2018 AUDI A8 tow

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"' .... 0 0 :c ' ~ ALWA YS adjust you r sp eed to road , traffic and
weather conditions.
~ Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two hours at a stretch.
~ Do NOT drive when you are tired, under pres­
s ure or when you are stressed .
A WARNING
Impaired driv ing safety increases the risk of
ser ious personal inj ury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used .
Correct passenger
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver sea ting po sit ion is impor tan t
for safe, relaxed driving .
Fig. 217 Correc t seat ing posit ion
F or your own s afety and to reduce the risk of in ­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the driver 's seat to the following
position :
~ Adjust the dr iver's seat so tha t you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the f loor wh ile
keeping your knee(s) s light ly bent
c:!;> _& .
~ Adjust the ang le of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contact w ith it when you drive.
~ Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a dis­
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
stee ring wheel and you r breast bone
<:!;> fig . 217 .
If no t possib le, see you r autho riz ed Aud i dea l­
ersh ip about adaptive equipment .
Driving safety
~ Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering
wheel and airbag
cover points at your chest and
not at yo ur face.
~ Grasp the top of the steering wheel with you r
elbow(s) slightly bent.
~ Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge is
as
even as possible w ith the top of your head . If
that is not possible, t ry to adjust the head re­
s traint so that it is as close to this posit ion as
possible .
~ Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
c:!;> page 2 2 2.
~ Always keep both feet in the footwell so that
you are in contro l of the ve hicle at a ll times .
F or detailed information on how to adj ust the
driver's seat,
see r:!;> page 54 .
A WARNING
-
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position or
too close to the airbag can be se riously in­
jured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help re­ duce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always ad just the driver's seat and the
steer ing whee l so that there are at least
10 inc hes (25 cm) between you r breastbone
and the steer ing wheel.
- Always ad just the d river's seat and the
steer ing wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and the
lowe r part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering w heel on the out­
side of the steering wheel r im with yo ur
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi­
tions to help reduce the risk of personal in­
jury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- N ever hold the stee ring wheel at the
12 o' clock position o r wi th yo ur hands at
other posi tions i nside the steer ing whee l
rim or on the steering wheel hub . Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause
serio us injuries to the hands, arms and head
if the dr iver's airbag inf lates .
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the abi lity of the supplemen­
tal driver's airbag to protect you in a coll i-
sion .
..,
209

Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat or
any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without in­
terference and that noth ing prevents them from
return ing to the ir original positions .
Only use floor mats that leave the pedal area free
and can be secured with floor mat fasteners.
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake peda l trav­
e l is required to bring the vehicle to a full stop.
A WARNING
Peda ls that cannot move free ly can cause loss
of vehicle control and increase the risk of seri­
ous injury .
- Never place any objects in the driver's foot­
well. An object could get into the pedal area and interfere w ith pedal function . In case of
sudden braking o r an accident, you would
not be able to brake or accelerate!
- Always make sure that nothing can fall or
move into the dr iver's footwe ll.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely at­
tached to the floor mat fasteners and do not in­
terfere with the free movement of the pedals .
.. Make sure that the floor mats are properly se­
cured and cannot move and interfere with the
pedals ~,&. .
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal area un­
obstructed and that are firmly secured so that
they cannot slip out of pos it ion . You can obtain
suitab le floo r mats from your autho rized Aud i
Dea le r.
F loor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi.
Fl oor mats used in your vehicle must be attached
u. ~ to these fasteners. Properly securing the floor
~ mats w ill prevent them from sliding into posi-N ...... 0 0 :c ' Dri ving saf ety
tions that could interfe re with the pedals or im ­
pair safe operation of your vehicle in other ways.
A WARNING
--
Pedals that cannot move freely can res ult in a
l oss of vehicle contro l and increase the risk of
serious personal injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are prop­ erly secured.
- Never p lace or install floor mats o r othe r
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be properly secured in place to prevent them
from slipping and interfer ing with the ped­
als o r the ab ility to cont rol the vehicle .
- Never p lace or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of al ready installed
floor mats . Additional floor mats and other
cover ings will reduce the si ze of the pedal
a rea and in terfere with the pedals.
- Always p roperly re insta ll and secure floor
mats tha t have been ta ken ou t fo r clean ing.
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into the d river footwe ll whi le the vehicle is
mov ing.
Objects can become trapped under
the brake pe dal and accelerator pedal caus­
ing a loss o f vehicle control.
Storing cargo correctly
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be properly
stowed and secured in the luggage compart­
ment.
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling charac­
teristics. Loose items can a lso increase the risk of
serious persona l injury i n a sudden veh icle ma­
neuver or in a collision .
.. Distribute the load even ly in the luggage com­
partment .
.. Always place and properly secure heavy items in
the luggage compartment as far forward as
possible .
.. Secure luggage items using the tie-downs pro-
vided
~ page 65. ..,
213

Safe ty belts
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
that expectant mothers always wear safety belts
corre ctly
-throughout the pregnancy.
F ig. 227 Safety belt pos ition during pregnancy
To prov ide max imum protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the wear­
er's body
¢ page 223 .
~ Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly¢ page 54, Seats and storage.
~ Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest so
that it sits as low as possible on the pelv is and
there is no press ure on the abdomen
¢fig. 227, ~ .&_ .
~ Inse rt the tongue into the cor rect buckle of
yo ur seat until you hea r it latch secure ly
¢ page 222, fig. 225 .
~ Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is securely
l atched in the buck le .
A WARNING
Improperly pos it ioned safety belts can cause
ser ious persona l injury in an accident.
- Expectant mothers must a lways wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos­
sible across the pelvis and below the round­ ing of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important
information ¢.&. in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 223.
224
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only ofter the vehicle hos stopped.
.,,
Fig . 22 8 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
~ Push the red re lease but ton on the buck le
¢
fig. 228. The belt tongue w ill spring out of
the buck le
¢ ,A .
~ Let the belt wind up on the retractor as yo u
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety be lt wh ile the vehicle is
moving . Do ing so will increase your r isk of be­
ing inj ured or killed.
Adjusting safety belt height
You con adjust the height of the driver's and
front passenger's safety belts.
The safety belt he ight ad justers for the front
seats can be used to adjust the height of the
sho ulder portion of the safety belt so that it is
pos it ione d correct ly.
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The shoulder be lt shou ld lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as poss ible and shou ld fit well
o n the body
¢ .&. in Safety belt position on
page 223 .
Power safety belt he ight adjustment*
You can adjust the he ight of the safety be lts us­
ing the multif unction button on the driver or
front passenger seat
¢ page 54 .

restraints or occupants on the front passen­
ger seat and prevent the side airbag in the
seat backrest from deploying properly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The additional padding will prevent the
weight-sensing mat in the seat from accu­
rately registering the child restraint or per­
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from functioning properly .
- If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufacturer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to properly position the child restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall child restraint in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
airbags supplement the protection offered by the
front three-point safety belts and the adjustable head restraints to help reduce the risk of injury in
a wide range of accident and crash situations . Be
sure to read the important information about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­ pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
unit. Crash severity depends on speed and decel­
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash.
On the passenger side , regardless of safety belt
use, the airbag will be turned off if the weight on
~ the passenger seat is less than the amount pro-...,
~ gram med in the electronic control unit. The front N
8 airbag on the passenger side will also be turned 0 :c ' Airbag system
off if one of the child seats that has been certi­
fied under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 has been recognized on the seat. The
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on to tell you when the front Advanced Airbag on
the passenger side has been turned off
~ page 228, Child restraints on the front seat ­
some important things to know .
_&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher .
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates
-
even with an Advanced Airbag~ page 227.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 231 Inflated front airbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and provide sup­ plemental protection in a frontal collision .
The front airbags are designed to provide addi­
tional protection for the chest and face of the driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly ad-
justed .
.,.
235

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c ' Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufacturer 's
instructions when installing a child restraint in
your veh icle . T o act ivate the convertible locking
retractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferab ly
on the rear seat.
.,. Slowly pull the belt all the wa y out .
.,. Route it around or through the ch ild restraint
belt path
~ ,&. .
.,. Push the child safety seat dow n with your fu ll
we ight to get the s afety be lt rea lly t ight.
.,. Inse rt the belt tongue into the buckle for t hat
seating position .
.,. Guide the safety be lt back into the retractor un ­
ti l the belt lies flat and snug on the chi ld safety
seat.
.,. You should hear a "clicking" no ise as the belt
winds back into the inert ia reel. Test the con ­
vertib le locking retracto r by pu lling on the belt .
You should no longer be ab le to p ull the belt
o ut of the ret ractor. The co nve rtible locking re ­
t racto r is now act ivated .
.,. Make s ure that the red release button is facing
away from the chi ld restraint so that it can be
unbuckled quick ly.
.,. Pull on the be lt to make sure the safety belt is
properly tig ht and fastened so that the se at
cannot move forward or sideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restra int or an improp­
erly installed ch ild rest raint can cause ser ious
personal inj ury o r dea th in a cr ash.
- Always ma ke sure that the safety belt re­
t rac to r i s loc ke d when ins tall ing a child
safety seat . An unlocked safety belt re trac­
tor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during norma l driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safe ty seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around d uring
a sudden stop or in a crash.
Ch ild saf ety
- Always make sure the seat back rest to which
the child restraint is installed is in an up­
right position and securely latched into
place and cannot fold forward. Otherw ise,
the seatback with the child safety seat at­
tached to it could fly fo rwa rd in the event of
an accident o r othe r emergency s ituation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
eve r us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing
u sed ~ page 249. Special p recautions
apply when ins tall ing a child safety seat on
the front passenger
seat ~ page 228, Child
restraints on the front seat
-some impor­
tant things to know .
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re­
straints will be dea ctivated automatically when
the belt is wound all the way back into the re­
tractor .
.,. Press the red button on the safety be lt buck le.
The belt tongue will pop out of the buck le.
.,. Guide the safety belt all the way back into its
stowed posit ion .
Always let the safety be lt retract completely into
its stowed posit ion. The safety be lt can now be
used as an ord inary safety belt without the con­
vertible locking retractor for ch ild restraints .
If the convertible locking retractor should be ac­
t ivated inadvertently, the safety belt must be un­
fastened and guided complete ly back into its
stowed pos ition to deactivate th is feature . If the
co nve rtible locking retractor is not deactivated,
t h e safety be lt will g radually become t ighter and
u ncomfortab le to wear.
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk o f serious personal injury and
death in a co llision.
-
- Never unfasten the safety bel t to deactivate
the convertible locking retracto r for chil d re-
straints while the vehicle is moving. You
~
261

Wheels
sure that load limits are not ex­
ceeded. Vehicle load includes ev­
erybody and everything in and on
the vehicle. These load limits are
technically referred to as the vehi­
cle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rat­
ing
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the weight
of the basic vehicle, all factory in­
stalled accessories, a full tank of
fuel, oil, coolant and other fluids plus maximum load. The maxi­
mum load includes the number of
passengers that the vehicle is in­
tended to carry ("seating capaci­
ty") with an assumed weight of
150 lbs. (68 kg) for each passen­
ger at a designated seating posi­
tion and the total weight of any
l uggage in the vehicle. If you tow
a trailer, the weight of the trailer
hitch and the tongue weight of
the loaded trailer must be includ­
ed as part of the vehicle load.
The
Gross Axle Weight Rating
("GAWR") is the maximum load
that can be applied at each of the
vehicle's two axles.
The fact that there is an upper
limit to your vehicle's Gross Vehi­
cle Weight Rating means that the
total weight of whatever is being
296
carried in the vehicle (including
the weight of a trailer hitch and the tongue weight of the loaded
trailer) is limited. The more pas­
sengers in the vehicle or passen­
gers who are heavier than the
standard weights assumed mean
that less weight can be carried as l uggage .
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
and the Gross Axle Weight Rating
are listed on the safety compli­
ance sticker label located on the
driver's side B-pillar
¢ page 293,
fig. 266.
_& WARNING ~
Overloading a vehicle can cause
loss of vehicle control, a crash
or other accident, serious per­
sonal injury, and even death.
-Carrying more weight than
your vehicle was designed to
carry will prevent the vehicle
from handling properly and increase the risk of the loss of
vehicle control.
-The brakes on a vehicle that
has been overloaded may not
be able to stop the vehicle
within a safe distance.

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-Tires on a vehicle that has
been overloaded can fail sud­
denly, including a blowout and
sudden deflation, causing loss
of control and a crash.
-Always make sure that the to­
tal load being transported -
including the weight of a trail­
er hitch and the tongue
weight of a loaded trailer -
does not make the vehicle
heavier than the vehicle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.
Determining correct load
limit
Use the example below to calcu­
late the total weight of the pas­
sengers and luggage or other
things that you plan to transport so that you can make sure that
your vehicle will not be overload­ ed.
Steps for Determining Correct Load Limit
1. Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OCCU­
PANTS AND CARGO SHOULD
NEVER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX
LBS " on your vehic le 's placard
(tire inflation pressure label)
¢ page 293, fig. 266 .
Wheels
2. Determine the combined
weight of the driver and pas­sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined weight of the driver and passengers
from "XXX" kilograms or "XXX"
pounds shown on the sticker
¢ page 293, fig . 266 .
4. The resulting figure equals the
available amount of cargo and luggage load capacity. For ex­
ample, if the
"XXX" amount
equals
1400 lbs. and there wil l
be five
150 lbs . passengers in
your vehicle, the amount of
available cargo and luggage
load capacity is 650 lbs.
(1400-750 (5 X 150) = 650
lbs .)
5. Determine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle.
That weight may not safely ex­
ceed the available cargo and
luggage load capacity calculat­
ed in Step 4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing a trailer, load from your trailer
will be transferred to your ve­
hicle. Consult this manual to
determine how this reduces
.,.
297

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c ' use the hex head, potentially causing an ac­
c ident.
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on ly
for your vehicle m odel. Under no circum­
stances should it be used to lift heavy
vehicles or other loads; you r isk injuring
yourself .
- Never start the en gine when the vehicle is
ra ised, which could cause an accident .
- Support the veh icle secure ly w ith appropr i­
ate stands if work is to be performed under­
neath the vehicle; otherwise, there is a po ­
tent ial risk for in ju ry .
- Never use the jack supplied with your Audi
on another vehicle, particularly on a heav ier
one . The jack is only suitable for use on the
vehicle it came w it h .
(D Tips
The vehicle jack* in your vehicle is mainte­
na nee -free .
Replacing wheels
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your own
and your passenger's safety when changing a
wheel.
.,. After yo u experience a tire fail ure, pull the car
we ll away from moving t raffic and t ry to rea ch
level g round before you s top ¢&, .
.,. All passengers sho uld lea ve the ca r and move
to a saf e location (for instance, be hind t he
guardrai l) ¢ &, .
.,. Engage the parking brake to prevent you r vehi­
cle from rol ling
unintentionally ¢ A_.
.,. Move selector lever to position P ¢ A_.
.,. If you a re towing a trailer, unh itch the trailer
from your ve hicle.
.,. Take the jack and the spare tire ou t of the lug­
gage compa rtment
¢ page 312.
A WARNING
You or your passengers cou ld be inju red wh ile
chang ing a wheel if you do not follow these
safety precautions :
Emergenc y ass is tanc e
-If you have a flat tire, move a safe distance
off the road. Turn off the eng ine, turn the
emergency flashers on and use other warn­ ing dev ices to alert other motorists .
- Make sure that passengers wait in a safe
p lace away from the vehicle and well away
from the road and traff ic .
- To help prevent the veh icle from moving
suddenly and possib ly slipping off the jack ,
always fu lly set the par king brake and block
the front and back of the wheel diagonally
opposite the wheel being changed. W hen
one front w heel is li fted off the gro und,
p lacing the Au tom atic Transmi ssion in P
(Park) will
not p revent the vehicle from
mov ing.
- Before you change a wheel, be sure the
g ro u nd is leve l and firm. If necessary, use a
sturdy board under the jack .
- Always s tore the vehicle tool ki t, the jack
an d the replaced tire in the luggage com­
pa rtment ¢
page 213 .
(D Tips
Befo re c hangin g the wheel, you mus t activ ate
the jacking mode, so that the a utomat ic con ­
tro ls for the Adaptive Air Suspension do not
make it more di fficult to lift the vehicle with
the jack
¢ page 315 .
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel , follow the sequence
described below step -by-step and in exactly that
order .
1. Activate the vehicle jack mode ¢ page 315 .
2. Remove the de corative wheel cover *. For
more detai ls see
a lso ¢ page 314, Decora­
tive wheel covers
or ¢ page 314, Wheels
with wheel bolt caps .
3. Loosen the wheel bolts ¢ page 315 .
4. Loca te t he p roper mount ing point for the
jac k and alig n the jack be low that po int
¢page 315 or ¢ page 316.
S. Rai se the ca r wi th the jack ¢ page 315 or
¢page 316 .
313