brake AUDI A8 2011 Owner's Guide

the selector lever to the P position. This p re­
vents too much stress from being placed on
the locking mechanism .
.&_ WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS c> .&. in Se­
lecting a selector lever position on
page
114 .
-Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever pos ition
wh ile the vehicle is stat ionary and the
engine is running . This could result in a
crash .
- Never engage
R or P while dr iving . It
cou ld cause a crash .
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels when the eng ine is running at idle. To
prevent the vehicle from "creep ing", you
must keep your foo t on the b rake in all
selector lever positions ex cept
P and N
when the engine is running . Do not inad­
vertent ly press the accelerator pedal
when the vehicle is stationary. Otherwise
the vehicle will start to move immediate ­
ly, even if the parking brake is set. This
cou ld result in a crash .
Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
When you press the accelerator pedal down
beyond the resistance point, the automatic
transmission downshifts into a lower gear, d e­
pending on vehicle speed and engine RPM. It
shift s up into the next higher gear once the
maximum specified engine RPM is reached .
.&_ WARNING
Please note that the wheels could spin on
slick or slippery roads when kick-down is
act ive .
Autom atic Tra nsmi ssi on 115
Shifting manually
T he shift paddles allow the driver to shift the
gears manually .
Fig . 1 21 Steer ing w hee l: s hifting man ually
... To shift to a higher or lowe r gear temporari­
ly , tap the
0 or O shift padd le c> fig. 121 .
... To switch manua l mode on, press the~
button .
M and the gear that is current ly en­
gaged @appears in the instrument cluste r
display
c> page 112, fig. 118.
... To shift up one gear, tap the righ t shift pad­
dle
0 c> fig . 121 .
... To sh ift down one gear, tap the left shift
paddle Q .
... To swi tch manua l mode off, press the~
button aga in , or
... Move the selector lever back and release it .
When you accelerate o r reduce the speed, the
transmission automa tical ly shifts into the cor ­
rect gear sho rtly before reaching the RPM lim­
it. If you select a lower gear than the one c ur­
rently shown in the display, the automatic
transmiss ion will on ly shift down once there is
no danger of exceeding the maximum RPM .
T he engine braking effect increases when yo u
downshift when going downhill.
Transmission malfunction
[G) Transmiss ion : please press the brake ped ­
a l and select the po sit ion again
Press the brake pedal and select the desired
selector lever position again. You can then
continue driving.
[G] Tran smi ssion h ot: plea se m odify driving
~le
~

116 Automatic Transmission
The transmission temperature has increased
significantly due to the sporty driving manner.
Drive in a less sporty manne r until the tem­
perat ure returns to the norma l range and the
indicator light switches of.
[O] Gearbo x malfunction: you can continue
driving
T here is a sys tem m alfu nction in the tr ansmis­
sion. You may continue driving. Drive to your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified repair fa­
cility soon to have t he mal function corrected .
[o]tli] Gearbox malfunction: you can contin­
ue driving in D only until engine is off
There is a sy stem ma lf u nction in t he transmis ­
sion . T he tra nsmi ssion i s sw itch ing t o emer­
gency mo de. If yo u t urn t he eng ine off, you
will not be a ble to se lect any other se lector
leve r positions after starting the engine again .
Drive to yo ur autho rized Audi dealer o r quali ­
f ied repair fac ility immediately to have the
malfunction cor rected.
[O] Gearbox malfunction: you can continue
driving (limited fun ction ality )
There is a sys tem m alfu nction in the tr ansmis­
sion. The transmission is sw itching to emer ­
gency mo de. Th is mode only shifts into cer ­
tain gears or will not longer shift at all . The
engine may sta ll. Drive to your authori zed Au­
d i dea ler or qualified repa ir facility immed i­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
[ojtli] Gea rbox malfunction: no reverse gear
(you can continue driving)
There is a sys tem ma lf u nction in t he transmis ­
sion. The transm issi on is sw itchi ng to emer­
gency mode. Th is mode only sh ifts into cer­
tain gea rs or will not longer sh ift at a ll. You
cannot engage the reverse gear . Drive to y our
author ized Audi dealer immed iately to have
the m alfu nct ion co rrected .
[O] Vehicle may roll! Cannot sh ift to P. Please
apply parking brake
- The pa rking lock was released using t he
eme rgency release
c:> page 116. Or -
The parking b rake canno t engage au toma ti­
cally . Drive to yo ur a uth o rize d Audi deale r or
qua lified repair fac ility immediately to have
the ma lfu nction corrected .
[O] Gearbox malfunction: Stop and shift to P
Do not con tinue dr iving . S e lect the P sele ctor
l ever p osition and see your auth o riz ed A udi
de aler or qua lifi ed rep air fac ility for ass is ­
tance .
Parking lock emergency release
The p ark ing lock mu st be relea sed using the
emerge ncy release before towing the vehicle .
@)
Fig. 122 Driver 's s ide footwell: releas ing t he pa rk in g
l ock u sin g the eme rge ncy re lease
Fig . 1 2 3 Drive r's side foo twell: rese tt in g t he park ing
l ock
T he eme rgency release is located under the
floor mat on t he driver's side . You operate the
emergency release from t he d river 's seat.
Releasing the parking lock us ing the
emergency release
.. To prevent the vehicle from ro lling uninten­
tionally, set the parking brake(®)
c:> page 81
or press t he brake pedal.
.. There are two slits on the cover. Posit io n the
scr ewdrive r from the vehicle too l kit i n one
IJI,

of the slits on the cover and pry the cover
off.
~ Pull the band @ in the direction of the ar­
row until the release lever locks in place
¢fig . 122.
~ Fold the upper section of the release lever
down into the recess .
Resetting the parking lock
~ Press the button @ and the release lever at
the same time. You can now push the lever
back into its original position . Make sure the
lever locks in place
¢fig. 123 .
~ Install the cover .
The indicator light
[O] and the N position indi­
cator in the instrument cluster turn on when
the park ing lock is released using the emer­
gency re lease . The message
Risk of rolling! P
not possible. Please set the parking brake
al­
so appears.
_& WARNING
If you release the parking lock using the
emergency release, secure your vehicle
with the parking brake or the brake pedal
if the parking brake is not working. The ve­
hicle can roll away if it is not secured and
cause a crash.
-
Automatic Transmission 11 7

124 Homelink®
Homelink®
Universal remote
control
General information
Applies to vehicles: with Home link® universal remote
control
The Homelink universal remote control can
be programmed with hand -held transmitters
from existing equipment.
Using the Homelink universal remote control,
you can operate equipment such as garage
doors, property gates and house lights from
ins ide your vehicle .
Using the Homelink universal remote control,
you can replace up to three separate hand­
held transmitters for equipment on your
property with just one universal remote con­
trol. Most of these transmitters are used to
ope rate ga rage doo rs and property gates. The
individual transmitters are programmed at
the front bumper. That is where the control
module is located.
The transmitters must be programmed first in
order to operate systems using the Homelink
universal remote control.
.&_ WARNING
-
-Never use the Homelink ® transmitter
with any garage door opener that does have not the safety stop and reverse fea­
ture as required by federal safety stand­
ards . This includes any garage door open­
er model manufactured before April 1, 1982.
- A garage door opener which cannot de­
tect an object, signa ling the door to stop
and reverse does not meet current feder­
al safety standards . Using a garage door
opener witho ut these features increases
risk of serious injury or death.
- For safety reasons never release the
parking brake or start the engine while
anyone is standing in front of the vehicle .
- A garage door or an estate gate may
sometimes be set in motion when the Homelink
® remote control is being pro­
grammed. If the device is repeatedly ac­
tivated, this can overstrain motor and
damage its electrical components - an
overheated motor is a fire hazard!
- To avoid possible injuries or property
damage, please always make absolutely
certain that no persons or objects are lo­
cated in the range of motion of any
equ ipment being operated.
(D Tips
- If you would like additional information
on the Homelink ® Universal Transceiver,
Homelink compatible products, or to
purchase other accessories such as the
Homelink ® Light ing Package, please
contact Homelink at 1-800 -355-3515 o r
on the Internet at www.homelink .com.
- For Declaration of Comp liance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions ¢
page 286.

Programming transmitters
Applies to vehicles: with Horne link
You con program the buttons in the Home­
Link universal remote control located in the
vehicle headliner.
F ig. 1 34 Co ntro l u ni t in th e headlin er
Fi g. 1 35 Left front a rea of t he b um per
Programming a button
• Make sure your veh icle is within operating
range of the remote controlled garage door
opener.
• Set the parking brake¢&.
in General infor ­
mation on page 124.
• Switch the ign ition on. Do not start the en­
gine!
• There are two ways to program a button :
press the button that you wou ld like to pro ­
gram . The MMI will display instructions to
guide you through the programm ing . Or
• Se lect :
I CAR I funct ion but ton> Car system s
control button > Vehi cle setting s > Garage
door opener > Program gar age d oor op en­
er .
• Se lect the b utton that you wo uld like to pro­
gram.
• Follow the instructions in the MMI.
• If the garage door open ing must also be
synchronized w it h the Homelink module,
Homelink ® 125
refer to the owner's manua l for the garage
door opener .
Using the programmed button
• Press the p rogrammed butto n c;;> 6_ in Gen­
eral information on page 124
to open the
garage door . The light @will b link or turn
on.
• Press the button again to close the garage
door
¢ &. in General information on
page 124.
Erasing the button programming
• Select: I CAR I function button > Car sy ste m s
function key > Vehicle setting s > Garage
doo r opener
> Clear p rogr am sett ings >
Y e s.
Displaying the ver sion /status /country
code
• Select: !CAR ! function button > Car systems
contro l button > V ehicle settings > Garage
door ope ner > V ersion in form ation .
You can program both fixed code and rolling
code systems using these instructions.
Programming a button
The requ ired distance between the handhe ld
transmit ter and the Homeli nk modu le in the
bumpe r depends on the system that you are
programming . You may have to try severa l
times.
Each of the buttons can be reprogrammed in­
dividually. The procedure is the same as fo r in ­
itia l programming.
r::!:> page 125, Programming
a button.
Erasing the button programming
Ind ividual buttons can be reprogrammed. Fol­
low the same steps used when first program­
ming the button.
If you would like to erase all prog rammed but­
t ons at the same time, sele ct Erase bu tton
programming .

132 Driving Safel y
The following bulletins list only some sample positions that wi ll increase the risk of serious
in jury and death . Our hope is that these exam­
ples w ill make you more aware of seating po­
sitions that are dangerous.
Th erefore, whenever th e vehicl e is
mov ing:
- never stand up in the vehicle
-never stand on the seats
- never knee l on the seats
- never ride with the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up aga inst the instrument panel
- never sit o n the edge of t he seat
- never sit s ideways
- never lean out the window
- never put yo ur feet out the window
- never put yo ur feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion o r
back of the seat
- never ride in the footwe ll
- never ride in the cargo area
.&, WARNING
Imprope r seat ing positions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occu-
pants stay in a p roper seating pos it ion
and are properly restra ined whenever the
vehicle is be ing used.
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
.&, WARNING
Always make sure that the knee a irbag can
inf late w ithout interference. Objects be­
tween yourself and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an acc ident by interfer­
ing w ith the way the a irbag deploys or by
being pushed into you as the airbag de­
ploys.
-
- No persons (children) or animals shou ld
ride in the footwell in front of the pas­
senger seat. If the airbag dep loys, this
can result in ser ious or fatal injuries.
- No objects of any kind should be carried
in the footwell area in front of the driv­
er's or passenger's seat. Bulky objects
(shopping bags, fo r example) can ham­
pe r o r prevent proper deployment of the
ai rbag. Small obje cts can be thrown
throug h the vehicle if the airbag deploys
and in jure you or yo ur passenge rs .
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mot
or any other object.
Make sure that a ll peda ls move free ly without
interference and that nothing prevents them
from return ing to their orig inal positions.
Only use floor mats t hat leave t he pedal area
free and can be secu red with floor mat fasten­
ers.
If a brake circ uit fa ils, increased brake pedal
travel is required to bring the vehicle to a f ull
stop .
.&, WARNING ,-
Pedals that cannot move free ly can cause
l oss of vehicle control and increase the risk
of ser ious injury.
- Never p lace any objects in the drive r's
footwell. An object cou ld get into the
pedal area and interfere with pedal func­
tion . In case of sudden b rak ing o r an ac­
cident, yo u wou ld not be able to b rake or
accelerate!
- Always make sure that nothing can fall
or move into the driver's footwel l.

Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor mat fasteners and do
not interfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
"' Make sure that the floor mats are properly
secured and cannot move and interfere with
the pedals
9 &. -
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal area
unobstructed and that are firmly secured so
that they cannot slip out of position . You can
obtain suitable floor mats from your author­
ized Audi Dealer .
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi.
Floor mats u sed in your vehicle must be at­
t ached to these fasteners. Properly securing
the floor mats will prevent them from sliding into positions that could interfere with the
pedals or impair safe operation of your vehicle
in other ways .
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result
in a loss of vehicle control and increase the
risk of serious personal injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are
properly secured.
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot
be properly secured in place to prevent
them from slipping and interfering with
the pedals or the ability to control the
vehicle .
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already instal­
led floor mats . Additional floor mats and
other coverings will reduce the size of
the pedal area and interfere with the
pedals .
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor mats that have been taken out for clean­
ing .
- Always make sure that objects cannot
fall into the driver footwell while the ve­
hicle is moving. Objects can become
Driving Safely 133
trapped under the brake pedal and accel­
erator pedal causing a loss of vehicle
control.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be prop­
erly stowed and secured in the luggage
com­
partment.
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling
characteristics. Loose items can also increase
the risk of serious personal injury in a sudden
vehicle maneuver or in a collision.
"' Distribute the load evenly in the luggage
compartment.
"'Always place and properly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as far
forward as possible .
"'Secure luggage using th e tie-downs provid­
ed
9 pag e 65, Luggag e compartment.
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle causing serious
personal injury in the event of hard brak ­
ing or an accident. To help reduce the risk
of serious personal injury:
- Always put objects, for example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com­
partment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compartment using the tie-down hooks
and suitable straps.
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your ve­
hicle handles. To help reduce the risk of a
loss of control leading to serious personal
injury:
-Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen­
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
vehicle handling : •
•

190 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facture rs for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event . EDR's are sometimes ca lled "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
A lthough your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for example, eng ine function, em is­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic contro l modules also record
vehicle-re lated data during normal vehicle op­
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded over a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a system fault or other
cond ition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may re late to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded with special equip­
ment.
Electronic stabilization
program (ESP)
Description
ESP helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESP detects certain difficult driving situat
ions, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw) out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steer ing assistance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
liJ in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESP is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESP has limitations.
It is important to remem­
ber that ESP cannot overcome the laws of
physics. It will not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESP may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is suddenly covered w ith water,
slush or snow, ESP cannot perform the same
way it wou ld on the dry surface . If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESP will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con­
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered.
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESP cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult driving situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESP is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic; and weather condit ions. ESP can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the available traction, or keep a ve hicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESP improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle unde r con­
trol and on the road during extreme maneu­
vers by using the driver's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection . If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESP can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESP .

ESP includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock brake assist system (ABS), brake as­
sist system, anti -slip regulation (ASR), elec­
tronic differential lock (EDL), dynamic steer­
ing* and electronic interaxle differential lock*.
ESP is switched on all the t ime . In certa in sit­
uations when you need less traction, you can
sw itch
off ASR by pressing the button above
the selector lever. Be sure to switch ASR on
again when you no longer need less traction.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braking. The vehicle can still be steered even during hard braking . Apply steady pres­
sure to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped­
al. A puls ing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is he lping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease brak ing
distance.
It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake pedal quickly in emer­
gency situations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal until the situation is over. In vehi­
cles with adaptive cruise control*, the brake
assist system is more sensitive if the distance
detected to the vehicle ahead is too small.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road conditions. This makes it easier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills .
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
a ll whee l drive *. This function is available up
to about 75 mph (120 km/h).
I n extreme cases, EDL automatically switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked wheel
from overheating . EDL will switch on again au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to
normal.
Intelligent technology 191
Dynamic steering*
On vehicles with dynamic steering, ESP helps
stabilize the steering in certain situations.
Electronic interaxle differential lock
function*
T he electronic interaxle differential lock func­
tion activates when driving th ro ug h curves.
Braking is targeted toward the wheels on the
inside of the curve as needed. This he lps to
minimize front whee l skid, improves traction
and allows for more precise driving through
curves .
A WARNING
- ESP, ABS, ASR, EDL, dynamic steering*
a nd the electronic interaxle differential
loc k fu nction* cannot overcome the laws
of physics. This is especially impo rtant
on slippery or wet roads.
If the systems
begin acting to stabilize your vehicle, you
should immediately change yo ur speed
to match the road and traffic conditions .
Do not let the increased safety provided
by these systems tempt you to take risks.
Doing so will increase the risk of a loss of
veh icle contro l, collision and ser ious per­
sonal injur ies.
- Always adapt your speed to road, traffic
and weather conditions. The risk of los­
ing con trol of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, espe cially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when dr iving too close to vehicles up
ahead. ESP, ABS, the brake assist system,
EDL, ASR, dynam ic steer ing* and the
electronic interaxle differentia l lock func­
tion* cannot prevent collisions.
- Always accelerate with special care on
even, smooth surfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even with
these assistance systems that cannot al­
ways he lp to reduce the risk of loss of ve­
hicle contro l.
-
•
•

192 Intelligent technology
-ABS and ASR on ly work correctly when
a ll four wh eels are eq uipped w ith ident i­
ca l tires. Different tire s iz es can lead to a
reduct ion in engine power.
- You may hear no ises when the systems
described are working.
- If the indicator light
DJ or m (USA
models) ;tl] (Canada models) appea rs,
there may be a malfunct ion
c::;, page 19,
c::;, page
18 .
Switching on and off
ESP turns on au toma tically when you s tar t
the engine .
Fig . 170 Cen ter con sole w it h ESP OF F button
Switching ASR off (sport mode)
In ce rtain situat io ns, yo u can switch ASR and
E SP into sport mode by pressing the button
l!I
c::;, fig. 170. The indicato r light fl comes on
and the mess age
C aution! Limit ed driving
s tability
appears . ASR deact ivates comp lete ly
and the assistance prov ided by the ESP sys ­
tem is limited. Switch to sport mod e onl y
when your d riv ing sk ills, traffic and weather
conditions permit.
In some situations, it may be useful to switc h
ASR off to let the wh eels slip. Example:
- Rocking the vehicle bac k and forth when it is
stuck
- Driv ing in deep snow or on loose ground
- Driving with snow cha ins
Sw itching ASR on
Press the button I!] aga in. The message ESP /
ASR: on appears .
A WARNING
-Drive whee ls can sp in and you can lose
control of the vehicle more eas ily when
ASR and ESP are in sport mode, especial­
ly whe n the road is slippery .
- Sw itch to sport mode only when your
d riving skills, traff ic and weather condi­
tions perm it.
@ Tips
You cannot sw itch sport mode on whe n
adaptive c ruise co ntrol* is worki ng.
Braking
General information
Wha t affe cts braking effi cien cy?
-
Operating conditions and driving habits
The brakes o n today's automobiles are still
s u bjec t to wear, depending largely on operat­
ing cond it ions and driving hab its
c::;, &. . On ve­
hicles that a re e it h er dr iven most ly in stop­
and-go city t ra ffi c or are dr iven hard, the
brake pads should be checked by yo ur au thor­
ized Audi dea ler mo re often than specified in
t h e
Warranty & Maintenance booklet. Failure
to have your brake pads inspected can result in reduced brake performance.
On steep slopes , you sho uld use the braking
effect of the engine. This way, you prevent un­
necessary wear on the brake system . If you
must use your b rakes, do not hold t he brakes
down continuous ly. Pump the brakes at in ter­
vals .
Moisture or road salt
U nd er certain conditions, for example, when
driving through water or very heavy rain, or
even after washing your veh icle, the braking
effect can be reduced due to moisture (or in
freez ing cond itions ice) on the brake pads . A
few caref ul brake applicat ions should dry off
t h e b rake pads or remove a ny ice coatings .
The effectiveness of the brakes ca n be reduced
when the vehicle is d riven on a sa lt-covered
ll>