AUDI A8 2012 Owners Manual

Audi side assist Lane Change Assistant
Description
App lies to vehicles: with si de assist
Fig . 10 1 Sensor detection range
Fig. 102 Disp lay on the exterior mirror
Side assist he lps you monitor yo ur blind spot
and traffic behind your veh icle. W ith in the
limits of the system, it warns you about vehi­
cles that are coming closer or that are travel­
i n g with you with in sensor range
(D
c::, fig . 101: if a lane change is class ified as crit­
ical, the display @ in the exterior mirror
c::> fig. 102 turns on.
The display in the left exterior mirror provides
assistance when making a lane cha nge to t he
l eft, while the display in the right exter ior mir­
r or p rov ides assistance when making a lane
change to t he right.
Information stage
As long as you do not activate the turn signal,
side assist
informs you about vehicles that are
detected and class ified as crit ica l. The display
i n the respec tive mirro r turns o n, but is d im .
Aud i side assist 99
The display remains d im intentionally in the
information stage so that your view toward
the front is not disturbed .
Warning st age
If you activate the turn signal, s ide assist
warns you about veh icles that are detected
and classified as critical. The display in the re ­
spective mirror blinks brightly . If this hap­
pens, check traff ic by glancing in the rearview
mirror and over your shoulder¢
A in General
information on page 100.
@ Tips
- You can adjust the brightness of the dis­
play @¢
page 101.
-Please refer to the instructions fo r tow­
ing a trailer located in¢
page 100.

100 Audi side assist
General information
App lies to vehicles: with side assist
®
©
Fig. 103 Driving s it u at ions
A U D I
• 0
Fig . 104 Rear of th e ve hicle: pos it io n of t he se nso rs
Side assis t fu nctions at speeds above ap prox i­
ma tely 19 mph (30 km/h).
(D V ehicles that are approaching
In certain cases, a vehicle will be classified as
cr itical for a lane change
even if it is still
somewhat far away. The fas ter a vehicle ap­
p ro aches, the sooner the disp lay in the exteri­
or m irror will t urn on.
@ Vehicles traveling with you
Vehicles traveling w ith you are indicated in the
exterior m irror if they are classified as cr it ical
for a lane change. All vehicles detec ted by
side assis t are in dicated by the time they en­
ter your "blind spot", at the latest.
@ Vehicles left behind
If you s low ly pass a ve hicl e tha t sid e ass ist has
dete cted ( the difference in s peed between the
vehicle and you r vehicle is less than 9 mph or
15 km/ h), the display in the exterio r mirror
turns on as soon as the vehicle enters your blind spot.
The disp lay wi ll not t urn on if you quickly pass
a vehicle that s ide assist has detected (t he d if ­
f erence in speed between the ve hicle and your
vehicle is greater than 9 mph or 15 km/h).
Functional limitations
T he radar senso rs are designed to detect the
left and right adjacent lanes when the road
l anes a re the normal width. In certain situa­
t ions, the d isp lay in the exterior mirror may
turn on even though there is no ve hicle locat­
ed in the area that is cr itical fo r a la ne cha nge.
Fo r example:
- if the lanes are narrow or if your are driving on the edge of your lane. If this is the case ,
the system may have detected the vehicle in
another lane that is
not adjacent to you r
cur rent lane .
- if you a re driving through a c urve . Side assis t
may react to a vehicle that is one lane ove r
from the adjacent lane .
- if side assist reacts to other objects (such as
high or d isp laced gua rd rails) .
- In poor weather conditions. The side assist
fu nctions are limited .
Do not cover the radar sensors
c::> fig. 104 with
stickers, depos its, bicycle wheels or other ob­
jects, because this wi ll affect the funct io n. Do
not use s ide ass ist when towing a trailer . For
information on cleaning, refe r to
c::> page 205 .
&_ WARNING
-Always pay a tten tion t o traffic and to the
a rea around your ve hicl e. Side a ssist can ­
no t repla ce a driver's atte ntion. The driv ­
er a lone is always respons ible fo r lane
cha nges a nd similar driving mane uvers.

-Improper reliance on the side assist sys­
tem can cause collisions and serious
personal injury:
- Never rely only on side assist when
changing lanes.
- Always check rear view mirrors to make
sure that it is safe to change lanes.
- Side assist cannot detect all vehicles un­
der all conditions- danger of accident!
- Please note that side assist indicates
there are approaching vehicles, or vehi­ cles in your blind spot, only after your ve­
hicle has reached a driving speed of at
least 19 mph (30 km/h).
- In certain situations, the system may not
function or its function may be limited.
For example:
- if vehicles are approaching or being left
behind very quickly. The display may
not turn on in time.
- in poor weather conditions such as
heavy rain, snow or heavy mist .
- on very wide lanes, in tight curves or if
there is a rise in the road surface . Vehi­
cles in the adjacent lane may not be de­
tected because they are outside of the
sensor range.
(D Note
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. This can affect the system .
Have your authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility check their
function.
(D Tips
- If the window glass in the driver's door
or front passenger's door has been tint­
ed, the display in the exterior mirror may be misinterpreted.
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions
c::>page 283.
Audi side assist 101
Activating and deactivating
Applies to vehicles: m it s ide ass ist
Fig. 105 Driver 's doo r: Side ass ist button
.,. Press the c::> A in General information on
page 100
button to switch the system on/
off . The LED in the button turns on when
side assist is switched on.
Adjusting the display brightness
App lies to vehicles: wit h side assist
The brightness setting can be adjusted via the
MMI.
.,. Select: I CAR I function button > Car systems
control button
> Driver assist > Audi side
assist .
The display brightness adjusts automatically
to the brightness of the surroundings, both in
the information and in the warning stage . In
very dark or very bright surroundings, the dis­
play is already set to the minimum or maxi­
mum level by the automatic adjustment. In
such cases, you may notice no change when
adjusting the brightness, or the change may
only be noticeable once the surroundings
change.
Adjust the brightness to a level where the dis­
play in the information stage will not disrupt
your view forward.
If you change the bright­
ness, the display in the exterior mirror will
briefly show the brightness leve l in the infor­
mation stage. The brightness of the warning
stage is linked to the brightness in the infor­
mation stage and is adjusted along with the
information stage adjustment .

102 Audi side assist
- Side assist is not active wh ile you are
making the adjus tment.
- Your settings are automatica lly sto red
and ass igned to the remote control key
being used.
Driver messages
App lies to vehicles: with side assist
If side ass ist switches off by itse lf, t he LED in
the butto n tur ns off a nd a message will ap­
pea r in the instr ume nt cl uster d is p lay:
Audi side assist : Currently unavailable. No
sensor vision
The radar se nsors' vision is affected. Do not
cover the area in front of the senso rs wi th bike
wheels, stickers, dirt or other objects. Clean
the area in front of the sensors, if necessary
c::;, page 100, fig. 104 .
Audi side assist : Currently unavailable
Side assis t ca nno t be swi tched o n tem porar ily
beca use there is a mal function (for exam ple,
the battery cha rge leve l may be too low) .
Audi side assist: System fault!
The system cannot guara ntee that it w ill de­
t e ct ve hicl es co rrec tly a nd it is sw itche d off .
The senso rs have been displaced o r a re faulty.
H ave the sy stem che cke d by an au thor ized A u­
di d eal er o r aut horiz ed Au di Servi ce Fa cili ty
s o on.
Audi side assist : Unavailable when towing .
Side assist switches off aut omatically whe n a
factory -insta lled trailer h itch is connected to
the el ectrical connector on the trailer. There is
no guara ntee the system will switc h off whe n
usi ng a retrofi tt ed traile r h itch . Do not use
side assis t when towing a tra iler .

Audi drive select Driving settings
Introduction
Aud i drive select makes it possible to experi­
ence different types of vehicle settings in one
veh icle. The driver can select th ree
Comfort,
Auto
and Dynamic modes in the MMI to
switch between a sporty and a comfortable
driving mode.
You can also adjust the setting according to
your preferences in the
individual mode. For
examp le, you can combine settings such as a
sporty engine tuning with light steering.
Descript ion
The vehicle setup in each mode depends on
the vehicle's features. The engine, transmis­
sion, steering, reversible safety belt tension ­
ers and adaptive air suspension are always in­
volved .
Engine and transmission
Depending on the mode, the engine and the
transmission respond more quickly or in a
more balanced manner to accelerator pedal
movements. In the sporty dynamic mode, the
transmission sh ifts at higher RPMs.
Air suspension
The adaptive air suspension/adaptive air sus­
pension sport*
( Air suspension in the MMI) is
an electronically cont rolled air suspension and
damping system. They are adjusted depend­ ing on the selected driving mode, the driver's
steering, braking and acceleration input and
the road s urface, veh icle speed and load. A
sporty setting is generally used in vehicles
with adaptive air suspension sport *.
The vehicle clearance va ries depending on the
selected mode and the speed .
The highway setting is activated automatically
when you drive above 75 mph (120 km/h) for
mo re than 30 seconds in the
auto or dynamic
mode. The g round clearance is increased auto-
Audi drive select 103
matically if the speed drops below 44 mph
(70 km/h) for more than 120 seconds.
Steering
The steering adapts in terms of steering effort
and steering ratios. Indirect steering that
moves easily as in comfort mode is especially
s ui ted to long drives on a highway. In con­
trast, dynamic mode provides sporty, direct
steering.
T he following applies to vehicles with dynamic
steering*: the steering ratio changes based on
vehicle speed in order to maintain optimum
steering effort for the driver at all times. This
sets the steering to be less sens itive at higher
speeds in order to provide improved vehicle
control.
Sport diffe rential*
As a component of the all whee l drive system
(quattro
® ) c> page 191, the Sport differen­
tial* distributes the driving power to the rear
axle depending on the situat ion. The dis tribu­
tion of power varies depending on the select­
ed mode, from balanced (comfort) to agile
(dynamic). The goal is a hig h level of agility
and ability to accelerate on curves. Th e vehi cle
is very responsive to steer ing.
Adaptive cruise control*
The behav ior when accelerating can be adjust
from comfortable to sporty, depending on the
drive select mode. Adaptive cruise control al­
so responds to the driving behavior of the ve­
hicle ahead in a more conserva tive or sporty
manner.
(D Note
- Make sure there is enough clearance
above and below the vehicle when park­
ing . The height of the vehicle can change
once it is parked due to temperature
fluctuations, changes to the load condi­
tions and changes to the driving modes,
w hich can affect clearance.
- When transporting the vehicle on a car
carrier, train, ship or by other means, on-
ly tie the vehicle down at the running
IJJ,,

104 Audi dri ve sele ct
surface o f the tires, which is the outer
circumference. Securing the vehicle at
the axle components, s uspension struts
or towing eyes is not perm itted because
the pressure in the air suspension struts
can change during transport. The veh icle
may not be secured suff ic iently if this
happens .
- If you are go ing to tow a trailer, you
must activate the trailer operat ion mode
¢page 199.
@ Tips
- In some models, the maximum vehicle
speed can only be reached in the
auto
and dynamic modes.
- Selecting the
dynamic mode results in
spo rty sh ifting character istics. The S
gear position engages automati cally.
- In vehicles that have dynamic steering*,
operating noise is heard when starting or
stopp ing the eng ine . Th is does not ind i­
cate a problem.
- In vehicles with sport differential*, the
dynam ic mode is deactivated whe n tow­
i ng a traile r.
Selecting the driving mode
You can choose be tween Comfort, Auto, Dy­
namic and Individual.
Fi g. 106 MM!: D rive se lect
.,. To se lect the mode, select the following in
the MMI :
I CARI function button> Comfort ,
Auto , Dynamic or Indi vidu al.
You can change the driving mode when the ve­
hicle is stationary or while driving . If traffic
permits, after changing modes, briefly take
your foot off the accelerator pedal so that the
recently selected mode is also activated for
the engine.
comfort -provides a comfort-oriented vehicle
setup and is suited for long drives on high­
ways.
auto -provides an overall comfortable yet dy­
nam ic driving feel and is suited for every day
use.
d yna mi c -gives the vehicle a sporty driving
feel and is suited to a sporty driving style .
individual -¢ page 105.
A WARNING
Pay attention to traffic when operating Au­
d i drive select to prevent potential risk of
an accide .nt.

Audi drive select 105
Adjusting the Individual mode
You can adjust the vehicle settings to your personal preferences.
~ Select: ICARlf unct ion button> Set individ·
ual
control button. You can now adjust the
individua l systems.
The
individual d riving mode will automatical­
l y be activated when yo u have fin ished config­
uring the settings.
Systems
Engine
a nd Transmission
Air suspension Steer ing Comfort balanced
comfo
rtable
comfortab le The equ
ipment in your vehicle will determ ine
which sett ings you can adjust. The following
tab le prov ides a n overview of the c haracteris­
tics of eac h driving mode.
Dynamic
ba lanced spo
rty
---.. ,
s porty
ba lanced spo
rty
Dynamic steering*
Sport differential *
Cornering light*
Belt tensioner c o mfo rtable/ind ire c t balanced/dire ct sporty/direc t
spo rty
Adaptive cruise control *
balanced
comfortable
Standard
comfo rtable
Yo ur
individual mode se ttings a re auto ­
mat ica lly store d an d assig ned to t he re­
mote control key bein g use d.
Raising/lowering the
vehicle
Raising the vehicle
You ca n ra ise your veh icle temporarily, for ex­
ample to drive over a tall curb.
~ Se lect the following i n the MMI: I CARI f unc­
t ion button >
Raise control button.
~ Wait for the arrows in the d isplay to stop
blinking and the vehicle to reach its fina l po­
s it io n.
Lowe ring the vehicle
~ T o lower the veh icle, select the fo llow ing in
the MMI: ICARlfunction button>
Lower con­
trol button.
~ Wa it for the arrows in the d isplay to stop
blinking and th e vehicle to lower complete­
ly . ag
ile
balanced
Standard
balanced
(D Note
---.. ,
---.. ,
sporty Deployment t ime
adapt ed
sporty
- Remember that your ve hicle is not sui ta ­
ble fo r dr iv ing offroa d even when it is
raised . There is not enough ground clear­
ance.
- If the vehicle is ra ised, it will lower auto ­
matically when driving 62 mph (100 km/
h) or faster.
Driver messages
Air suspension : vehicle currently too low.
Le vel control running
Air suspension: vehicle currently too high. Level control running
T he dr iver mess age swi tches o ff when the lev­
el con tro l process is comp lete.

106 Night vision assistant
Night vision assistant
Description
Applies to vehicles: with night v isio n ass istant
Fig. 107 Display: n ight vis ion assistant
"Night vis ion assistant with pedestrian detec­
tion" uses an infrared camera to monitor the
area in front of you r vehicle at night. Within
the limits of the system, it can display objects
up to about 1000 feet (300 meters) away. The
heat image of a pedestrian detected by the
camera is shown in the instrument cluster dis­
p lay ¢
fig. 107. Warm areas appear lighter
and cold areas appear darker.
Pedestrian detection
Applies to vehicles: with nig ht v isio n ass istant
Fig. 108 Display: yellow pedestr ian marking
Fig . 109 D isplay: symbol when infrared image is not
visib le
Night vision assistant can detect pedestrians
that are between about 50 and 300 feet (15
and 90 meters) in front of the vehicle, under
ideal conditions.
If a pedestr ian is detected
when it is dark outside and the vehicle head­
lights are switched on, the pedestrian is high­
lighted in yellow¢
fig. 108, ¢ page 107,
General information. If another display such
as navigation replaces the image from the
night vision assistant, the symbol
~11 appea rs
in a tab
¢fig . 109.
(D Tips
If the night vision assistant image does
not appear when the system is switched
on, you can access it with the buttons on
the multifunction steering wheel
¢pa ge 24.
Pedestrian warning
Applies to vehicles: wit h night vision assistant
Fig. 110 D isp lay: pedestrian warning
Fig . 111 D isp lay: pedestr ian warning w ith another dis­
play
If a pedestr ian is detected in an area in fron t
of the vehicle that the system considers criti­
ca l, the pedestrian is highlighted in red
¢fig . 110 and a warning tone sounds. This
area is based on the vehicle speed and

steering angle. The pedestrian warning prompts you to pay even closer attention to
the area in front of the vehicle and to watch
out for pedestrians.
I f another display such as the trip comp uter
replaces the image from the night vision as­
sistant, the indicator light turns red when
there is a pedestrian warn ing
I Q fig. 111.
@ Tips
The pedestrian marking and warning tone can be adjusted in the MMI
¢ page 108.
General information
Applies to vehicles: with night vision assistant
N 0
8 :i:
~
Fig. 112 Front of the vehicle: night vision assistant
camera
The following situations may affect the func­
tion of the night vision assistant system:
- poor v is ibility such as snow, rain, fog or
heavy road spray
- dirty lens on the night vision assistant cam- era
Make sure the n ight v ision assistant camera
i::> fig. 112 is not cove red by stickers, deposits
or any other obstruct ions because that can
prevent the camera from working properly.
F or information on cleaning the lens, refer to
¢page 205.
P edestrian detection depends on the differ­
ence in temperat ure between the person and
the background. Pedestrians may not be de­
tected if the temperature difference is too
small. The pedestrian highlighting feature is
deactivated at temperatures above 77 °F (25
0
() and when it is light outside.
N ig ht visi on ass is ta n t 107
A WARNING
Night vision ass istant has limits and can­
not always detect pedestr ians . Always pay
close attention to traffic and the area
around your vehicle even when night vision
assistant is sw itched on.
- Night vision assistant can only warn
about people located within the visual
range of the infrared camera. The vis ual
range corresponds to the image in t he in ­
strument cluster display.
- Night vision assistant may not detect
peop le and highlight them if
- they are not in an upright posit ion, for
example if they are sitt ing, crouching
or lying down and/or
- if the outline in the display is incom­
plete or interrupted, for example be­
cause the person is part ially hidden by
a parked vehicle .
@ Tips
- Pedestrian detection and the pedestrian
warm ing a re limited to objects that are
detected as pedestrians. The system
does not detect an imals. Even though
the shape and warmth radiated by each
object detected is evaluated, the system
does have limitat ions and it can give in­
correct warnings .
- For technical reasons, the image pauses
in split second intervals.
Switching on and off
Applies to vehicles: with night vision assistant
F ig. 113 Area around the light switch: night v is ion as-
s ista nt button .,.

108 Night vision assistant
• Switch the ignition on and turn the light
sw itch to the
AUTO position or tD .
• To sw itch night vision ass istant on, press
the~ ,, button
c> fig. 113 . The image from
the night vision camera appea rs in the in­
strument cluster display .
• Press the button~ -, aga in to switc h night vi­
s ion assistant off .
Settings in the MMI
Applies to vehicles: with night vision assistant
Fig. 114 Displa y: examp le of pede strian detect ion and
warn ing tone switc hed off
• Select : I CARI funct ion button > Car systems
control button > Driver assist > Night vision
assist.
Highlight pedestrians -
You can switch pedes­
tr ian detection
on and off . If yo u sw itch pe­
destrian detection off, the pedestr ian war ning
tone also switches off. The symbols
II and~
appear in the upper right area of the instru­
ment cluster display
c> fig. 114.
Warning tone -You can switch the tone for
the pedestrian warning
on and off. When the
warn ing tone is switched off, a yellow symbol
for the deactivated wa rning tone with a line
through it appears in the upper right of the in­
strument cluster display
c> fig. 114 .
Contrast -When the night vis ion assistant is
switched on and the image is visible in the in­
strument cluster display, you can adjust the
contrast in the image from
Min to Max.
Driver messages
Appl ies to vehicles: with night vision assistant
Night vision assistant: system malfunction!
The system cannot work properly and is
switched off. See your authorized Audi dealer
for assistance .
Night vision assistant: not available
The system cannot detect properly under cur­
rent cond itions and is switched off tempora ri­
ly.
Night vision assistant: only available in dark­
ness and with lights switched on
Night vision assistant only works when it is
dark outside and the headlights are on .
Night vision assistant: pedestrian detection
not available
The system has deactivated the pedestrian de­
tection function.