2018 AUDI A8 light

Drivin g
-Avoid driving through sa lt water, because
this can cause corrosion .
Economical and environmentally-friendly
driving
The amount of fuel consumption, the env iron­
mental impact and the wear to the engine,
brakes and t ires depends mostly on your dr iv ing
style. W it h an anticipatory and economic dr iv ing
style , fu el consumption can be reduced by ap ­
p roximate ly 10 -15% . The following tips wi ll help
you conserve the environment and your money at the same time .
Anticipatory driving
A veh icle uses the most fuel when acce le rating.
When you dr ive with ant ic ipat io n, you do no t
need to brake as often and so you accelerate less .
When possib le, let your vehicle coast with a
gear
eng aged ,
for example, when you notice that the
next traffic light is red. This produces an engine
braking effect, which helps to protect the brakes
and tires and reduces the emissions and fuel con­
sumpt ion to zero (fuel shut -off during decelera­
tion) .
Shift efficientl y
Upshifting earlier is an effective way to save fuel.
Staying in a gear too long uses fue l unnecessari­
ly . Press down on the accelerator pedal slowly
and avoid "k ick-down" .
Avoid full accel eration
You shou ld rare ly trave l at the maximum vehicle
speed. High speeds cause a disproportionately h igh increase in fuel consumption, emissions and
traffic no ise . Slower driving saves fuel.
Reduce idlin g time
The Start/Stop system* he lps to reduce the idling
time automatically. In vehicles without the Start/
Stop system*, it is efficient to switch the eng ine
off when stopped at ra ilroad crossings and long
red l ights . Stopp ing the engine for 30 -40 sec­
onds already saves more fuel than the amount of
ext ra fuel needed to resta rt the eng ine.
74
It takes a ve ry long time in id le to warm the en­
gine up to operating temperature. Wear and
emissions are especially high in the warm -up
phase. Therefore, you shou ld begin driving im­
med iate ly after starting the engine. Avoid high
RPMs while doing this .
Hav e maintenance perfo rmed regul arly
By having maintenance performed reg ularly on
your vehicle, you can help to reduce fuel con­
sumption before you even start to drive. The maintenance condition of your vehicle not on ly
affects traffic safety and long-term value but al­
so impacts fuel consumpt ion. A poorly main­
ta ined engine can lead to fuel consumpt ion that
i s 10% hig he r th an no rma l.
Avoid short trip s
The engine and exhaust cleaning system must
reach their optimal operat ing temperature to ef­
fect ively reduce consumpt ion and emissions .
A cold engine uses a d isproportionately high
amount of fuel. The engine reaches operat ing
temperature and consumption normalizes only
after approximately 2 .5 m iles (4 km) .
Check the tire pressu re
To save fue l, make sure the t ires are always in­
flated to the correct pressure
¢ page 291. The
fuel consumpt ion can increase by 5% if the pres­
sure is only 0 .5 bar too low . Due to the increased
r oll ing resistance, low tire p ressures w ill also
l ead to greater tire wear and will affe ct driv ing
behav ior.
Drive w ith summer tires when poss ible because
t hi s can increase fue l economy by up to 10% .
Eliminate unnecessary weight
Since every pound of extra weight increases fuel
consumption, it pays to remove any unnecessary
weight.
A roof rack increases the w ind resistance on the
vehicle and shou ld be removed when it is not
needed. You will save approximately 12% of your
fuel when at speeds from 62-75 mph (100-120 km/ h).
.,.

lL t:0 ....
"" ......
"" .... 0 0 :c ' Save en er gy
The engine drives the generator, wh ich generates
electricity; the fue l consumption also increases
with the demand for electricity. Therefore, switch
e lectrical equipment off when you no longer
need it. Examples of equipment that use a lot of
energy are air blowers at a high setting, the rear
window defogger and seat heating*.
CD Note
Do not leave engine idling unattended after
starting. If warning lights should come on to
ind icate improper operation, they would go
unheeded. Extended idling also produces
heat, wh ich could result in overheat ing or
other damage to the vehicle or other p roper-
ty.
CD Note
-Have your vehicle maintained properly and
i n accordance with the service recommenda­
tions in your Warranty
& Ma intenance book­
l et. Lack of proper maintenance as well as
i mproper use of the vehicle will impair the
function of the emission control system and
could lead to damage.
-Do not alter or remove any component of
the Emission Control System unless ap­ proved by the manufacturer.
-Do not alter or remove any device, such as
heat shie lds, switches, ignition wires,
valves, which are designed to protect your
vehicle's Emission Control System and other
important vehicle components .
@ Tips
The consumption estimates as published by
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
(EPA) and Transport Canada may not corre­
spond to your actual consumption on the
road, which will vary depending upon vehicle
load and speed, road and weather conditions
trip length, etc.
'
D rivi ng
Steering
Adjusting the steering wheel position
The steering column can be power adjusted up
and down and forward and back.
F ig . 89 Sw itc h for steering colu mn adjustment
Requirement: the driver's seat is set correct ly.
"' To adjust the he ight, press the sw itch up/down .
The steering co lumn will continue movi ng as
long as you are pressing the switch.
"' To move the steering wheel forwa rd or back,
press the switch forward/back. The steering
column will continue moving as long as you are
pressing the switch.
T he steering wheel can a lso be adjusted when the
ignition is switched off .
In veh icles with memory function*, the steering
co lumn settings are s to red toget her w ith the
seat position.
A WARNING
Improper use of steering wheel adjustment
and improper seating position can cause seri­
ous personal injury.
- Adjust the steering wheel column only when
the vehicle is not moving to prevent loss of
veh icle control.
- Ad just the driver's seat or steer ing whee l so
that the re is a m inimum of 10 in (25 cm)
between your chest and the steering wheel
r::;, page 209, fig . 217 . If you cannot main­
tain this minimum distance, the airbag sys-
tem cannot protect you p roperly.
~
75

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c ' (D Tips
-Some noise after starting the engine is nor­
mal and is no cause for concern.
- If you leave the vehicle with the ignition
switched on, the ignition will switch off af­
ter a certain amount of time. Make sure that
electrical equipment such as the exterior
lights are switched off.
Stopping the engine
.,. Bring the vehicle to a full stop.
.,. Select the P or N selector lever position .
.. Press the I START ENGI NE STOPI button
~ page 76, fig. 90.
Steering lock
The steering locks when you turn the engine off
using the lSTART
ENGINE STOPlbutton and
open the driver's door. The locked steering helps
prevent vehicle theft.
Emergency off function
If it is absolutely necessary, the engine can also
be turned off while driving in the
R, Dor S selec­
tor lever position at speeds below 6 mph (10 km/
h). To stop the engine, press and hold the
I START ENGINE STOPI button and also press the
brake pedal.
& WARNING
-Never turn off the engine 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
cannot steer and brake as you usually
would, this could lead to accidents and seri­
ous injuries .
-Always take the key with you whenever you
leave your vehicle. Otherwise, the engine
cou ld be started or electrical equipment
such as the power windows could be operat­
ed. This can lead to serious injury.
-For safety reasons, always park the vehicle
with the selector lever in the P position .
Driving
Otherwise, there is the risk that the vehicle
could roll unintentionally.
@ Note
If the engine has been under heavy load for
an extended period of time, heat builds up in
the engine compartment after the engine is
switched off and there is a risk of damaging
the engine. For this reason, let the engine run
at idle for approximately two minutes before
shutting it off .
(D Tips
For up to 10 minutes after stopping the en­
gine, the radiator fan may turn on again auto­
matically or it may continue to run (even if
the ignition is switched off) for the following
reasons :
- The coolant temperature is increasing due
to trapped heat.
- If the engine is warm and the engine com­
partment also heats up from strong sun­
light.
Messages in the instrument cluster display
Turn off ignition before leaving car
This message appears and a warning tone sounds
if you open the driver's door when the ignition is
switched on.
Press brake pedal to start engine
This message appears when you press the
I START ENGINE STOP ! button to start the engine
and do not press the brake pedal while doing so.
The engine can only be started when the brake pedal is pressed .
Ill Is key in the vehicle?
This indicator light turns on and this message ap­
pears if the ignition key was removed from the
vehicle when the engine was running. If the igni­
tion key is no longer in the vehicle, you cannot
switch on the ignition or start the engine once
you stop it. You also cannot lock the vehicle from
the outside .
.,.
77

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

Driving
-The inter ior temperature differs from the tem­
perature se lected in the A/C system.
-The windshield is being defrosted q page 71 .
-The brake pedal is pressed seve ral t imes in a
r ow.
-T he vehicle ba tte ry charge Leve l is too Low.
-Power consumption is high .
Ignition is switched off automatically
To prevent the veh icle battery from drain ing, the
ignit ion w ill switch off
automatically under the
following conditions:
-The vehicle has already been driven .
-The Start/Stop system has stopped the e ngine.
- T he driver's door is opened.
- T he dr iver's safety be lt is unb uckled.
- The brake pedal is not p ressed .
-The vehicle is 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 o r 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 contin­
ue to r un
q I!::::,. .
.&_ WARNING
To re duce the risk of poisoni ng, neve r allow
t he engine to r un in 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 faster than 6 mph (10 km/h)
in orde r for 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 use th e system, you con
switch i t off manually.
------------ ~
:i:
~
Fig . 93 Ce nte r conso le: Start/Stop system b utto 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.
(D Tips
If you 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 conditions
are not me t du ring a stop phase. The S tart/S top
system will
not b e abl e to re st art 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 dea ler or
authorized Serv ice Facility as soon as possible to
have t he malfunction corrected .

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

Drivin g
you can s hift past the N and R se lector lever
positions.
Selector lever lock
The se lector lever lock prevents you from se lect­
ing a posit ion un intent ionally, causing the vehicle
to ro ll. 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 p ress t he brake pedal to engage a se­
lector lever posit ion when the engine is running
and the vehicle is stationary . The arrows ¢
fig. 97
indicate when you need to press the button on
the selector lever.
The se lector lever does not lock if you shift from
D to R within one second . This a llows you to
"rock" the vehicle to free it when it is stuck.
P - Park
This se lecto r lever position p revents the veh icle
from roll ing. Only s hift into park w hen the veh i­
cle is
stationary ¢.&. . To engage the P selector
lever position, press the button on the selector
lever and s hift into t he P position .
You can on ly shift out of pa rk when the engine is
running and you are pressing the brake peda l. To
release the parking lock . press the b utton on the
selector lever and select the desired position .
P engages automat ically when you switch the en­
gine
off while D, Sor R is engaged or in manual
mode .
I f you sw itch the engine off w hen the N pos ition
is selected, the t ransm iss ion rema ins in N fo r ap ­
p roximate ly 30 minutes and then Pis engaged .
You must use the park ing lock emergency release
befo re towing the
vehicle¢ page 88.
R- Reverse
The reverse gear is engaged in this pos ition. Only
select reverse gear when the veh icle is stationary
and the eng ine is running at idle
speed ¢.&, . To
e n gage the R selecto r leve r pos it ion, press the
button on the selector lever, p ress the brake ped ­
a l and move the se lector lever into the R pos it io n .
84
The reverse lights turn on when you select the R
selector lever position whi le the engine is run­
ning.
N -Neutral (idle )
The transmission is in idle in th is position. To en ­
gage the N selector leve r position, press the but ­
ton on the selector lever and shift into the N po ­
sition .
If you switc h the eng ine
off when the N pos it io n
i s selected, the transmission remains in N for ap ­
proximately 30 minutes and then Pis engaged.
Yo u cannot se lect t he N pos it ion when the ig ni­
t ion is switched
off. When dr iv ing t hrough an au ­
tomat ic car wash, fi rst select the N position and
t h en turn the engine off ¢
page 306.
For safety reasons, the veh icle cannot be loc ked
whe n the t ransmiss io n is in t he N pos it io n.
D IS -Driving forward
When the transm ission is in the D/S posit ion, it
can be operated e ither in the normal D mode or
i n the S sport mode. Move the selector lever back
to engage the S sport mode. You ca n only select
t h e S se lector lever position when D is engaged.
To se lect the D selector lever position again w hen
S is engaged, move the selector lever
back¢ &..
To s hift from N to D w hen traveling at speeds be­
l ow 1 mp h (2 km/h), press the br ake pedal and
shi ft into the D
position ¢.&. .
In the normal mod e D, the transmission auto­
matically selec ts the su itable gear ratio .
It de­
pends on engine load , veh icle speed a nd d rivi ng
sty le.
Se lect the
s port mod e S for spo rty d riving. The
vehicle makes f ull use of the eng ine's power.
S hi ft ing may become no ticeable when acceler at­
i ng .
The S se lecto r lever posit io n engages automat i­
ca lly w hen you sele ct dynamic mode in d rive se­
l ect .
& WARNING
-The vehi cle can roll even if the ignit ion is
switched
off .
-