2018 AUDI A8 Owners Manual

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c ' the risk that the vehicle will slide. Drive care­
fully to the nearest a uthorized Audi dea ler or
authorized Audi Service Fac ility and have the
ma lf u nction corrected .
(D Tips
For additional information on ESC and ABS,
re fer to
c:> page 12 7.
i i !i.' Safety systems
The II (USA models)/ m (Canada mode ls) indi­
cator l ight monitors the safety systems .
I f the
II (U SA mode ls)/ m (Canada models) in­
d icator light turns on or blinks, the re is a mal­
function in a safety system such as the airbag or belt tensioner system .
Drive to an autho riz ed Aud i dea le r or a uthori zed
Aud i Service Facility immediately to have the
malfunct ion corrected.
A WARNING
Have the ma lf u nct ion in the safety systems
inspected immediately . O therwise, the re is a
r is k th at the systems may not activate during
a co llision, which increases the risk of serious
injury or deat h.
Lt Brake booster
II Brake ser vo: limited functionalit y. You can
continue driving . Contact workshop
-
There is a malfunc tion in the brake booster. The
b ra ke booster is availab le, bu t its effec tiveness is
r educed. Braking be havior may be different from
h ow it normally functions and the brake peda l
may vibrate.
Dri ve to an autho rize d Aud i de aler o r a uth o rized
Aud i Service Faci lity immediately to have t he
malfunction corrected.
{ 0 } Brake pads
EiJ Brake pads!
The brak e pads are wo rn.
Coc kpit o ver view
Drive to an authori zed A udi dealer or authori zed
Audi Service Facility immediate ly to have the
bra ke pads checked .
Applies to : USA mode ls
T he EiJ indicator light turns on togethe r wi th the
1111 indicator light.
EPC Engine control (gasoline engine)
~ Engine control: system m
alfunction! Reduce speed. Please contact dealer
T he re is an eng ine contro l ma lf u nction.
Immed iate ly dr ive s low ly to an author ized A udi
dealer or au thor ized A udi Se rvice Fa cility to have
t h e mal func tion corrected.
o Malfunction indicator lamp (MIL)
The ma lf u nction indicator lamp ( MIL) is pa rt of
t h e On -Board D iagnost ic System (080 II). The
¢..ij c;ymbo l turns on when the ignition is sw itched
o n and turns off aga in once the engine is started
and run ning at a steady idle speed . This indicates
t h at the MIL is f unction ing cor rectly .
The ind icator light tu rns on if there is a malfunc­
t ion in the engine electronics . See an authorized
Audi dealer or author ized A udi Service Fac ility to
have the malfunct ion cor rected . Fo r additional
i nforma tion, see
c:> page 25 .
The ind icator light can a lso turn o n if the fuel fill­
er cap is not closed correctly
c:> page 2 70 .
!?' Engine speed limitation
App lies to : vehicles wit h engine speed limitatio n
(m Maximum engine speed XXXX RPM
The eng ine speed is automatically limited to the
RPM shown in the instrument cluster d isplay.
This protects the engi ne from over heat ing .
The eng ine speed limitation deactivates once the
engine is no longe r in the critical temperatu re
range and you have re leased the accelerator ped­
al once .
If the engine speed limitation was activated by
an engine cont rol malfunction,
the ~ indicato r ..,
23

Cockpit overv ie w
lig ht 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 evel! Sen sor d efe ctiv 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 immed iate ly to have
the ma lfunction corrected .
f Engine warm-up request
0 Plea se warm up engine
Fue l has entered the eng ine oil, either from low
outside temperatures or frequent short drives .
Dr ive unt il the engine is warm so that the fuel in
the eng ine oi l will evaporate . Avo id h igh eng ine
speeds, fu ll acce le rating and heavy eng ine loads
when doing this.
jjl Tank system
Ill Plea se refuel
If t he i nd icator lig ht t urns on fo r the fi rst time
a nd the mess age appears, there a re abo ut 4 ga l­
lons (15 lite rs) of fue l le ft in the tank.
D Fuel tank s ystem malfunction! Plea se con­
tact dealer
There is a malfunction in the fue l tank system .
Drive to an a uthorized Audi dea ler or a uth orized
Aud i Serv ice Facility immediately to have the
malfunct ion corrected.
(D Tips
For more information on fueling, see
¢page 269 .
~ Washer fluid level
C Please refill washer flu id
24
Fill the washer fluid for the windshie ld washer
system and the head light washer system when
t h e ignit ion is switched
off ¢ page 281 .
• Windshield wipers
m Windshield wiper defective
There is a ma lfunction with the winds hield wip ­
ers .
D rive to an au thor ized 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:$ ind icator 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: Malfunction
There is a m alfu nction in the headlights o r the
li gh t sw itch .
D rive to an author ized Audi dealer or autho rized
Audi Se rvice Fac il ity immed iate ly to have the
malfunction cor rec ted .
_& WARNING
-Light bulbs are under pressure and can ex ­
p lode when b ulbs a re rep laced, w hic h in­
creases the ris k of in jury.
- With H ID headlig hts* (xenon -plus head ­
lights), the high-vo ltage component must
be handled correct ly . Otherwise, there is a
risk o f fatal in jury.
§.0 Headlight range control system
El He adlight range cont rol system: System
fault
There is a ma lfunction in the headlight range
contro l system, which may cause glare for other
drivers.
-

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c ' Drive to an authorized Audi dea ler or a uth orized
Audi Service Facility immediately to have t he
mal funct ion corrected.
~ D Light/rain sensor
El Automatic headl ights / automatic wipe rs:
System fault
The light/rain sensor is malfunctioning.
The low beams remain swi tched on at all times
for safety reasons when the light switch is in the
AU TO position. You can continue to turn the
lights on and
off using the light switch . You can
still control all functions that are independent of
the ra in sensor through the w indshie ld w iper lev­
er .
Drive to an aut horized Audi dea ler or a uth orized
Aud i Service Facility immediately to have the
malfunct ion corrected.
!-: Sport differential
Applies to: vehicles with sport differential
(I Sport differential : Sy stem fault
T here is a malfunction with the sport differentia l.
Dri ve to an authorized Aud i dea le r o r a uth orized
Audi Service Facility immediately to have t he
malfunction corrected.
I'll Sport differential : Ov erh eating
The transm iss ion temperature has increased s ig­
ni ficantly due to the sporty driving manne r. D rive
in a less sporty manner until the temperature re­
turns to the normal range and the ind icator ligh t
sw itches of .
A WARNING
Contact an author ized A udi dealer or au tho r­
ized Aud i Serv ice Facility if the sport diffe ren ­
tial is fau lty or mal functioning. The repair
must be performed by tra ined personne l us­
ing the correct oi l in order to ens ure safety .
Cockpit o ver view
¢¢Turn signals
If the B or 1B in d icator light blinks , the tur n
s ignals a re act ivated. If bot h ind icator lights are
blinking, the emergency flashers are activa ted.
If an ind icator light blinks tw ice as fast as usual,
a turn signal b ulb has fai led. Carefully d rive to an
a utho riz ed Aud i dea le r or autho rized Aud i Serv ice
F ac ility immed iate ly to have the ma lfunction co r­
rected . The indicator light does not indicate a
malfunction if a turn signal on the trailer o r on
the vehicle fa ils in trailer towing mode.
(D Tips
F o r more information on the turn signa ls, re ­
fer
to~ page 44.
On-Board Diagnostic
System (OBD)
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL)
The Ma lfunction Indicato r Lamp ( MIL) ¢..ijj in the
instrument cluster is part of the On -Board Diag ­
nostic (OBD II) system .
T he warning/indicator lig ht ill uminates w hen the
ignition is switched on and goes out after the en ­
gine starts and the id le has stabilized . This indi ­
cates that the MIL is wor king properly.
If the light doe s not go out after the eng ine is
started, or i lluminates while you are driving, a
malfunction may exist in t he engine system. If
the light ill uminates, the catalytic converter
could be damaged.
Continue driving
w ith reduced powe r (avoiding
s u stained high speeds and/or rapid accelera ­
tions) and have the condit ion corrected. Contact
your authori zed Aud i dea ler .
If the light i lluminates, the electronic speed lim ­
iter may also be malf unctioning. For more infor ­
mation
c> page 26, Electronic speed limiter .
An improperly closed fue l filler cap may also
ca use the M IL light to ill uminate
c> page 2 70.
25

Cockpit overv ie w
On -Board Diagnostics
F ig. 19 Loc ation of D ata Link Connec tor (DLC)
On-Board Diagnostics moni tors the components
of your emission control system . Each monitored
component in your eng ine system has bee n as­
signed a code . In case of a ma lfunction, the com­
ponent w ill be identified and the fa ult stored as a
code in t he control module memo ry.
The MI L light may also illuminate if there is a
leak in the on-board fuel vapor recovery system .
I f t he lig ht ill uminates af ter a ref uel ing, stop the
ve hicle and ma ke sure the fue l filler cap is p rop ­
erly closed
c> page 2 70 .
In order to make an accurate d iagnosis, the stor­
ed data can on ly be disp layed using specia l diag­
nos tic eq uipment (gene ric sc an tool for OBD).
In order to connect t he specia l diagnostic equip­
ment , push the plug into the Data Link Connector
(D LC). The D LC is located to the rig ht of t he hood
release
c> fig. 19.
Your author ized Audi dealer or a qualified service
s tat ion can interpret the code and perform the
necessa ry repa ir.
A WARNING
Do not use t he di agno stic con nector for pe r­
sonal use . Incorrect usag e c an cause ma lfu nc­
tions, which can increase the ris k of a colli­
sion !
Electronic speed limiter
-
Your veh icle may be factory equipped with ti res
that are rated for a maxim um speed of 130 mph
(210 km/h) . This is less than the maximum speed
of your vehicle . To reduce t he risk of sudden tire
26
failure and loss of contro l if the vehicle is operat ­
ed at excessive speeds, your vehicle also has an
e lectronic speed limite r. The elect ronic speed
li miter prevents your ve hicle from go ing faster
th an the tire speed rat ing . For more information
c> page 290 .
If the engine cont rol un it rece ives fa ulty vehicle
speed s ignals, the Ma lf u nction Indicator Lamp
( M IL)
¢..ift will illuminate. If this occurs, contact
the nea rest authorized Aud i dea ler for ass is ­
tance .
58
Your vehicle's top speed is electronically lim ited
to 155 mph (250 km/h).
If the engine control unit receives fa ulty vehicle
speed signals, the Ma lf u nction Indicato r Lamp
(MIL)
¢..ift w ill illuminate. If this occurs, contact
the nea rest authori zed Audi dea ler for ass is­
tance.
A WARNING
A lways obse rve t he posted speed limits and
adjust yo ur speed to sui t prevailing road, tra f­
fic and weather condit ions. Never d rive your
ve hicl e faster t han the ma ximu m speed rating
of the t i res inst alled .
-

Opening and closing
Central locking
Description
You can lock and un lock the veh icle centrally . You
h ave the following options:
-Remote control key c> page 30
-Sensors in the door hand les* c> page 30
-Lock cylinder in the driver's door c>page 32
-Inter central locking switch ¢page 31
Turn signals
The tu rn s ignals flas h tw ice when you un lock the
ve hicle and flash once whe n you lock the veh icle.
I f t he ve hicle is unlocked and the flashing cont in ­
ues, then
-One of the doors, the luggage compartment lid
o r th e hood is open
-T he ign ition is still switched on
-T he selector lever is not in the P pos it ion
Auto Lock
The Auto Lock function locks all doors and the
luggage compartment lid once the speed has ex­
ceeded approximately 1S km/h.
The vehicle can be unlocked if the opening f unc ­
tion in the centra l locking system switch is used
or one of the door handles is pulled. The Auto
Lock function can be sw itched on and off in the
Infotainment system
¢ page 32 .
In t he event of a crash with airbag deployment ,
the doors will a lso automatica lly unlock to allow
access to the ve hicle.
Se le cti ve door unloc king
The doors and luggage compartment lid wi ll lock
when they close. You can set in the Infotainment
system whether only the driver's door or the en ­
tire ve hicle should be unlocked when unlocking
¢page 32.
Unintent ionally loc king yourself out
~ On ly lock your vehicle when a ll of the doors and ....
~ the luggage compartment lid are closed and the N
~ remote contro l key is not in the vehicle. This 0 :c ' Open ing and cl osing
helps to prevent you from locking yoursel f out
accidentally .
T he following condi tions p reve nt yo u from lock ­
i ng yo ur remote cont rol key in t he veh icle:
-If the driver's door is open, the vehicle cannot
be locked by press ing
t h e ~ button on t he re­
mote co ntro l key o r touching the locking sensor
on a door.
-I f the most recently used conve nience key* is
detec ted in t he luggage compartment, the l ug­
gage compa rtment lid a utoma tica lly unloc ks
again after closing it.
-If the conven ience key* that was last used is de ­
t ected ins ide t he ve hicle, then the vehicle can­
not be locked from the o utside .
Closing aid on the doors*
The veh icle doo rs a re equipped with closing aids.
When clos ing a door, yo u on ly have to le t it fall
li gh tly into t he lat ch.
It then closes automatically
Q &. .
A WARNING ~ -
-W hen you loc k yo ur vehicle from outside,
nobody- espec ia lly children
-sho uld rema in
inside the veh icle. Remember, when you
lock the vehicle from the outside the wi n­
dows cannot be opened from the inside .
-When you leave the vehicle, a lways take t he
ig nit ion key with yo u. This will prevent pas­
sengers (ch ildren, for examp le) from acci­
denta lly being locked in the veh icle sho uld
t hey a ccidentally p ress the powe r locking
sw itch in the doo rs.
-D o not leave ch ildre n ins ide the veh icle un­
supe rvised. I n an emergency it would be im­
possible to open the doo rs fro m the ou tside
w itho ut the key .
-Appli es to ve hicles w it h powe r side doo r
close r*:
-When closing a door, ma ke sure nothing
can interfere with the door. T his could
ca use serio us personal injury.
-You can stop the door from closing at any
time by p ullin g on the inside or o utside
door handle .
27

Opening and clo sin g
@ Tips
- Do not leave valuables unattended in t he ve­
hicle . A locked vehicle is not a safe!
- The LED in the driver 's door rail blinks when
you lock the vehicle . If the LED lights up for
approximately 30 seconds after locking,
there is a ma lfunction in the central locking
system. Have the problem corrected by an
authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi
Service Fac ility.
Key set
F ig. 20 You r veh icle key set
@ Remote control ke y with integr ated
mechanica l key
You can unlock and lock your vehicle w ith the re ­
mote control key . A mechanical key is integrated
in the remote control key
Q page 29 .
@ Separate mechanical ke y
This key is not intended for constant use. It
should only be used in an emergency . Do not car­
ry it on your key ring and do not store it in the ve­
h icle.
Rep lacing a ke y
If a key is lost, see an authorized Audi dealer or
authorized Audi Service Facility. Have this key de­
activated . It is important to bring all keys with
you .
If a key is lost, you should report it to your
insurance company .
Number of keys
You can check the number of keys ass igned to
your veh icle in the Infotainment system. Select:
the
I CAR I function button > Car sy st e m s control
button
> Ser vice & cont rol > Pr ogrammed ke ys.
28
This way, you can make sure that you have all the
keys when purchasing a used vehicle.
Electronic immobilizer
The immobilizer p revents unauthorized use of
the ve hicle.
Under certain circumstances, the vehicle may not
be able to start if there is a key from a d ifferent
vehicle manufacturer on the key chain .
Data in the master ke y
When driving, service and maintenance-relevant
data is cont inuous ly stored in your remote con ­
trol key . Your A udi se rvice advisor can read out
th is data and tell you abo ut the work yo ur vehicle
needs . T his applies also to veh icles w ith a con­
venience key *.
Personal convenience sett ings
If two people use one vehicle, it is recommended
that each person always uses their own remote contro l key. When the ignit io n is tu rned off or
whe n the vehicle is lo cked, pe rsonal convenience
settings for the following systems a re stored and
ass igned to the remote master key .
- Climate cont rol system
- Central lock ing system
- Window and rear shade*
- Interior lighting*
- Memory function
- Park ing aid*
- Adaptive cr uise control *
- Ac tive lane assist*
- Side ass ist*
- Dr ive select
- Night vision assist*
- Steeri ng wheel heating*
The stored settings are automat ica lly recalled
when you unlock the vehi cle, open the doors or
turn on the ignition.
A WARNING
A lways take the vehicle key with you when
leaving the vehicle, even for a short period of
time. This applies particularly when child ren
rema in in the vehicle . Otherwise the children
-

lL t:0 ....
"' ......
"' .... 0 0 :c ' could start the engine or operate electrical
equipment such as power windows.
(D Tips
-The operation of the remote control key can
be temporarily disrupted by interference
from transmitters in the vicinity of the vehi­
cle work ing in the same frequency range
(such as a cell phone or radio equipment).
-Using the mechanical key, you can:
- Locking/unlocking the glove compartment
,;:;,page 64.
-Manually lock/unlock the vehicle
,;:;,page 32.
-Mechanically lock the doors c:> page 32.
-Unlock the luggage compartment lid us-
ing the emergency release r;;:;, page 36.
-For an explanation on conformity with the
FCC regulations in the United States and the
Industry Canada regulations, see
r;;:;,page 339.
(D Tips
Removing the integrated mechanical key
Fig. 21 Remote control master key : remov ing t he mechani­
cal key
.,. Press the release button@ r;;:;, fig. 21.
.,. Pull the mechanica l key @ out of the remote
control key.
Opening and closing
LED and battery in the remote control key
Fig. 22 Remote control key: removing the battery holder
LED on the remote control key
The LED @ informs you about the function of the
remote control key.
.. If you press a button briefly, the LED blinks
once.
.. If the LED does not blink, the remote contro l
key battery is dead. The
ml indicator light and
the message
Please change key battery ap­
pear . Replace the battery in the remote control
key .
Replacing the remote control key battery
.. Remove the mechanical key r;;:;, page 29 .
.. Press the release button ® on the battery
holder and pull the battery holder out of the
re ­
mote control key in the d irect ion of the arrow
at the same time .
.,. Insert the new battery with the"+" symbol fac­
ing down .
.,. Slide the battery holder carefully into the re­
mote contro l key .
.. Insert the mechanical key.
@ For the sake of the environment
Discharged batteries must be disposed of us­
ing methods that wi ll not harm the environ­
ment. Do not d ispose of them in household
trash.
{!) Tips
The replacement battery must meet the same
spec ificat ions as the origina l battery in the re­
mote control key .
29

Opening and clo sin g
Unlocking and locking with the remote
control
F ig. 23 Remote cont ro l key: button programm ing
• T o unlock the veh icle, press them b utton
~ fig. 23.
• To lock the vehicle, press the ~ button one
time '*& .
• To unlock the luggage compartment lid, press
the
-c::5 button briefly.
• To trigger the alarm, press the I PANIC I button.
The vehicle horn and emergency flashers are activated.
• To turn the alarm off, press the red I PANIC I
button aga in .
If the vehicle is unlocked and none of the doors,
the rear lid or hood are opened within 60 sec­
onds, the vehicle locks aga in automatically . This
feature prevents the vehicle from be ing acciden­
tally left unlocked over a long per iod of t ime.
The settings in the Infotainment system deter­ m ine if the ent ire vehicle or only one of the doors
is unlocked when unlocking the vehicle
¢ page 32.
_& WARNING
Read and heed a ll WARNINGS¢ A in Descrip­
tion on page
27.
(D Tips
- Only use the remote control key when you
a re w ithin view of the vehicle.
- The vehicle can only be locked when these­
l ector lever is in the P posit ion.
- Do not use the remote control when you are
i nside the vehicle. Otherwise, you could un­
i ntent io nally lock the vehicle. If you then
30
tried to start t he engine or o pen a door, the
alarm would be triggered. If this happens,
press
the m unlock button.
-Only use the pan ic function in an emergen­
cy .
Unlocking and locking with the
convenience key
Applies to: vehicles with convenience key
The doors and luggage compartment lid can be
unlocked/locked without using the remote con­
trol key.
F ig . 2 4 Door hand le: locki ng w ith t he convenie nce key
Unlocking the vehicle
• Gr ip the door hand le. The door un locks auto-
matically .
• Pull the door hand le to open the door .
Locking the vehicle
Requirement: the se lector lever must be in P.
~ N 0 ± ., m
• To lock the vehicle, close the door and touch
the sensor in the door handle
once ¢ fig. 24,
'* &_. Do not hold the door handle while doing
this.
You can unlock/lock the ve hicle at every door .
The remote control key cannot be more than ap­ prox imately 4 feet (1.5 meters) away from the
door handle or the luggage compartment. It
makes no d ifference whether the master key is in
yo ur j ack et poc ket o r in yo ur brief case, for exam ­
ple.
The door cannot be opened for a brief period d i­
r ectly after lock ing it. Th is way you have the op­
po rtuni ty to chec k if the doors lo cked cor rect ly.
ll>