2018 AUDI A8 transmission

Table of contents
About this Owner's Manual. . . . . .
6
Cockpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Cockpit overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Controls at a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Instrument cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
M ultif unction steering wheel . . . . . . . . . . 11
Driver information system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
T ime and date display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
H ead-up display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Indicato r lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
O n-B oard Diagnost ic System (OB D) . . . . . 25
Starting and driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Opening and closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Cent ral lock ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
L ugg age com pa rt ment lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Ch ild safety lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
P ower window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Sunroof. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Panorama glass roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Valet par king function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Garage doo r opener (Home Link) . . . . . . . . 41
Lights and Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Exterior lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Interior lighti ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
V1s1on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
W indshield w ipe rs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
D ig ita l compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Seats and storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Gene ral information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Fr ont seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Rear seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6
Head restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
M emory function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S9
12 volt sockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
llSvoltsocket . ............. .... .. . 61
Fu ll-length center console. . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
L uggage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
P ass-throug h w it h ski bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
R efrige rato r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Warm and cold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
D eluxe a utomat ic cli ma te contro l . . . . . . . 69
2
Driving ... .. .. .... .. ... .. ..... ... . .
Genera l information . .... .. ..... ... . .
Steering . ... .. .... .. ... .. ..... ... . .
Start ing and stopping the eng ine ..... . .
Start/Stop system .. .. ............. . .
E lectromechanical parking brake ...... .
Start ing to drive .. .. .. .............. .
A utomat ic transmission
Trailer towing ... .. .............. .
D rivi ng with a tra ile r .. .............. .
T ra ile r towing information .......... . .
Driver assistance .. .............. .
Assistance systems .. .. ..... ... . .
S peed warning system . ............. . .
Cru ise cont rol sys tem . ............. . .
Audi adaptive cruise contro l ...... ... . .
Audi active lane assist (lane departure 73
73
7 5
76
78
81
82
83
89 89
9 1
93
93
93
93
95
assist) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Audi s ide ass ist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
N ight vision assist w ith pedestrian and
wild animal detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Audi drive select (drive setti ngs) ........ 111
Parking systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Parking system plus ... ............... 116
Rearv iew camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Per iphera l came ras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Adjus ting the d isp lay and the wa rn in g
tones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Error messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
T raile r hitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Intelligent Technology . . . . . . . . . . 127
E lectronic Stabi lization Contro l (ESC). ... 127
Brakes .... .. .. .. .. .. ............. .. 129
E lectromechanical steering, dynamic
steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
All wheel drive (quattro) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Notice about data recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and veh icle co ntro l
modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

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 ' -Hill hold assist cannot hold the vehicle in
place on all h ills (for example, if the ground
is slippery or icy).
- To reduce the risk of an accident, always
make sure the vehicle is situated safely
while stat ionary.
Automatic transmission
Introduction
The automat ic transmission is controlled e lec­
tron ica lly. Power is transferred using a torque
converter.
The transm ission shifts up or down automat ically
depending on wh ich drive program is selected.
When a
mod erate driving s tyle is used, the
transmission selects the most e conomical d riving
mode. The t ransm iss ion upsh ifts at a lower RPM
and downshifts at a highe r RPM to imp rove fuel
efficiency.
The transm ission switches to a spor ty mode after
a kick-down or when the driver uses a
sp o rt y
driving style
c haracterized by quick accelerator
pedal movements, heavy acce leration, frequent
changes in speed and traveling at the maximum
speed.
If desired, the dr iver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode)
c::> page 86.
Indicator in the display
F ig . 95 Inst rument cluster: selector lever positio n
@ -The current selector leve r position is d is­
p layed continuously. In manua l mode, an Mis
displayed in addition to the gear.
D rivi ng
@ -This display appea rs briefly if you change the
selector lever position or if you press the button
on the selector lever
c::> page 83, fig. 96. The
current selector lever position is shown with a
white background.
Selecting the selector lever position
F ig. 96 Selector lever
-- p- -
----R--- --1
----N--- -i;
-01s*
Fig. 97 Pressing the button on the selector leve r
The current selector lever posit ion is disp layed on
t h e selecto r lever
c::> fig. 96 .
.,. You may need to release the selector lever lock
depending on wh ich selector lever pos ition is
selected and which one you wou ld like to select
c::> page 84, Selector lever lock .
.,. To engage the nearest selector lever position,
move the selector lever forward/back until you
fee l the first pressure point. The selector lever
wi ll return to its original position .
.,. To skip over one (or two) selector lever posi ­
tions, move the selector lever past the first
(and second) pressure point into the desired
position . The selector lever will return to its
or ig inal position .
For example, to move directly from the D selec-
tor lever position to P when stopping the vehicle,
II>
83

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 .
-

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.

u. co .... N
" N .... 0 0 :c ' Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
When you press the accelerator pedal down be­
yond the resistance point, the automatic trans­ miss ion downshifts into a lower gear and the en­
g ine utilizes its full power, depend ing on veh icle
speed and engine RPM . It shifts up into the next
h igher gea r once the maximum spec ified eng ine
RP M i s reached .
A WARNING
Please note tha t the wheels could sp in o n
slick or slippery roads when kick -down is ac­
tive.
Overboost
Applies to: S8 plus
-
The maximum engine torque is temporarily in ­
creased in overboost. Overboost is activated
when nearing full throttle in the S position and
when the engine is at operat ing temperature .
A WARNING
Please note that the wheels could spin o n
slick or sl ippery roads when overboost is ac­
t ive.
Transmission malfunction
Tran sm iss ion : selector l eve r in drive!
-
If the selector lever is not in the P position when
you open the driver's door, the vehicle could roll.
Select the P se lector lever position .
rm Transm issio n: Please p res s bra ke pedal and
s e lect ge ar aga in
Press the brake pedal and se lect the desired se ­
lector lever posit ion aga in. You can then continue
driving.
rm T ransmi ssion o verh ea ting : Ple ase d rive con­
servat ively
The t ransm iss ion tempera ture h as increased s ig ­
nificantly due to the sporty driving manner. Drive
in a less sporty manner until the temperature re -
Driving
turns to the normal range and t he indicator light
switches of .
rm Transmi ssion malfunction : You can continue
driving
T here is a system malfu nction in the transmis­
s io n. You may cont inue d riving. Dr ive to an au­
thorized Aud i dea le r or a uthorized Audi Serv ice
F ac ility soon to have t he malfunct io n cor rected.
[O] liJ Transmission malfunc tion: You can con­
tinu e driving in D un til engine i s off
There is a system malfunction in the transmis­
s ion . The transm ission is switch ing to emergency
mode .
If you turn the engine off, you w ill not be
able to select any othe r se lector lever positions
after sta rting the engine ag ain. Drive to an a u­
tho rized Aud i de aler or authorized Audi Serv ice
F acility immediate ly to have the ma lfunction cor ­
rected .
rm Transmi ssion malfunction : You can continue
driving with limited functionalit y
There is a system malfu nction in the transmis­
s io n. The transm ission is switc hing to eme rge ncy
mode. This mode only sh ifts i nto ce rtain gears or
will no longer sh ift a t all. T he eng ine may sta ll.
Drive to an authorized A udi dealer or authorized
Audi Service Facility immediate ly to have the
malfunction corrected.
[O] liJ Tran smi ssio n malfunction : No rev ers e
g ear. You can c ontinue dri ving
T he re is a system malfu nction in t he transmis­
s io n. The transm ission is switc hing to eme rge ncy
mode. This mode only sh ifts into ce rtain gears or
will no longer shift at a ll. The engine may sta ll.
You cannot engage the reverse gear . Drive to an
authorized Audi dea ler or authorized Audi Service
Facility immed iate ly to have the malfunction cor­
rected .
[O] Vehicle ma y roll! Cannot sh ift to P. Please
appl y par king brake
-The parking loc k was released using the emer -
gency
re lease ¢ page 88 . Or ..,.
87

Driving
-The park ing lock can no longer be engaged.
Drive to an authorized Audi dealer or author­
ized Audi Service Facility immed iately to have
the malfunction corrected.
rm Transmission malfunction: Stop vehicle and
shift to park.
Do not continue driving. Select the P selec tor lev­
er position and contact an authorized Audi dea ler
or authorized Audi Service Facility for assistance.
Parking lock emergency release
The parking lock must be released using the
emergency release before towing the vehicle.
®
Fig. 99 Drive r's side footwe ll: releasin g t he parking lock
u sin g th e emergency release
Fig . 100 Dr iver's s ide footwell: resett ing the park ing lock
The emergency re lease is located under the floor
mat on the driver 's side. You operate the emer­
gency release from the driver's seat.
Releasing the parking lock using the
emergency release
.,. To prevent the vehicle from rolling unintention­
ally, set the parking brake(®)
¢ page 81 or
press the brake pedal.
88
.,. Th ere are two slits on the cover. Position the
screwdriver from the vehicle tool kit in one of
the s lits on the cover and pry the cover off.
.,. Pull the band ® in the direction of the arrow
until the release lever locks in place
¢ fig. 99 .
.,. Fold the upper sect ion of the release lever
down into th e recess.
Resetting the parking lock
.,. Press the button @ and the release lever at the
same time. You can now push the lever back in­
to its original posit ion. Make sure the lever
locks in
place ¢ fig. 100 .
.,. Install the cover .
When the parking lock emergency release is
used, the
rm indicator light and the N selector
lever posit ion turn on in the instrument cluster.
The message
Vehicle may roll! Cannot shift to P.
Please apply parking brake
also appears .
.&, WARNING
-
If you release the parking lock using the
emergency release, secure your vehicle with
the pa rking brake or the brake pedal if the
parking brake is not working. The vehicle can
ro ll away if it is not secured and cause a crash.

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