transmission AUDI A8 2014 Owners Manual

2 Table of contents Vehicle literature .. .. .. .. .. ... .
5
About this Owner's Manual . . . 6
Controls and equipment .. ... .
Ins truments and controls .. . .
General illustration ......... .. ... .
Instruments and warning /
indicator lights ........ .. .. .. . .
Instruments ............ ... .. ... .
Warning/indicator lights .......... .
Driver information display .. .. .. ... .
On-Board Diagnostic system (OBD) . . .
Opening and closing .. .. .... . .
Keys .. ...... ........... .. .. ... .
Power locking system ..... .. .. .. . .
Luggage compartment lid .. .. .. .. . .
Child safety lock . .......... ... .. . .
Power windows . .......... ... .. . .
Valet park ing . ........... .. .. ... .
Sliding/tilting sun roof ... .. .. .. .. . .
Panoramic sunroof ........ .. .. ... .
Clear vision .. ........ .. .. .. .. . .
Lights . .. .. ............. .. .. .. . .
I nterior lights .............. .. ... .
V1s1on ..... ... .... ......... .... .
Wiper and washer system ... ... .. . .
Mirrors ................. .. .. ... .
Digital compass .......... .... ... .
Seats and storage ....... .. .. . .
General recommendations ..... .. . .
Front seats ... ........... .... ... .
Rear seats .. ... .... ...... .. .. .. . .
H ead restraints .............. .. . .
Seat memory . ... ..... ... .. .. .. . .
Full-length center console .... .. ... .
L uggage compartment .. .. .. .. ... .
Pass-through with ski sack ........ .
Roof rack ....... ......... ... ... .
12-vo lt sockets ........ ... .. .. ... .
Storage .. .. .. . .......... .. .. ... .
Cooler ... .. .................... . 8
8
8
1 0
10
11
24
29
3 1
31
33
37
4 1
41
42
43
44
4 6
46
so
51
53
55
56
58
58
59
61
65
66
68 70
71
72
74
75
76
Warm and cold .......... ..... .
Climate controls . ............. ... .
79
79
On the road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Starting and stopping the engine . . . . 84
E lectromechanical parking brake . . . . 86
Start-Stop-System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Speed warning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Cruise control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Audi adaptive cruise control
and braking guard . . . . . . . . . . . .
94
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Genera l information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Audi adaptive cruise control . . . . . . . . 96
Audi braking gua rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Audi lane assis t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Lane assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Audi side assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Lane Change Assistant. . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Audi drive select . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Driving settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Raising/lowering the vehicle..... .. . 112
Driver messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Night vision assistant . . . . . . . . . 113
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Pedestrian detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Pedestrian warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Switching on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Settings in the MMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
D river messages .. ................ 115
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 116
t iptron ic (8-speed transmission) . . . . . 116
Parking systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Advanced parking system with rear
view came ra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Peripheral cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

14 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
•
a
Ad Bluel;>
Ad Blue../'
Aud i lane assist*
¢ page 103
Transmission ¢page 120
Transmission ¢ page 120
Electronic steering column lock
¢ page 17
Engine start system
¢ page 18
Central indicator light
¢page 18
Dynamic steering*./
¢ page 22
Air suspension* ¢ page 18
Sport differentia l*
¢ page 23
Re fill Ad Blue*
¢ page
227
AdBlue malfunction*
¢page
227
Other indicator lights
CRUISE
•
Iii
•
I
•
Turn s ignals
¢ page 23
USA models: Cruise control*
¢ page 91
Canada models : Cruise control*
¢ page 91
Adaptive cru ise control*
¢ page96
Adaptive cru ise control*
c:> page96
Adaptive cru ise contro l*
c:>page96
Audi lane assist* ¢ page 103
•
•
Start-Stop-System*
¢ page88
Start-Stop-System*
¢page88 High beam
¢ page48
BRAKE /((f) ) Brake system
The light illuminates when the ignition is
switched on .
It goes out afte r the engine has
been started . This indicates that the brake
warning light is functioning properly.
If the brake warning light does not light up
when the engine is cranking, there may be a
malfunction in the electrical system . In this
case, contact your Audi dealer.
If the brake system warn ing/indicator light
turns on, there is a brake system ma lfunction.
1111 ( USA models) /. (Canada models)
Stop vehicle and check brake fluid level
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, proceed as follows:
.. Pull off the road.
.. Stop the vehicle .
.. Turn off the engine .
.. Check the brake fluid level
c::> page 242.
.,. Contact your nearest authorized repair fa-
cility if necessary.
Warning! Fault in brake system. Contact
dealer
If the ABS ind icator light (I] (USA mode ls)/
(I] (Canada models), the ESC ind icator light
Ji! and the brake system indicator light
1111 (USA models)/ . (Canada models) turn
o n and the message appears, the ABS, ESC
and braking distr ibution are not working ¢_& .
Carefully drive to your author ized Audi dealer
immediately to have the malfunct ion correct-
ed ¢_& . .,.

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 23
Drive s low ly to your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected .
,'I'M Dynamic steering: initializing
If thi s driver message appears and the indica­
tor light is flashing on the inst rument panel ,
dynamic steering is being reiniti alized . Once
you sta rt the engine after this is finished, the
steering whee l wi ll be easy to move . Re-initi­
alization might be necessary if the steering
wheel was moved hard to the left and r ight
while the veh icle was not moving. The displ ay
goes out as soon as initialization is complete .
A WARNING
-
Have the dynamic steering system mal ­
function repaired as soon as poss ible by an
authorized Audi dealer or any qualified
workshop - risk of accident!
@ Tips
-The dynamic steering stability systems
are not available in the event of a system
malfunction.
- For additional informat ion on dynamic
steering, refer to
¢page 110.
I-: Sport differential
Ill Sport differential: system fault
There is a malfunct ion with the sport differen ­
tial.
Drive to your authori zed Aud i dea ler immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
Ill Sport differential: overheating
The transmission temperature has incre ased
sign ificantly due to the sporty driving manner.
Dr ive in a less sporty manner until the tem­
pe rat ure returns to the normal range and the
indicator light switches of.
A WARNING
Contact your authorized Audi dealer or a
qualif ied workshop if the sport different ial
is faulty or malfunctioning . The repa ir
-
must be performed by trained personnel
using the correct oil in order to ensure
safety.
¢¢ Turn signals
The indicator light blinks when you use either
turn signal.
Whenever you use the left II or the r ight II
turn signal, the indicator light blinks. When
you use the emergency f lashers, both indica­
tor lights flash .
If one of the turn signa l light bulbs burn out,
the turn signal wi ll blink twice as fast as nor­
mal. Carefu lly drive to your authorized Audi
dealer immed iate ly to have the malfunction
corrected. The indicator light does not indi­
cate a malfunction if a turn signal on the tra il­
er or on the vehicle fails in trailer tow ing
mode .
(D Tips
For more information on the turn s ignals,
refer to¢
page 48.

Stee ring lock
The stee ring locks when you t urn the engine
off us ing the
I S TAR T ENGINE STOP! button
and open the driver 's door . The locked steer­
i ng he lps pr event ve hicle theft.
E mergenc y off
If necessary , the eng ine can be sw itched off
with the selector leve r in the R, Dor S pos i­
tions . The engine stops i f you press the
I S TART ENGINE STOP! button at speeds below
6 mph (10 km/h) .
.&_ WARNING
- Never turn off the eng ine before the ve­
hicle has come to a complete stop. The
full function of the brake booster and the power steering is not quaranteed. You
must use mo re force to turn or brake if
necessary. Because you cannot steer and
brake as you usua lly would, this could
lead to crashes and serious injur ies.
- For safety reasons, you shou ld always
par k your vehicle with the se lector lever
in P. Otherwise, the veh icle co uld inad ­
vertent ly roll away .
- After the engine has been switched off,
the radiator fan can continue to r un for
up to 10 mi nutes -even with the ignition
switched off.
It can a lso switch on aga in
after some time if the coolant tempera­
ture rises as the result of a heat buildup
or if the engine is hot and the engine
compartment is addit ionally heated by
the sun's rays .
0 Note
Do not stop the engine immed iate ly after
hard or extended dr iving . Keep the engine
r u nning for approximately two minutes to
prevent excessive heat build-up.
Driver message in the instrument
cluster display
Turn off ignition before leaving car
On th e ro ad 85
This message appears and a warning tone
sounds if you open the driver's door when the
ignition is sw itched on.
Pre ss brak e pedal t o sta rt engine
This message appears if yo u press the
I STAR T ENG IN E S TOP I button to start the en­
gine and do not dep ress the br ake pedal. The
engine can only be s tarte d if the brake pedal
is depressed.
I!! I s key in th e vehi cle?
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the remote control key was re­
moved from the vehicle whi le the engine was
run ning . If the ignition key is not in the veh i­
cl e you will not be able to swi tch on the igni­
tion or res tart the engine after i t has been
switched off. You will a lso not be able to lock
the ve hicle from the outsid e.
Shift to P, oth erwi se v ehicle can roll aw ay.
Do ors d o n ot lo ck if lever is not in P .
This dr iver message appears for safety rea­
sons if the transmission has not bee n shifted
to the P position when you switc h the ign ition
off . Move the selec to r l ever to the P posi tion .
Otherwise the vehicle is not protected from
ro lling and cannot be locked.
fl Key is not r ecognized. Hold back of key
again st marked area . See ow ner' s m anu al.
If the indicato r light turns on and this mes­
sage appea rs, there is a malfunct ion
~ page 86.
Turn off ign ition before lea ving ca r. Battery
is d is c harging
This message appears if the driver's door is
opened wh ile the ignition is switched on . Al­
ways switch off the ign it ion if you a re leav ing
the ve hicle . See also
Q page 90 .
Shift to P and turn off ignition before lea v­
ing car, otherwi se v ehicle can roll away
T his messag e app ears if the driver's door is
opened wh ile the ignition is switched on and
the selector lever is not in the P posit ion. Shift
the selecto r lever into the P pos ition and .,..

110 Audi drive select
Audi drive select
Driving settings
Introduction
Aud i d rive select mak es it possible to expe ri­
ence diffe ren t types of vehi cle se ttin gs i n o ne
ve hicl e. The dr ive r can se lect th ree
Comfort ,
Auto
and Dynamic modes in the M MI to
switch between a sporty and a comforta ble
driving mo de.
You c an a lso a djust the setti ng according to
your p re ferences in the
individual mo de. For
examp le, you ca n combine settings such as a
sporty en gine t uning with comfortab le steer­
ing.
A WARNING
Improper use of the A udi drive select can
cause collisions, ot her acc idents and se ri­
ous pe rsonal injury.
Description
The vehicle setup in each mode depends on
the veh icl e's featu res. The engine, t ransm is­
sion, stee ring, reve rsible sa fe ty belt tension­
e rs a nd adap tive air su spension are alw ays in­
volved.
Engine and transmission
Depending on the mode, the e ng ine and the
tra nsmission respond quic ker or i n a more bal­
an ced manne r to acce le rator pedal move­
men ts. In the sporty dyn ami c mode, the
tra nsmission sh ifts at highe r RP Ms.
Air suspension
The adaptive air suspens ion/adaptive air sus­
pe nsion spor t*
(Air suspension in the MM I) is
an elec tronic ally con trolled air suspensio n and
da mpi ng sys tem. They are adjus ted depend­
ing on the se lected driving mode, the drive r's
steering, braking and acceleration input and
the road s urface, ve hicle speed and load. A
sporty setting is generally used i n ve hicles
with adaptive air suspension sport*. T
he vehicle clea rance varies depending on the
se lected mo de an d the speed .
T he highw ay setting is activate d automatically
whe n you dr ive above 7 5 mph (120 km/ h) for
more than
3 0 seconds in the auto or dynamic
mode. The gro und clea rance is increased a uto ­
matically if the speed drops below
44 mph
(70 km/h) for more than 120 seconds.
Steering
T he s teering adap ts i n t erms of s teer ing effor t
and stee ring ratios . Indirect stee ring that
moves easily, like the steer ing in comfo rt
mode, is best suited to long drives on a high­
way. In contrast, dynamic mode provides
sporty, direct steer ing .
The following app lies to vehi cles with dynamic
stee ring* : the steer ing rat io changes based on
vehicle speed in order to ma inta in optimum
steering effort for the drive r at all times. This
sets the stee ring to be less sens itive at h igher
s p eeds in order to provide improved vehicl e
control. At r educed speeds, howeve r, steer ing
is mo re dir ect i n order to keep the stee ring ef­
f o rt as minima l as po ssible when the drive r is
mane uveri ng the veh icle. At low and average
speeds, dynamic steering ad dit iona lly pro ­
vides more responsive steering pe rformance .
Sport differential*
As a compone nt o f the all whee l dr ive system
(quat tro)
r:!> page 204, the Spor t differen tia l*
dis tributes t he d riving power to the rear ax le
depen ding on the sit uat io n. The distrib ution
of power var ies depending on the se lected
mode, from ba lanced (comfort) to agile (dy­
nam ic). The goal is a high level of agility and
ability to accelerate on curves . The vehicle is
very res pons ive to stee ring .
Curve light*
The curve light adapts to driving on curves.
The pivoting act ion and the lighting are also
adapted to the mode.
Adaptive cruise control*
T he be hav ior when ac celera ting can be adjust­
ed from comforta ble to sporty, de pending on ..,.

112 Audi drive select
Adjusting the Individual mode
You can adjust the vehicle settings to your personal preferences .
• Se lect : I CAR ! function button > Set individu­
al
control button. You can now adjust the in­
dividual systems.
The
individual driving mode will automatical­
ly be activated when you have finished config­
uring the settings .
Systems Comfort
Engine
and Transmission balanced
Air suspension comfortable
Steering comfortable The equipment
in your vehicle will determine
which settings you can adjust. The following
table provides an overview of the characteris­
tics of each driving mode.
Auto Dynamic
balanced sporty
balanced sporty
balanced sporty
Dynamic steering* comfortable/indirect balanced/direct sporty/direct
Sport differential * balanced agile sporty
Curve light* comfortable balanced sporty
Belt
tensioner Standard Standard Deployment time
adapted
Adaptive cruise control* comfortable
balanced sporty
Engine
sound* subtle subtle/sportya> sporty
a) Subt le in th e d riv ing posi tion D an d sp or ty in the driving pos itio n S
(D Tips
Your individual mode settings are auto­
matically stored and assigned to the re­
mote control key being used.
Raising/lowering the
vehicle
Raising the vehicle
You can raise your vehicle temporarily, for ex­
ample to drive over a tall curb .
• Se lect the following in the MMI:
I CAR I func­
tion button
> Raise control button.
• Wait for the arrows in the display to stop
blinking and the vehicle to reach its final po­
sition .
Lowering the vehicle
• To lower the veh icle, select the following in
the MMI:
ICARI function button > Lower con­
tro l button. •
Wait for the arrows in the display to stop
blinking and the vehicle to lower comp lete­
ly.
0 Note
- Remember that your vehicle is not suita­
ble for driv in g offroad even when it is
raised. There is not enough ground clear­
ance.
- If the vehicle is raised, it will lower auto­
matically when driving 62 mph (100 km/
h) or faster .
Driver messages
Air suspension: vehicle currently too low.
Level control running
Air suspension: vehicle currently too high.
Level control running
The driver message switches off when the lev­
el control process is complete .

116 Automatic Transmission
Automatic
Transmission
tiptronic (8-speed
transmission)
Introduction
Your vehicle is equipped with an electronically controlled 8-speed automatic transmission .
Upshifting and downshifting occurs automati­
cally and is controlled electronically. The driv­
ing style continuously influences the selection
of the driving program .
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
transmission selects the most economical
driving mode. It will then change up early and
delay the downsh ifts to give better fuel econ­
omy .
The transmission switches to a sporty mode
after a kick-down or when the driver uses a
sporty driving style characterized by quick ac­
celerator pedal movements, heavy accelera­
tion, frequent changes in speed and traveling at the maximum speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (ti ptronic mode)¢ page 119 .
Indicator in the display
Fig. 122 Display: selector lever posit io n
@ -The current selector lever position is dis­
played continuously. The gear is also dis­
played in manual mode M.
@ -This indicator appears temporarily if you
change the selector lever position or if you
press the button on the selector lever
¢ page 116, fig. 123 . The current selector
lever position is shown with a white back­
ground.
Selecting a selector lever position
Fig. 123 Selector lever
---p--- ---1
--- R--- --1
--- N--- --t
-D/S--
Fig. 124 Pressing the button o n the selector leve r
The current selector lever position is displayed
on the selector lever¢
fig. 123.
.. You may need to release the se lector lever
lock depending on which selector lever posi­
tion is selected and which one you would
like to select¢
page 117, Selector lever
lock .
.. To engage the nearest selector lever posi­
tion, move the selector lever forward/back
until you fee l the first pressure point. The
selector lever will return to its original posi­
tion .
.. 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
original position.
For example, to move directly from the D se­
lector lever position to P when stopping the
vehicle, you can shift past the N and R selector lever positions. .,,_

Selector lever lock
The selector lever lock prevents you from se­l ecting a position unintentionally, causing the
vehicle to roll. When engaging some selector lever positions, you must press the button on
the selector lever
c:> fig. 123 and/or press the
brake pedal.
You must press the brake pedal to engage a
selector lever position when the engine is run­
ning while the vehicle is stationary. The ar­
rows
c:> fig. 124 indicate when you need to
press the button on the selector lever.
The selector lever does not lock if you shift
from D to R within one second. This allows
you to "rock" the vehicle to free it when it is
stuck.
P- Park
The whee ls are locked in this position. Only
shift into park when the vehicle is stationary
c:> &. To engage the P se lector lever position,
press the button on the selector lever and
shift into the P position .
You can only shift out of park when the engine
is running and you are pressing the brake ped­
al. Press the button on the selector lever to
release the parking lock and select the desired
selector lever pos ition .
P engages automatically when you switch the
engine off while D, Sor R is engaged or in
manual mode .
If you switch the engine off when N is engag ­
ed, the transmission remains in N for approxi­
mately 30 minutes and then Pis engaged.
You must use the emergency release proce­
dure to release the parking lock before towing
the vehicle
c:> page 121.
R - Reverse
The reverse gear is engaged in this position .
Only select reverse when the vehicle is sta ­
tionary and the engine is running at idle speed
c:> &. To engage the R selector lever position,
press the button on the selector lever, press
Automatic Transmission 11 7
the brake peda l and move the selector lever
into the R position.
T he back-up lights turn on when you select
the R selector lever position wh ile the engine
is running .
N -Neutral
The transmission is in idle in this pos it ion . To
engage the N selector lever posit ion, press
the button on the selector lever and shift into
the N position.
If you switch the engine off when N is engag­
ed, the transmission remains in N for approxi­
mately 30 minutes and then Pis engaged.
You cannot select the N position when the ig­
nition is switched off. When driv ing through
an automat ic car wash, first select the N posi ­
tion and then switch the engine off
c:> table on
page 218.
The veh icle cannot be locked when the selec­
tor lever is in the N position.
D/S - Posit ion for driv ing forward
In the D/S position, the transmission can be
operated either in the normal mode D or in
the sport mode S . You can only select the S se­
lector lever position when Dis engaged. Move
the selector lever back to engage the S selec­
tor lever position. To select the D selector lev­
er position again when Sis engaged, move the
selector lever back
c:> .&. . To shift from N to D
when traveling at speeds below 1 mph (2km/
h), press the brake peda l and select the D se­
lector lever position
c:> .&. .
In the normal mode D, the transmission auto ­
matically selects the suitable gear ratio.
It de­
pends on engine load, vehicle speed and driv­
ing style.
Se lect the
sport mode S for sporty driving.
The vehicle makes f ull use of the engine's
power. Shift ing may become noticeab le when
accelerat ing.
The S selector lever position engages auto­
matically when you select the dynamic mode
in Audi drive select.

118 Automatic Transm iss ion
& WARNING
-Never e ngag e R or P w hile driving. It
could cause a crash .
-
-Power is sti ll t ransmitted to the whee ls
when the engine is r unning at idle . To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake in all
selector lever positions except P and N
when the eng ine is running. Do not inad­
vertent ly press the accelerator pedal
when the veh icle is stationary . Otherwise
the vehicle will s tart to move immediate­
ly. This cou ld h appen even if the parking
brake is activa ted .
- Be fore opening the hood, select the P se­
le ctor lever position and set the par king
brake. This red uces the risk of a crash. Al­
ways read and follow the applicable
wa rnings
<=)page 231.
-Never get out of the driver's seat when
the engine is running.
- If you mus t get out of the vehicle, move
the se lector lever securely into the P po ­
sit ion an d apply the park ing brake .
(D Tips
-If you u nin ten tio nally shift into the N se­
l ector lever posi tion while dr iv ing, ta ke
your foot off the acce lerator pedal and
wait for the e ngine to slow down until it
i s idling before you shift into Dor S.
Driving tips
The gears shi~ automatically .
Starting from a stop
"" Press and ho ld the brake pedal.
"" Sta rt the eng ine
c:> page 8 4.
"" Press the but ton on the se lector lever and
select the D, S or R selecto r leve r pos it ion
c:> page 116 .
""Wait a moment until the transmission
shifts. You w ill not ice a slight movement
when the gear engages .
"" Re lease the brake pedal and press the accel­
erator pedal¢ ,& .
Stopping temporarily
""Press the brake pedal to s top the ve hicle, for
examp le a t a traffic light . Do not press the
accelerato r peda l when doing this.
"" To prevent the vehicle from ro lling when yo u
start dr iving, set the parking brake when
stopping on large incl ines
c:> ,& .
"" The parking brake will release automat ica lly
and the vehicle will start mov ing once you
press the acce lerator pedal.
Parking
If the se lector lever is not in the P position
whe n you open the driver's door, the ve hicle
could roll. The message
Transmission: Car
may roll! Shift to park!
appears .
"" Press and hold the brake pedal¢ ,& .
"" Set the park ing brake.
"" To engage the P se lector lever position,
press the button on the selector leve r and
shift into the P posit ion
c:> page 116 .
Under certa in conditions suc h as dr iv ing in the
mountains or when towing a trailer, it may be
helpful to switch to manual mode tempo rari ly
to shift
manually to adapt to the driving con­
di tions
c:> page 119.
On slopes, activate the parki ng bra ke first and
then move the selecto r leve r to the P position .
T his prevents too much st ress from be ing
pla ced o n the locking mec hanism.
& WARNING
R ead an d fol low all WAR NING S ¢.&. in Se­
lecting a selector lever position on
page 118.
- The vehicle can also roll when the engine
is stopped.
- Do not press t he acceler ator pe dal when
chan ging the se lector leve r posi tion
while the veh icle is stationary and t he
engine is running . This cou ld result in a
crash.
- Never engage R o r P while driving .
It
could cause a crash.
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is runn ing at idle. To
IJJ,,

prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake in all
selector lever positions except P and N
when the eng ine is running . Do not inad­
vertently press the accelerator pedal
when the veh icle is stationary . Otherwise
the vehi cle will s tart to move immediate­
ly, even if the park ing brake is set. This
cou ld result in a crash.
- Do not ride the brakes or p ress the brake
peda l too often or too long when dr iv ing
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substant ially re­
duces b raking performance, increases
braking distance or ca uses comp lete fail­
ure of the brake system.
Hill descent control
The hill descent control system assists the
driver when driving down declines.
H ill descent control is activated when these­
lector lever is in D/S and you press the brake
pedal. The transmission automatically se lects
a gear that is suitab le for the incline . Hill de­
scent control tries to maintain the speed ach­ ieved at the time of brak ing, within physical
a nd techn ical limitations.
It may st ill be nec­
essary to adjust the speed with the brakes.
H ill descent control switches off once the de­
cline levels out or you press the accelerator
pedal.
Hill descent control is also activated when the
speed is set by starting the cru ise contro l sys­
tem
r:::;, page 91.
A WARNING
H ill descent control can not overcome
phys ical limitations, so it may not be able
to main tain a constant speed under a ll
condi tions. Always be re ady to app ly the
br akes.
Automatic Tra nsmi ssi on 119
Shifting manually
The shift paddles allow the driver to shift the
gears manually .
Fig . 12 5 Steer ing w hee l: s hifting manually
.,.. To shift to a h igher or lowe r gear tempo rari­
ly, tap the
0 or 0 shift paddler:::;, fig. 125 .
.. To switch manua l mode on, press the~
button . An Mand the gear that is currently
engaged appear in the inst rument cluster
disp lay @ ¢
page 116, fig. 122.
.. To shift up one gear, tap the righ t shift pad­
dle
0 r:::;, fig . 125 .
.. To sh ift down one gear, tap the left shift
paddle Q.
.. To switc h manua l mode off, press the~
button aga in, or
.. Move the selector lever back and release it .
T he transm iss ion automatically sh ifts up or
down before cr itical engine speed is reached.
The transm iss ion only allows manual sh ifting
whe n the eng ine speed is w ith in the pe rmit­
ted range .
The eng ine braking effect increases when you
downshift when going downhill .
Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration .
When you press the accelerator pedal down
beyond the resistance point, the automatic
transmission downsh ifts into a lower gear, de­
pending on veh icle speed and eng ine RPM .
It
shifts up into the next higher gear once the
maximum specified engine RPM is reached . ..,.