2018 AUDI A8 tow

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 ' Air suspension*
When driv ing with a trailer, activate the trailer
mode of the air suspension. Switch the air sus ­
pension trailer mode on when you are towing a
trailer . This will limit the regulation by the air
suspension while driving. Select in the MMI:
ICARI function button> (Car)* systems control
button >
Vehicle settings > Air susp.: towing >
On.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge ¢ page 9 must
be observed carefully . The coolant temperature
can increase if you dr ive on long inclines in a low
gear at h igh engine speeds . Reduce your speed
i mmed iately if the LEDs in the top part of the dis­
p lay turn on.
For more information about ind icator lights, re­
fer
to . ¢ page 20.
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a moving
veh icle is at a much greater risk in an acci­
de nt. Never let anyone ride in you r car who is
not properly wearing the restraints p rovided
by Audi.
Trailer towing
information
Important to know
-
Your ve hicle handles different ly when towing a
tra ile r because of the additiona l we ight and dif­
ferent weight distribution . Safety, performance
and economy wi ll greatly depend on how careful­
l y you load your trailer and operate your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area away
from traffic . Keep practicing until you have be­
come comp letely familiar with the way your vehi­
cle-trailer combination behaves and responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice .
Backing up with a trailer generally requires steer­
ing action opposite to that when backing up your
vehicle without a trailer.
Trailer towing
Maintain a greater distance between your vehicle
and the one in front of you . You will need more
room to stop . To compensate for the trailer, you
will need a larger than normal turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot accel­
erate as fast as you normally wou ld because of
the added load. Make sure you have enough room
to pass. After passing, allow p lenty of room for
your trailer before changing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
c h anges.
(D Tips
-Do not tow a trailer during the break-in peri­
od of your ve hicle.
-If you tow a trailer, your Audi may require
more frequent maintenance due to the ex ­
tra load
¢ page 336 .
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer. If it cannot
be avoided, do so only after doing the following:
When parking:
.,. App ly the foot brake.
.,. Have someone place chocks under both the ve­
hicle and the trailer wheels .
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release the brakes
until the wheel chocks absorb the load .
.,. Tur n the whee ls towards the curb .
.,. Apply the parking brake .
.,. Select the P selector lever posit ion.
When restarting after parking:
.. App ly the foot brake .
.. Start the engine .
.,. Select the D selector lever position.
.,. Release the parking brake and slowly pull out
and away from the wheel chocks.
.,. Stop and have someone retrieve the wheel
chocks .
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the automat­
i c transmission to P befo re applying the park-
in g brake and before blocking the wheels, you
.,_
91

Trailer towing
may have to use more force late r to move the
lever out of the P position .
92

Assistance systems
-Please note that unconsciously "resting"
your foot on the accelerator pedal prevents
the cruise control from braking. This is be­
cause pressing the accelerator pedal over­
rides the cruise control system.
- If a brake system malfunction such as over­
heating occurs when the cruise control sys­
tem is switched on, the braking function in
the system may be switched off. The rest of
the cruise control system funct ions remain
active as long as the
@;\IM~ (USA models) /
l'I (Canada models) indicator light is on.
(D Tips
The brake lights turn on when the brakes are
applied automatically.
Changing the speed
.,. To incr ease or decrease the speed in incre­
ments, tap the lever toward
010 ¢ page 93,
fig . 102.
.. To increase or decrease the speed quickly, hold
the lever in the
0 10 direction until the de­
s ir ed speed is displayed.
You can a lso press the accelerator pedal down to
increase your speed, for example if you want to
pass someone. The speed you set earlier w ill re­
sume as soo n as you release the accelerator ped­
al.
However, if you exceed your saved speed by 5
mph (10 km/h) for longer than 6 minutes, the
cru ise control system turns off temporarily.
The
green@;\1)~1~ (USA mode ls) !l'I (Canada mod ­
els) indicator light in the speedometer turns off
and the stored speed is maintained.
Preselecting a speed
You can pre-select your desired speed when the
vehicle is stationary.
.. Switch the ignition on .
.. Pull the lever into position (D i::> page 93,
fig. 102 .
.. To increase or decrease the speed, push the lev­
er toward
0 10 .
94
.. To store the speed displayed, release the lever.
This function makes it possible , fo r example, to
save the speed you want before driving on the
highway. Once on the highway , activate the
cruise contro l by pulling the lever toward
(D.
Switching off
Deactivating temporarily
.. Press the brake pedal, or
.. Press the lever into position @(not clicked into
place)
¢ page 93, fig. 102, or
.. Dr ive for longer than 5 minutes faster than 5
mph (10 km/h) above the stored speed.
Switching off completely
.. Press the lever into position@(clicked into
place), or
.. Switch the ignition off .
The speed you stored will be maintained if the
cruise contro l has been switched off temporarily .
T o resume the stored speed, release the brake
pedal and pull the lever into position
(D.
Switching the ignition off will erase the stored
speed.
A WARNING
You sho uld only resume the stored speed if it
is not too high for existing traffic conditions.
Otherwise you can increase the risk of an acc i­
dent.

Assistance systems
-With stationary objects ¢ page 97.
A WARNING
Always pay attention to traffic when adaptive
cruise control is switched on and braking
guard is active. As the driver, you are still re­
sponsible for starting and for maintaining
speed and distance to other objects. Braking
guard is used to assist you . The driver must
always take action to avoid a collision. The
driver is always responsible for braking at the
correct time.
- For safety reasons, do not use adaptive
cruise control when driving on roads with
many curves, when the road surface is in
poor condition and/or in bad weather (such
as ice, fog, gravel, heavy rain and hydroplan­
ing). Using the system under these condi­
tions increases the risk of an accident.
- Switch adaptive cruise control off tempora­
rily when driving in turning lanes, on ex­
pressway exits or in construction zones. This
prevents the vehicle from accelerating to
the stored speed when in these situations .
- The adaptive cruise control system will not
brake by itself if you put your foot on the ac­
celerator pedal. Doing so can override the
speed and distance regulation.
- When approaching stationary objects such
as stopped traffic, adaptive cruise control
will not respond and braking guard will have limited function.
- The adaptive cruise control system and
braking guard do not react to people, ani­
mals, objects crossing the road or oncoming
objects.
- The function of the radar sensors can be af­
fected by reflective objects such as guard
rails, the entrance to a tunnel, heavy rain or
ice.
A WARNING
- Improper use of adaptive cruise control can
cause collisions, other accidents and serious
personal injury.
- Never let the comfort and convenience that
adaptive cruise control and braking guard
96
offer distract you from the need to be alert
to traffic conditions and the need to remain
in full control of your vehicle at all times,
- Always remember that the adaptive cruise
control and braking guard have limits -they
will not slow the vehicle down or maintain the set distance when you drive towards an
obstacle or something on or near the road
that is not moving, such as vehicles stopped
in a traffic jam, a stalled or disabled vehicle.
If registered by the radar sensors, vehicles
or obstacles that are not moving can trigger
a collision warning and if confirmed by the
video camera, an acute collision warning.
- Never follow a vehicle so closely that you
cannot stop your vehicle safely. The adap­
tive cruise control cannot slow or brake the
vehicle safely when you follow another vehi­ cle too closely. Always remember that the
automatic braking function cannot bring the
vehicle to a sudden or emergency stop un­
der these conditions .
- To prevent unintended operation, always
switch ACC off when it is not being used .
@ Note
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. That could affect the adaptive
cruise control system and braking guard .
Have an authorized Audi dealer or authorized
Audi Service Facility check their function.
© Tips
For an explanation on conformity with the
FCC regulations in the United States and the
Industry Canada regulations, see
¢page 339.

lL t:0 ....
"' ......
"' .... 0 0 :c ' In curves
Applies to: ve hicles with Audi adaptive cruise co ntro l
Fig. 105 Examp le: d riving into a curve
When driving into a curve <=> fig. 105 and out of a
curve, the adaptive cru ise control may react to an
object in the ne ighboring lane and apply the
b rakes. You can prevent that by pressing the ac­
celerator pedal b riefly.
Stationary objects
A pp lies to: ve hicles with Audi adaptive cruise contro l
Fig. 1 06 Examp le : object chang ing lanes a nd stat iona ry
object
The adaptive cruise contro l system only reacts to
objects that are mov ing or that t he system has
already detected as moving. For example, it can react when a vehicle that has already been de­
tected @turns or changes lanes, but adapt ive
cru ise control does not react to a stat ionary vehi ­
cle @.
Assi st a nce systems
Switching on/off
App lies to : vehicles wit h Audi ada ptive cr uise control
Fi g. 107 Ope rat ing lever: switch ing on and off
Fig . 108 In strume nt clus te r: adaptive cru ise control
You can set any speed between 20 mph (30 km/
h) and 95 mp h (150 km/h) .
Ind icator lights and messages in the instrument
cluster disp lay inform you about the current sit­
uatio n and setting.
An additional indicator appears in the head-up display*.
Switching adaptive crui se control on
.,. Pull the lever towa rd yo u into pos ition (!)
<=> fig. 107. ACC: standb y appears in the d is ­
p lay.
Storing the speed and activating regulat ion
.,. To store the current speed, press the ISET I but­
ton<=> fig. 107. T he sto red speed is shown in t he
speedome ter in the LED line @and appears
briefly in the info rmation
line @<=> fig. 108 .
... To act ivate the regulation wh ile stationary, also
press the brake pedal.
.,.
97

lL t:0 ....
"' ......
"' .... 0 0 :c ' • To resume driving with adaptive cr uise control,
tap the accelerator peda l or
• P ull the lever toward you into position @
Qpage 99 , fig. 110 .
@ Tips
If an obstacle is detected when your vehicle
starts moving, the driver intervention request
appears
Q page 100. Your veh icle w ill drive
more s low ly when start ing . This may also
happen in some situations when there is no
apparent obstacle.
Interrupting cruise control
App lies to: veh icles with Audi adaptive cruise contro l
Fig. 1 10 Se lecto r leve r
Requiremen t: adaptive cruise control mus t be
switched on .
Overriding c rui se control
• To accelerate manually, pull the lever toward
you into pos ition @and ho ld it there . The mes­
sage
A CC: over rid e appears. O r
• Press the a ccelerator pedal.
• T o resume cru ise control, release the lever or
take your foot off the acce lerator pedal.
Canceling cruise control while driving
• Move the lever into posit ion @. The message
AC C: standb y appears . Or
• Press the brake pedal.
• To resume the stored speed, move the lever in­
to posit ion
@ .
Canceling crui se control when stopped
• Push the lever away from you into position @.
The message
A CC: standby appears .
A ssi st a nce systems
• To resume cruise contro l, press the brake peda l
and pu ll the lever toward you into position @.
A WARNING
It is dangerous to activate cruise control and
resume the stored speed when the current
r oad, traffic or weather cond itions do not per­
mit this . This increases the risk of an accident .
Setting the distance
Applies to: vehicles with Aud i adaptive cru ise control
F ig . 11 1 Operat ing leve r: sett ing th e d is tan ce
• Tap the switch to display the current set d is­
tance
Q fig . 111.
N (X) N 9 :I:
~
• To increase or reduce the d istance in incre­
ments, tap the switch aga in to the r ight or left .
The distance between the two vehicles will change i n the inst rumen t cluste r display .
When approaching an object ahead , the adaptive
c ruise contro l system brakes to match that speed
and then adjusts to the set d istance .
If the object
ahead accelerates, adaptive cruise co ntro l w ill al­
so accele rate up to the stored speed.
The higher the speed, the g reater the distance
Q ,& . The Distance 3 sett ing is recommended .
T hat is eq ual to the gene ral recommendation of
" ha lf the speed shown on the speedometer ".
The distances provided are spec ified values. De­
pending on the driv ing s ituation and the way the
obje ct ahead is dr iv ing, the actual d istance may
be more or less th an these ta rge t distances.
The various symbo ls for the time inc remen ts ap­
pears briefly in the info rmation line @
Q page 97, fig. 108 when you change the set-
t ings.
.,.
99

Ass is tance sy stem s
Side assist he lps you monitor your blind spot and
traffic behind your vehicle. Within the limits of
the system, it warns you about vehicles that are
coming closer or that are traveling with you with­
in sensor
range ©¢ fig. 118: if a lane change is
classified as critical, the display @ in the exter ior
m irror ¢ fig. 119 turns on .
The display in the left exter ior mirror provides as­
sistance when making a lane change to the left,
while the display in the right exterior mirror pro ­
vides assistance whe n mak ing a la ne cha nge to
the right .
Information stage
As long as you do not activate the turn signal,
side assist informs you about vehicles that are
detected and class ified as crit ical. The display in
the mirror turns on, but is dim.
The display remains dim in the information stage so that your view toward the front is not distur­bed .
Warning stage
If the disp lay in a mirror blinks brightly when you
activate a turn signal, side assist is warning you
about detected vehicles that it has classified as
cr itical. If this happens, check traffic by glanc ing
i n the exter ior mirrors and over your shoulder
¢ .& in General information on page 107 .
Applies to veh icles with active lane assist
The display in the m irror can also blink if you
have not activated a turn signal : if you are ap ­
p roaching a detected lane marker line and it ap­
pears you w ill be leaving the lane, side assist will
warn you abo ut detected vehicles that it has clas­
sified as critical.
(D Tips
- You can adjust the br ightness of the display
i n the exte rior
mi rror @¢ page 108.
- Pl ease refer to the instructions fo r tow ing a
trailer located in
r::;, page 107 .
106
General information
Applies to : vehicles with A udi side assist
®
®
©
F ig. 12 0 Driving s it u ations
AUDI
Fi g. 12 1 Rear of the ve hicle: position of t he sensors
Side assist f unct ions at speeds above approx i­
m ately 19 mph (30 km/h) .
@Vehicl es that are approaching
N N
:8 ± .., a,
In certain cases, a veh icle w ill be classified as
critical for a lane change even if i t is st ill some­
what far away. The faster a vehicle approaches,
t h e sooner the display in the ex terior m irro r will
tu rn o n.
@ Vehicles traveling with you
Vehicles traveling with you are indicated in the
exter io r mirror if they are classified as cr it ica l fo r
a lane change. All vehicles detected by side ass ist
..,.