .
D rive to an author ized A udi dealer or authorized
Audi Se rvice Fac ility immediate ly to have the
malfunction correc ted .
_& WARNING
-Light bulbs a re under pressure and can ex­
plode when b ulbs are replaced, whic h in­
creases the risk of inj ury.
- With H ID headlights * (xenon -plus head ­
lights), the high-vo ltage component must
be handled correct ly . Otherwise, there is a
risk of fatal in jury.
~(i) Headlight range control system
II He adlight ra nge cont rol system: system
f a ult!
There is a ma lfunction in the headlight range
contro l system, which may cause glare for other
drivers.
-

C) C0 ....
"' ,....
"' .... 0 0 :r Lights and Vision
Exterior Lighting
Switching the headlights on and off
Fig. 44 I nstrument pane l: l ig ht sw itc h w ith all -weather
li g hts
The headlights only wo rk when the ignition is
sw itche d on. While sta rting the engine or when
switching off the ignition, the headlights will go
off and only the side marker lig hts will be on .
I f the sys tem is not operati ng p roperly, a warning
symbol in the dr ive r informa tion d ispl ay is dis­
p layed
.::> page 24 .
Light switch --r;..-
T u rn the swi tch ~ fig . 44 to the co rresponding
position . When the lights are switched on, the
:o o:
symbol turns on .
0 - The lights a re off or the daytime runni ng
l ights are on :
-USA models: The daytime running lig hts will
come on automatically when the ignition is on
and the light sw itch
c:> fig . 44 is in the O posi­
t ion or the
AUTO position (only i n day light con­
di tions). The
Daytime running lights function
can be turned o n and off i n the MM I
c:> page 45, i=> .&,.
-Canada models : The dayt ime runn ing lights
will come on au toma tically when t he igni tion is
on a nd the light swi tch
c:> fig . 44 is in the O po ­
s ition, the
:oo : pos ition or the AUTO position
(o nly in daylig ht conditions)
c::> &. .
AUTO -Automat ic he ad lights sw itch on and off
de pend ing on br igh tness, for example in tw ilight,
d uring rain or in tunne ls
c:> &. .
Lights and V ision
:oo: -Side ma rker ligh ts
iD -Low beam hea dlights
~ -All-weather lig hts
l2!l -Rear fog lights*. When the rear fog lights are
on, the symbol
O* on the sw itch will i lluminate .
All-weather lights
The front lights a re adjus ted au toma tic a lly so
that you are less likely to see g lare from your ow n
head lig hts, for example when d riving on a wet
road.
Automatic dynamic headlight range control*
Yo ur vehicle is equ ipped wi th a headlight r ange
contro l system so tha t the head lig hts do not
blind oncoming t raffic if the vehicle load
c h anges . The hea dlight range also ad justs auto­
matically when brak ing and acce lerating .
Light functions
The following light funct ions are available de ­
p ending on veh icle equipment and o nly fu nction
whe n the light switch is in t he AUTO position.
You can deactivate these functions in the MMI under
Audi adaptive light c:> page 45 .
Static cornering light* -the cornering light
switches on automatically when the steering
whee l is turned at a certai n angle at s peeds up to
app roximately 44 mph (70 km/h) and when the
turn s ignal is activated at speeds up to approxi­
mately 25 mph (40 km/h) . The area to t he side of
t h e ve hicle is illuminated better w hen turning.
Dynamic curve light * -the curve lig ht adapts it­
self to the curves in the road .
Highway l ight function* -this function adapts
the lig hting for highway driving based on vehicle
speed .
A WARNING
---Automatic headlights are only int ended to
assist the driver. They do no t relieve the
driver of his responsib ility to check the
headligh ts and to turn them on manually
ac co rdi ng to t he cur rent light a nd v is ib ili ty
condi tio ns . Fo r example, fog c annot be
43

Lights and Vision
detected by the light sensors. So always
switch on the headlights gD under these
weather conditions and when driving in the
dark .
- Crashes can happen when you cannot see
the road ahead and when you cannot be
seen by other motorists . Always turn on the
headlights so that you can see ahead and so
that others can see your car from the back.
- The rear fog lights should only be turned on in accordance with traffic regulation, as the
lights are bright for following traffic.
- Please observe legal regulations when using
the lighting systems described .
(D Tips
-The light sensor* for automatic dynamic
headlight range control* is located in the
rear view mirror mount . You should there­
fore not apply any stickers to the windshield
in this area in order to prevent malfunctions
or failures .
- In the event of a light sensor malfunction,
the driver is notified in the instrument clus­
ter display~
page 25.
- You will hear a warning tone if you open the
driver door when the exterior lights are
switched on.
- In cool or damp weather, the inside of the
headlights, turn signals and tail lights can
fog over due to the temperature difference
between the inside and outside. They will
clear shortly after switching them on. This
does not affect the service life of the light­ ing .
44
Turn signal and high beam lever
The turn signal lever operates the turn signals,
the high beams and the headlight flasher .
Fig. 45 Turn signal an d high beam leve r
Turn signals¢ Q
N 0 .... 0 :i: .. m
The turn signals activate when you move the lev­
er into a turn signal position when the ignition is
switched on.
© -right turn signal
@-left turn signal
The turn signal blinks three times if you just tap
the lever.
High beams and headlight flasher ~D
Move the lever to the corresponding position:
@ -high beams on (vehicles with High beam as­
sistant* ~
page 44)
@)-high beams off or headlight flasher
T he
Iii indicator light in the instrument cluster
turns on.
A WARNING
High beams can cause glare for other drivers,
which increases the risk of an accident . For
this reason, only use the high beams or the
headlight flasher when they will not create
glare for other drivers .
High beam assistant
Applies to: vehicles with high beam assistant
A camera on the rearview mirror mount can de-
tect light sources from other road users. The high
beams switch on or off automatically depending
ll>

on the position of vehicles driving ahead and on­
coming vehicles, the vehicle speed and other en­
vironmental and traffic conditions.
Activating high beam assistant
Requirement: the light switch must be set to the
AUTO position and the high beam assistant must
be switched on in the Infotainment system
¢page 45.
.,. To activate the high beam assistant , tap the
lever forward @. T he
II indicator light ap­
pears in the instrument cluster display and the
high beam assistant is switched on/off auto­
matically. The
Ill indicator light also turns on if
the high beams are switched on.
Switching the high beams on/off manually
If the high beams did not switch on/off automat­
ically as expected, you may switch them on or off
manually instead:
.,. To switch the high beams on manually, tap the
lever forward @. T he indicator light
Ill turns
on .
.,. To switch the high beams off manually, pu ll the
lever back@. The h igh beam assistant is deac­
tivated.
Operating the headlight flasher
.,. To operate the headlight flasher when the high
beam assistant is activated and high beams are
switched off, pu ll the lever back @. The high
beam assistant rema ins active.
Messages in the instrument cluster display
Headlight assist: System fault!
Drive to an authorized Aud i dea le r or authorized
Aud i Service Facility immediately to have the
malfunction corrected. You can still switch the
high beams on or off manually.
Headlight assist: Unavailable No camera view
The camera view is blocked, for example by a
sticker or debris.
o The sensor is located between the interior rear­co
~ view mirror and the windshield. Do not place any ,..._
~ stickers in this area on the windshield.
0 0 :c ' Lights and Vision
A WARNING
High beam assistant is only intended to assist
the driver. The driver is still respons ible for
controlling the headlights and switching
them manua lly depending on light and visibi l­
it y conditions. It may be necessary to operate
them manually in situations such as:
- I n adverse weather conditions such as fog,
heavy rain, blowing snow or spraying water.
- On roads where oncoming traffic may be
pa rtia lly obscured, such as expressways.
- When there are road users that do not have
sufficient lighting, such as bicyclers or
vehicles with dirty tail lamps .
- I n tight curves and on steep hills.
- In poorly lit areas.
- W ith strong reflectors, such as signs.
- If the area of the w indshield near the sensor
is fogged over, dirty, icy or covered with a
sticker .
Adjusting the exterior lighting
The functions ore adjusted in the Infotainment
system .
.,. Select: !CAR ! function button > Car systems
control button > Vehicle settings > Exterior
lighting .
Automatic headlights
You can adjus t the following settings in the Au­
tomatic headlights
menu:
Headlights activation time -you can adjust if the
headlights switch on
Early, Medium or Late ac­
cording to the sensitivity of the light sensor.
Headlight assist* -you can switch the h igh beam
ass istant*
On and Off .
Daytime running lights*
USA models :
the daytime running lights can be
switched on/off. Select
On or Off.
Canada models:
this function cannot be switched
off. They activate automatically each time the ig -
nition is switched on .
ll>
45

Lights and Vision
Q/P -Adjusting the left/right exterior mirror.
Move the knob in the desired direction.
(@. -Heat ing the mirror glass depending on the
outside temperature .
9 -Folding exterior mirrors* . In the Infotain­
ment system, you can select if the mirrors fold in
automatically when you lock the vehicle
¢page 32.
Front passenger's exterior mirror tilt
function*
To help you see the curb when back ing into a
parking space, the surface of the mirror tilts
slightly. For this to happen, the knob must be in
the position for the front passenger's outside
mirror.
You can adjust the tilted mi rror surface by turn­
ing the knob in the desired direction. When you
move out of reverse and into another gear, the
new mirror position is stored and assigned to the
key you are using.
The mirror goes back into its original position
once you drive forward faster than 9 mph
(15 km/h) or turn the ignition off.
A WARNING
Curved mirror surfaces (aspheric or convex*)
enlarge the field of vision. However, they
make objects in the mirror appear smaller
and farther away. Your may estimate incor­
rectly when you use these mirrors to gauge
your distance from the vehicles behind you
when changing lanes, wh ich increases the risk
of an accident.
(D Note
- If the mirror housing was moved by outs ide
forces (such as an impact when maneuver­ in g), you must use the power fold ing func­
tion to fold the mirror all the way out. The
mirror housing must not be moved back in­
to place by hand because this would impair
the function of the m irror mechanism.
- If you wash the vehicle in an automatic car
wash, you must fold the exterior mirrors in
to reduce the risk of damage to the mirrors.
48
Never fold power fold ing exterior mirrors by
hand . On ly fold them in and out using the
power controls.
(D Tips
- If the power adjusting function malfunc­
tions, the glass in both mirrors can be ad­
justed by pressing on the edge of it by hand.
- The exterior mirror settings are stored with
the memory function*¢
page 59.
Dimming the mirror
Fig. 51 Automatic dimm ing rearv iew mirror
0
~ 0 :i:
a'i
.. To dim the interior rearview mirror and both ex­
terior mirrors*, press the button @. The LED @
turns on. The interior rearv iew mirror and exte­
r ior mirrors* dim automatically when light
shines on them, for example from headlights
on a vehicle behind you.
A WARNING
Electrolyte fluid can leak out from broken
mirror glass. This liqu id can irritate the skin,
eyes and respiratory system. If there is con­
tact with the fluid, flush immediately with
p lenty of water . Consult a physician if neces­
sary.
-
- Repeated or long-term exposure to electro­
lyte fluid can lead to irritation of the air­
ways, especially in people with asthma or other respiratory conditions. Take deep
breaths immediately after leaving the vehi­
cle or, if this is not possible, open all of the
doors and w indows as wide as possible.
- If electrolyte fluid enters the eyes, flush
them thoroughly with a large amount of

0 co .... N ,..... N .... 0 0 :c ' reactivated the next time you switch the ignition
on.
C leaning the headlights. The headlight washer
system operates only when the low beam head­ lights are switched on.
If you move the lever to
position @, the headlights and the night vision
assist camera* are cleaned at intervals.
A WARNING
- The rain sensor is only intended to assist the
driver. The driver may still be responsible
for manually sw itching the wipers on based
on v is ibility conditions .
- The w indshield may not be treated with wa­
ter-repelling windsh ield coating agents . Un­
favorable conditions, such as wetness, dark­ ness, and when the sun is low, can cause in­
creased g lare, which increases the risk of an
acc ident. W iper blade chatter is a lso poss i­
ble.
- Prope rly f unction ing windsh ield wiper
blades are required fo r a clear view and safe
driving
c:> page 51, Replacing the wiper
blades.
(D Note
- If there is frost, make su re t he windshie ld
wiper blades are not fro zen to the wind­
shield. Sw itching on the windshield wipers
when the blades are frozen to the wind­
shield can damage the wiper blades.
- Prior to using a car wash, the windshield
wiper system must be switched
off (lever in
pos ition
@ ). This prevents the wipers from
switching on un intent ionally and causing
damage to the w indshield w iper system .
- The windshield wipers switch
off when the
i gnition is sw itched off. You can activate the
windsh ield wipers after the ign it ion is
switched back on by moving the winds hield
wiper lever to any posit ion.
- Worn o r dirty windshield wiper blades result
i n streak ing . This can affect the ra in sensor
funct ion. Check you r windshield wiper
blades regu larly.
Light s and Vision
-The washer fluid nozz les for the windshield
washer system are heated at low tempera­
t u res when the ign ition is on .
- When stopping tempo rari ly, such as at a
traffic light, the speed of the windshield
w ipers automatically reduces by one level.
Cleaning the wiper blades
Clean the wiper b lades when you see w iper
streaks . Clean the wiper blades with a soft towel
and glass cleane r.
.. Place the windshie ld w iper arms in the service
position
c:> page 51.
.. Fold the windshield w iper arms away from the
w indshield .
A WARNING
Dirty windshie ld wiper b lades can impa ir vi­
sion, wh ich increases the ris k of an acciden t.
Replacing the wiper blades
The service position is set in the Infotainment
system .
Fig. 57 Removing winds hield wiper b lades
Wind shi eld wiper se rvice po sition /b lade
r epl ace ment po sit ion
~
~
M 0 :i: ... m
.. Switch the ignition off and move the windshield
w iper lever to position @briefly
c::> page 50,
fig. 56. The windshield wipers move into the
serv ice position .
.. To br ing the wiper b lades back into the original
position, switch the ignition on and ope rate the
w indshield w iper lever.
You can also turn the service posit io n on or off in
the Infotainment system: ..,_
51

C) C0 ....
"' ,....
"' .... 0 0 :r If the Head-up display* is switched on and the
night vision assist content is activated,. or.
will appear in the Head-up display".
Marking light*
To direct the driver's attention to a pedestrian,
the headlights can flash on the pedestrian three
times in a row when there is a pedestrian warn­
ing.
This occurs at speeds above approximately 35 mph (60 km/h) if you are outside of illuminat­
ed areas and no detected vehicles are shown. The
high beam assistant* controls the marking light*
c::> page 44, High beam assistant .
The marking light is not used for wild animals.
General information
Applies to: vehicles with night vision assist
Fig. 127 Front of the vehicle: night vision ass ist came ra
The following situations may affect the function
of the night vision assist system:
- Poor visibility such as snow, rain, fog or heavy
spray
- Dirty lens on the night vision assist camera
Make sure the night vision assist camera
c::>fig. 127 is not covered by stickers, deposits or
any other obstructions because that can affect
the camera function . For information on clean­
ing , refer to
c::> page 306 .
The pedestrian and wild anima l recogn it ion de­
pends on the temperature difference between
the person/wild anima l and the background . Peo ­
ple/wild animals may not be detected if the dif­
ference is too small. The pedestrian/wild animal marking and the marking light* deactivate at
Assist
temperatures above approximately 77 °F (25 °C)
and during daylight. If the night vision assist im­
age is selected in the instrument cluster display,
then the
II symbol appears at the top on the
right side.
A WARNING
-Pay attention to traffic and the area around
your vehicle when night vision assist is switch­
ed on. The driver is always responsible for as­
sessing the traffic situation.
- Night vision assist can only warn about peo­
ple and wild animals located within the visu­
al range of the infrared camera. The visual
range corresponds to the image in the in­
strument cluster display.
- Night vision assist may not detect people or
wild animals and mark them if
- they are not in an upright position, for ex­
amp le if they are sitting or lying down
and/or
- the silhouette in the display appears in­
complete or interrupted, for example be­
cause the person is partially covered by a
vehicle or an animal by tall grass. This
could increase the risk of an accident.
- Never try to swerve around animals if doing
so will endanger you or other road users, be­
cause this increases the risk of an accident.
(l'} Tips
- Even though the system evaluates the
shape and heat given off by all detected ob­
jects, there are limits to the system . There
may be false warnings.
- For technical reasons, the image pauses in
split second intervals.
-
109