2018 AUDI A8 steering

Driving
Shift to P, otherwise vehicle can roll away.
Doors do not lock if lever is not in
P.
This driver message appears fo r safety reasons if
the transmission has not been shifted to the P
position when you switch the ignition off. Move
the selector lever to the P position . Otherwise the
veh icle is not protected from ro lling and it cannot
be locked.
(I Key is not recognized. Hold back of key
against marked area. See owner's manual
If the i ndicator light turns on and this message
appears, there is a
malfunction ~ page 78.
Turn off ignition before leaving car
This message appears if the driver's door is
ope ned while the ignition is switched on . Always
sw itch off the ignition if you are leavi ng the vehi­
cle .
Shift to P and turn off ignition before leav ing
car, otherwise vehicle can roll away
This message appears if the driver's door is
opened while the ignition is switched on and the
transmission has not been shifted to the P posi­
tion . Shift the transm iss ion into the P posit ion
and turn off the ign ition if you are leaving the ve­
h icle . Otherwise the vehicle could roll.
Starting the engine when there is a
malfunction
It may not be possible to start the engine under
certain circumstances, for example if the battery
in the vehicle key is drained, if interference is af­
fected the key or if there is a system malfunc­
tion .
c:====== ~
~ _____ ___ ci5
Fig . 91 Cente r console/remote cont ro l key : sta rt ing the
eng ine
if t here is a malfunc tion
78
Requirement: the message Key is not recog­
nized. Hold back of key against marked area .
See owner's manual
must appear and the (I i n ­
dicator light must turn on.
.,. Hold the remote control key vertically in the lo ­
cation indicated
y >l) ~ fig. 91 .
.,. Press the brake peda l.
.,. Press the I START ENGINE STOPI button. The
engine will start.
.,. Drive to an authorized Audi dealer or author ­
ized Aud i Serv ice Facility immediately to have
the malfunction corrected .
(0 Tips
You can v iew the message aga in by pressing
the
I S TAR T ENGINE STOP I button.
Start/Stop system
Description
Applies to: vehicles with Start/Stop syste m
The Start/Stop system can help increase fuel
economy and reduce CO2 emissions.
In Start/Stop mode, the eng ine s hut s off auto­
matically when the vehicle is stopped, such as at
a traffic light . The ignition remains switched on
during this stop phase. The engine w ill restart
automat ically w hen needed.
The last Start/Stop system setting is restored
when the ignition is switched on.
Basic requirements for Start/Stop mode
- Th e driver's door must be closed.
- The driver's seat belt much be fastened.
- The hood must be closed .
- The vehicle must have dr iven faster than
2.5 mph (4 km/h) since the last t ime it stop ­
ped .
- A trailer must not be hitched to the vehicle .
A WARNING
-Never turn off the eng ine before the vehicle
has come to a complete stop . The full func­
tion of the brake booster and the power
steering is not guaranteed. You must use
more force to turn or brake. Because you

lL t:0 ....
"' " "' .... 0 0 :c ' cannot steer and brake as you usually
would, th is could lead to accidents and ser i­
ous injuries .
- To reduce the risk of injuries, make sure that
the Start/Stop system is turned off when
working in the engine compartment
i=> page80 .
(D Note
Always switch the Start/Stop system off when
driving through water
i::> page 80.
Starting/stopping the engine
App lies to: ve hicles with Start/Stop system
Fig. 92 Instrument cluste r: eng ine sw itched o ff (stop
p hase)
~ S low the vehicle to a stop us ing the brake and
keep pressing the brake pedal. The engine w il l
switch off. The
II indicator light appears in the
informa tion line in the instrument cluster dis­
play.
~ When you take your foot off the brake peda l,
the engine restarts. The indicator lig ht turns
off .
Additional information
The engine w ill switch off in the P, D, N and S po­
sitions as we ll as in manual mode . In the P posi ­
tion, the engine will also remain off 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.
I f you select the R pos ition during a Stop phase ,
the engine will start again.
Shift from D to P quickly to p revent the engine
from star ting unintentionally when shifting
through R .
Drivi ng
You can de termine for yourse lf if the engine w ill
stop or not by reducing 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 brake down
harder, the engine w ill switch off .
(D Tips
-Press the brake pedal during a Stop phase
t o keep the vehicle from rolling .
- The ignit ion w ill turn off if you press the
! S T ART ENGINE STOPI button du ring a stop
phase.
General information
Applies to: vehicles w ith Start/Stop system
The standard Start/Stop mode can be canceled
for various system-related reasons.
Eng ine doe s not switch off
Before each stop phase, the system checks if cer ­
tain 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 example
in the following situations:
- The engine has not reached the minimum re­
quired temperature for Start/Stop mode.
- T he interior temperature selected by the cli-
mate control system has not been reached.
- The outside temperature is extremely high/low.
-The winds hie ld is being defrosted
~ page 71.
-The parking sys tem* is switched on .
- The vehicle battery cha rge level is too low .
- The steering wheel is tu rned at a sha rp angle or
is moving.
- After engaging the reve rse gear .
- On sharp incl ines.
Eng ine automatically restarts
T he standard Start/Stop mode wi ll be canceled
during a stop phase in the following situat ions .
The eng ine restarts without any action by the
driver .
79

lL t:0 ....
"' ......
"' .... 0 0 :c ' Electromechanical
parking brake
Fig. 94 Center console: parking brake
Your vehicle is equipped with an electromechani ­
cal parking brake ®
i=)fig. 94. The parking brake
is designed to prevent the vehicle from rolling
unintentionally and replaces the hand brake.
Setting/manually releasing the parking
brake
.. Pull the C®> switch to set the parking brake. The
LED in the switch turns on. The
-(USA mod­
els) . (Canada models) indicator light also
turns on in the instrument cluster display.
.. To release the parking brake manua lly, 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 driver's safety belt must be latched and the parking brake must be set.
.. To start driving and release the parking brake
automatically, press the accelerator pedal as
usual.
In addition to releasing the parking brake auto­
matically, other convenience and safety functions
are available when you start driving
i=)page 82,
Starting to drive.
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 pedal. 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 pressing 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 while 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 similar to heavy braking
i=) ,& .
To reduce the risk of activating the emergency
braking by mistake, a warning tone (buzzer)
sounds when the
<®l 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 vehicle.
.. Pull the<®> switch to set the parking brake .
.,. Select the P selector lever position .
.,. Turn the engine off i=) ,&.
.,. Turn the steering wheel when parking on in­
clines so that the wheels w ill roll into the curb
if the vehicle starts moving.
8_ WARNING
-Do not press the acce lerator pedal 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 accident.
-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
keep your foot on the brake in all selector
lever positions (except P and N) when the
engine is running.
- Do not inadvertently press the accelerator
pedal when the vehicle is stationary. Other­
wise the vehicle will start to move immedi­
ately, even if the parking brake is set. This
could result in a crash.
~ Note
-When stopping on an incline, do not try to
hold the vehicle in place by pressing the ac­
celerator pedal while a driving gear is se­ lected . This can cause the transmission to
overheat and can damage it . Set the parking
brake or press the brake pedal to prevent
the vehicle from rolling.
- Allowing the vehicle to roll when the engine
is stopped will damage the transmission be­
cause it is not lubricated.
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re­
leased automatically only when the driver's
safety belt is fastened.
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 position and you press the
brake pedal. The transmission automatically se­
lects a gear that is suitable for the hill. Hill de­
scent control tries to maintain the speed ach­
ieved at the time of braking, within physical and
technical limitations. If may still be necessary to
adjust the speed with the brake pedal.
Hill descent control switches off once the hill lev­
els out or you press the accelerator pedal.
When operating the cruise control system
c::> page 93, hill descent control is also activated
when the speed is set.
86
A WARNING
, -
Hill descent control cannot overcome physical
limitations, so it may not be able to maintain
a constant speed under all conditions. Always
be ready to apply the brakes .
Manual shifting
The shi~ paddles allow the driver to shift the
gears manually.
Fig. 98 Steering whee l: shi fting manually
.. To shift to a higher or lower gear temporarily,
tap the
0 or 0 shift paddle <=:>fig. 98.
.. To switch manual mode on, press the ~ but­
ton. Mand the gear that is currently engaged
@ appear in the instrument cluster display
c::> page 83, fig. 95 .
.,. 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
0 .
.,. To switch manual mode off, press the ['.fl but-
ton again, or
.. Move the selector lever back and release it.
When you accelerate or reduce the speed, the
transmission automatically shifts into the correct
gear shortly before reaching the RPM limit. If you
select a lower gear than the one currently shown
in the display, the automatic transmission will
only shift down once there is no danger of ex­
ceeding the maximum RPM.
The engine braking effect increases when you
downshift when going downhill.

Trailer towing
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the load in the trailer is held securely in
p la ce to prevent it from shifting forward, back­
ward or sideways .
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer~&.
in Driving instructions on page 91.
Engine cooling system
Towing a trailer makes the engine work harder . It
is important that the coo ling system's perform­
ance is up to t he additional load. Make sure that
the cooling system has eno ugh fluid .
Tire pressure
When tow ing a tra iler, inflate the tires of your
veh icle to the tire pressure listed under "Full
load " on the label
~ page 293. Inflate trailer
tires to trailer and tir e ma nufactu rers' specifica­
tions.
Lights
Check to make sure both vehicle and trailer lights
are working properly .
Safety chains
Be sure trailer safety chains are proper ly connect­
ed from the trailer to the hitch on the vehicle.
Leave enough slack in the chains to permit turn­
ing corners . When you install safety cha ins, make
sure they w ill not drag on the road when you are
driving.
The chains should cross under the trailer tongue
to prevent it from dropping in case of separation
from the hitch .
Adjusting the Audi drive select
Make sure the vehicle is on a level surface before
hitching up the trailer and before adjust ing the
tongue we ight. The vehicle must be in
auto or
comfort driving mode and not ra ised
~ page 111, ~0 .
Make sure that the vehicle is lowered. In Info­
tainment, select:
ICARI function butto n> Lower
control button.
90
If you must drive under poor road conditions, you
can raise the ve hicle
after coupling the trailer or
after adjust ing the tongue we ight ~ page 113.
@ Note
-Changes in temperature or load can aff ect
the height of the vehicle .
-Always select auto or comfort mode. Other­
wise, the tong ue load specified for your ve­
hicle will no longer be applicab le .
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra care
and consideration.
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded trailer with an empty car results
in a hig hly unstable distribution of we ight. If th is
cannot be avoided, drive at very low speeds only
to avoid t he risk of losing steering contro l.
A "balanced" rig is eas ier to operate and control.
This means that the tow vehicle s hould be loaded
to
the extent possible and permissib le, w hil e
keeping the trailer as light as possible under the
circumstances. Whenever possible, transfer
some cargo to the luggage compartment of the
tow veh icle while observing tongue load require­
ments and vehicle loading considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficu lt it be ­
comes for the driver to control the rig . Do not
drive at the maximum permissible speed. Reduce
your speed even more if load, weather or wind cond it ions are unfavorable - particularly whe n
go ing down hill.
Reduce vehicle speed
immediately if the trailer
shows the slightest sign of sway ing.
Do not try
to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds for
vehicles towing trailers are lower than for regular
vehicles.
A lways apply brakes early. When driving down­
hill, shift into a lower gear to use the engine
braking effect to slow the vehicle. Use of the
brakes alone can cause them to overheat and fail.
ll-

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c ' Three white dots appear if a se tting cannot be se ­
l ected with the operating lever. For examp le, this
h appens if adaptive cruise contro l cannot start
driving automatically in stop-and-go traffic be­
cause the driver has not fastened their safety belt .
Door open
The adap tive c ruise co ntro l system cannot sw itch
on w hen a door is open.
Stationary object ah ead
This message appears if you would like to switc h
adapt ive cruise control on and there is a station­
ary object o r obstacle directly ahead of you r vehi­
cle .
Audi active lane assist
(lane departure assist)
Description
Applies to: vehicles with Audi active lane assist
Active lane ass ist detects lane marker lines with­
in the limits of the system us ing a came ra in t he
w indsh ie ld. If you are app roaching a de tected
l ane marker line and it appea rs likely t hat you
will leave the lane, the system wi ll warn you with
corrective steering. Yo u can override t his steering
at any time . If you pass over a line, the steer ing
wheel will v ibrate lightly. In order for this warn­
i n g vibration to occur, it must f irst be sw itched
on in the Infotainment system . Active lane assist
i s ready for operation whe n the lane marke r line
i s detected on at least one s ide of the vehicle .
The system is designed for driv ing on express­
ways and highways and therefore only activates
at speeds above approximate ly 40 mph (65 km/
h).
Applies to vehicles with side assist
If you activate a tur n signa l when active lane as­
sist is ready and it class ifies a la ne cha nge as cr it­
i cal because of ve hicles t raveli ng a longs ide you o r
approaching you, the re w ill be not iceab le correc­
tive stee rin g short ly before you leave t he lane.
This will attempt to keep yo ur vehicle in t he lane.
A ss istance systems
Applies to vehicles w it h out side assist
T he system wi ll not warn yo u before c ross ing a
l ane marker line if you have activated the t urn
s ignal. In this case, it assumes that you are
changing lanes intentionally.
Appl ies to: vehicles with adaptive c ruise control
The co rrective steer ing is targeted based o n the
dr iv ing s itu ation . In add it ion to the lane mar ker
li nes, the system can al so t ake into accoun t other
objects s uch as gua rd rai ls. If they a re detected in
close proximity to t he vehicle, active lane assist
helps p reve nt the vehicle from driving too close
to them. The re is a lso pass ing ass istance. The
system does not provide any corrective steering if it detects that you are pass ing anot her vehicle .
A WARNING
-
-The system warns the drive r that the vehicle
is leaving the lane using corrective steering.
T he drive r is always responsible fo r keeping
the vehicle within the lane.
- T he system can assist the dr iver in keeping
the vehicle in the l ane, but it does not dr ive
by i tsel f. Always keep your hands on the
s teer ing whee l.
- Cor rec tive stee ring may not occur in cert ain
situa tions, such as during he avy b raking .
- T here may be cases whe re t he came ra does
not recogni ze all lane mar ker lines . Cor re c­
tive steering can only take pla ce on the s ide
of the vehicle where lane marker lines are
detected.
- Other road structu res or objects could poss i­
b ly be identified un intentionally as lane
marker lines. As a result, co rrective steering
may be unexpected or may not occ ur.
- The camera view can be rest ricted, for ex­
ample by vehicles driving ahead or by ra in,
snow, heavy spray or light shining into the
camera. Th is can result in active lane ass ist
not detecting the lane marker lines o r de­
tect ing them inco rrectly .
- Unde r ce rtain condit ions such as r uts in the
road, a ban ked roadway or crosswinds, the
correct ive steer ing alone may not be enough
to keep the vehicle in the middle of the lane.
~
103

Ass is tance sy stem s
-For safety reasons, active lane assist must
not be used when there are poor road and/
or weather cond itions such as slippery
roads, fog, gravel, heavy rain, snow and the
potent ial for hydroplaning. Using act ive lane
assist under these conditions may increase
the risk of a crash .
Switching on/off
Applies to: veh icles with Audi active lane assist
•
Fig. 114 Turn sig nal leve r: b utto n fo r active lane ass ist
F ig . 11 5 Wind sh iel d: came ra win d ow fo r active lane ass ist
"' Press the button to switch the system on and
off <=>
fig. 114 . The . or. indicator light in
the instr ument cluster turns on o r off .
Indicator light s
• Read y: the indicator light turns on when the
system is ready for use. The system can now be
operated .
• Not ready: the indicator light turns on if the
system is switched on but is inoperab le. Th is m ay
be due to the following reasons:
-There is no lane marker line.
- The re levant lane marker lines are not detected
(fo r example , mark ings in a construction zone
104
or because they are obstru cted by snow, dirt,
water or lighting).
- T he vehicle speed is below the activation speed
of approximate ly 40 mph (65 km/h).
- The lane is too narrow or too wide.
- The curve is too narrow.
- The d river's hands are not on the steering
wheel.
@ Tips
Make sure the camera's field of view
<=>
fig. 115 is not obst ructed by sticke rs or any­
thing e lse. For information on cleaning, see
<=> page 306 .
Image in the instrument cluster display
Applies to: vehicles with Audi active lane assist
Fig. 11 6 Instrumen t cl uster: act ive la n e as sist is sw it ched
o n an d provid ing warn ings
Fig . 117 Ins trume nt cl ust er: act iv e l ane ass ist is sw it ched
on but not ready to p rov ide warn ings
You can call up the active lane ass ist display us­
i ng the buttons in the mu ltifunction steering
whee l¢
page 12. .,..

White line(s) Active lane assist is activated
and ready to provide warnings.
Red line(s) Active lane assist warns you
(left or right) before leaving a lane
¢ fig. 116. In addit ion, the
steering wheel vibrates light ly .
Gray line(s) Active lane assist is activated,
but not ready to give warning
¢ fig. 117.
Me ssages in the in strum ent clu ster di splay
If the active lane ass ist switches off automat ica l­
l y, the indicator light in the display turns off and
one of the following messages appears:
Audi active lane a ssist: Cu rrentl y un available.
N o ca mera view
This message appea rs if the came ra is u nable to
detect the lines. This co uld happen if :
- The came ra field of v iew
<;;) page 104, fig. 115 is
dirty o r cove red in ice. C lean this area on the
wi ndshield .
- The came ra field of v iew is fogged over . Wait
u ntil the fog has cleared before sw itching the
active lane assis t on agai n.
- T he system has been unab le to detec t the lanes
for an extended period of time d ue to road con­
di tions. Sw itch act ive lane assis t back on when
the lines are more visible.
Audi active lane a ssis t: Currently una vailabl e
There is a temporary active lane assist malfunc­
tion . Try sw itch ing the active la ne assist on aga in
later.
Audi acti ve lane assist : Syste m f ault!
Drive to an authorized Audi dealer or a uthorized
Audi Service Facility immediately to have the
malfunct ion corrected.
Audi acti ve lane a ssis t: Pl ease take over steering
This message appea rs if you are not stee ring by
yourse lf. If th is is the case, act ive lane assis t does
not switch off, but it is
"not ready " to provide a
~ warn ing. The system can he lp you keep the veh i-...,
~ cle in the lane . However, you a re responsible for
~ driving the vehicle and must steer it yourself . 0 0 :c " Assi st a nce systems
A WARNING
Note that messages may be de layed or not
d isplayed o n veh icles w ith accesso ries mount­
ed on the stee ring wheel, such as a steer ing
whee l spinne r knob. Always keep your hands
on the s tee ring wheel.
Setting the vibration warning
App lies to : veh icles w ith Aud i act ive lane ass ist
11> Select: the ICAR I func tion but ton> C ar sy stem s
control b utt on > Driver assi stance > Audi a c­
ti ve lane as sist .
Vibration warning
You can switch the addit io nal vibration warn ing
in the steer ing wheel on or off.
(D Tips
Your settings are automatically stored and as­
s igned to the remote control key being used.
Audi side assist
Description
Applies to: vehicles w ith Audi s ide ass ist
Fi g. 1 18 Sensor detect ion ra n ge
F ig . 119 Disp lay on the exterio r m irror
,... .,,
9 ::c
"' co
105