ground clearance AUDI A8 2017 Owners Manual

Cockpit over view
& WARNING
Do not tow your veh icle when there is a mal­
function in the electronic steering lock -this
increases the risk of an accide nt.
© -Engine start system
• Engine start sy ste m fault . Plea se contact
dealer
Do not switch the ignit io n off because you may
not be able to switch it o n aga in .
Drive to an authorized Aud i dea ler or a uthorized
Aud i Serv ice Facility immediately to have the
malfunct io n corrected.
1111 Engine start system fault. Please contact
dealer
There is a mal func tion in the eng ine start ing sys­
tem .
D rive to an a uth o riz e d Aud i de aler or a uth o rized
Au di Serv ice Facility immedi ately to have t he
malfunct ion corre cted .
~ Air suspension
• Air su spension : System fault Driving slowly
at ma ximum 35 mph is possible.
There is a malfunction that can resul t in restrict ­
ed d riving stability .
D rive to an a uth o rized Au di dea le r or a uthorize d
Aud i Serv ice Facility immedi ately at a ma xim um
speed of 3S mph (6 0 km/ h) to have the m alfu nc ­
tion corrected.
• Air suspen sion : Service mode. Vehicle can
onl y be moved with restriction s
Carefully drive to your author ized A udi dealer or
author ized Audi Se rvice Facility immed iate ly to
have the serv ice mode deactivated.
rl Air su spension : System fault
There is a system malfunct ion that can result in
restricted d riving stability or reduced gro und
clearance.
22
Drive to an au thori zed A udi dealer or authori zed
Audi Se rvice Facility immediate ly to have the
malfunction cor rected.
rl Air suspension : Vehicle i s too low. Ground
clearance limited
The gro und clea rance is very low due to a system
malfunction . Wai t unti l th e air su sp ension sys ­
tem has restored normal g ro und clear ance. Oth­
erwise, conditions s uch as an uneven road surface
can lead to ve hicle damage.
. ;;.l u Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC)
If the G) ind icator light blinks while driving, the
ESC or ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation) is act ively regu­
l ating.
If the
G) indicator light turns on, the system has
switched the ESC off. In th is case, you can switch
the ignit ion off and then on to switch the ESC on
again. The i ndicator light tu rns off when the sys­
tem is functioning fully .
If the
II ind icator light turns on, the ESC was
switched off using the
lli] b utton o page 126.
Stabilization cont rol (ESC/ABS) : malfunction!
See owner's manual
I f the If.) ind ic a tor light and t he A BS indica to r
li gh t~ (U SA mode ls)
I [IJ (Canada models)
turn o n an d this message appears, there is a mal­
functio n in the ABS system or electro nic differen­
tia l lock. This also causes the ESC to malfunction.
The brakes still function with their normal power, but ABS is not active .
Drive to an authorized A udi dealer or authorized
Audi Se rvice Fac ility immediate ly to have the
malfunction corrected .
& WARNING
If the ... (USA models) • (Canada mod ­
e ls) bra ke system indicator light turns on to­
ge the r with the ABS and ESC in dicator ligh ts,
the ABS a nd ESC r egulating fu nction may
ha ve malfunc tioned. Fu n ct io ns t hat stab ilize
t he vehicle are no l onger av aila ble. This co uld
cause t he vehicle to swerve, which increases

Assist
Audi adaptive cruise
control
Description
Applies to: vehicles with Audi adapt ive cruise control
F ig. 103 Detection range
The adaptive cruise control system is a combina­
tion of speed and distance regulation. It assists
the driver by both regulating the speed and
maintaining a distance to the vehicle driving
ahead, within the limits of the system .
If the sys­
tem detects and object ahead, adaptive cruise
control can brake and acce lerate your vehicle.
This makes driving more comfortable both on long stretches of highway and in stop-and-go
traffic .
What can adaptive cruise control do?
The adaptive cruise control system uses video, ra­
dar and ultrasound . Objects driving ahead can be
recognized up to 650 feet (200 m) away.
On open roads with no traffic, it functions like a
cruise control system . The stored speed is main­
tained. When approaching an object ahead, the
adaptive cruise control system automatically
brakes to match that object's speed and then
maintains the stored distance . As soon as the
system does not detect an object ahead, adaptive
cruise control accelerates up to the stored speed .
In stop-and -go traffic, adaptive cruise control can
brake until the vehicle is stat ionary and then be·
gin driving again under certain conditions
¢page 97.
Audi braking guard can warn you about an im ­
pending collision and initiate braking maneuvers
¢ page 99.
94
Which functions can be controlled?
When yo u switch adaptive cruise control on, you
can set the current speed as the "contro l speed"
¢ page 96, Switching on/off.
When driving, you can stop cruise control
¢page 98 or change the speed ¢page 97 at
any time.
You can also set the distance to the object mov­
i ng ahead and set the driving mode of the adap­
tive cruise control¢
page 98.
General information
Applies to: vehicles with Audi adaptive cruise control
Fig. 104 Front of the vehicle: sensors and video came ra
The areas that contain the radar and ultrasonic
sensors and the video camera ¢
fig. 104 must
not be covered by stickers, deposits o r other ob­
jects because they can interfere with the function
of the adaptive cruise control system and braking guard . For information on clean ing, refer to
¢
page 306. The same applies for any modifica­
tions made in the front area.
The function of the adaptive cruise control sys­
tem and braking guard is limited under some
conditions.
- Objects can only be detected when they are
with in the sensor range
¢page 94, fig. 103.
-The system has a limited ability to detect ob­
jects that are a sho rt distance ahead, off to the
side of your vehicle or moving into your lane.
- Objects that are difficult to detect such as mo­
torcycles, vehicles with high ground clearance
or an overhanging load are detected late or not
detected at all.
- When driving through curves ¢
page 95. ll>

0 co .... N ,..... N .... 0 0 :c ' depends on the driving mode selected, steering
movements, the driver's braking and accelera­
tion, and as the road surface, vehicle speed and load. A sporty setting is generally used in vehicles
with adaptive air suspension sport*.
The vehicle ground clearance depends on the
mode selected and the speed. When you are in
the auto or dynamic mode, the highway setting is
activated when you drive above 75 mph (120 km/
h) for more than 30 seconds. The ground clear­
ance is increased automatically if the speed
drops below 44 mph (70 km/h) for more than 120 seconds .
Steering
The power steering adapts. Indirect steering that
moves easily as in comfort mode is especially
suited to long drives on a highway. The dynamic
mode provides sporty, direct steering .
Applies to: vehicles with dynamic steering
The steering ratio changes based on vehicle
speed in order to maintain optimum steering ef ­
fort for the driver at all times . This sets the steer­
ing to be less sensitive at higher speeds in order
to provide improved vehicle control. At reduced
speeds, steering is more direct in order to keep
the steering effort as minimal as possible when
the driver is maneuvering the vehicle. At low and
average speeds, dynamic steering* additionally
provides more responsive steering performance.
Sport differential*
As a component of the all wheel drive system
(quattro)
~ page 130, the sport differential dis­
tributes the driving power to the rear axle de­
pending on the situation. The distribution of
power varies from balanced (comfort) to sporty
(dynamic) depending on the selected mode. The
goal is a high level of agility and ability to accel ­
erate on curves. The vehicle is very responsive to
steering .
Cornering light*
The cornering light adapts the high beams to the
direction of the curve depending on the speed.
The pivoting action and the lighting also adapt to
the mode .
Assist
Adaptive cruise control*
The behavior when accelerating can be adjusted
from comfortable to sporty, depending on the
drive select mode. Adaptive cruise control also
responds to the driving behavior of the vehicle
ahead in a more conservative or sporty manner.
Engine sound*
The engine sound adapts to the current mode
and can be subtle to sporty.
(D Note
- Make sure there is enough clearance above
and below the vehicle when parking. The
height of the vehicle can change once it is
parked due to temperature fluctuations,
changes to the load conditions and changes
to the driving modes, which can affect clear­
ance.
- When transporting the vehicle on a car car­
rier, train, ship or by other means, only tie
the vehicle down at the running surface of
the tires, which is the outer circumference.
Securing the vehicle at the axle compo­
nents, suspension struts or towing eyes is
not permitted because the pressure in the
air suspension struts can change during
transport. The vehicle may not be secured
sufficiently if this happens.
@ Tips
- In some models, the maximum vehicle
speed can only be reached in the auto and
dynamic modes.
- The S selector lever position automatically
engages if the dynamic mode is selected.
- In vehicles that have dynamic steering*, op­
erating noise is heard when starting or stop­
ping the engine. This does not indicate a
problem.
111

0 co .... N ,..... N .... 0 0 :c ' Lowering the vehicle
"'To lower the vehicle, select the following in the
Infotainment system: the
! CAR I function button
> Lower control button.
"' Wait for the arrows in the display to stop blink­
ing and the vehicle to lower completely.
(D Note
- Remember that your vehicle is not suitable
for driv ing offroad even when it is raised.
There is not enough ground clearance.
- If the vehicle is raised, it will lower auto­
matically when driv ing 62 mph (100 km/h)
or faster.
Messages
Air suspension: Vehicle i s too high . Controlling
lev el. ..
Air suspension: Vehicle is too low. Controll ing
le vel. ..
The driver message switches off when the level
control process is complete.
Assist
113

Intelligent Technology
The stee ring wheel will be easy to move after
starting the engine . Re-initialization might be
necessary if the steering whee l was moved hard
t o the lef t and right wh ile the vehicle was not
mov ing. The display turns off if the initialization
was successful.
(D Tips
- If the. or
1;:r- ij ind icator light only stays on
for a short time, you may continue driving.
- The dynamic steering stability systems
c> page 126 are not available in the event of
a system ma lfunction.
- For additional informat ion on dynamic
steering, refer to
c> page 110.
All wheel drive (quattro)
In all wheel drive, all four wheels are powered .
General information
In a ll wheel drive, the driving power is divided be­
tween a ll four wheels . T his happens automatical ­
ly depending on your driving behavior as well as
t he current road cond itions. Also see
c> page 126, Electronic Stabilization Control
(ESC) .
With the sport differential*, power distri­
bution to the rear whee ls is variable and can be
ad ju sted using the dr ive select
c> page 110.
The all wheel drive concept is designed for h igh
eng ine power. Your ve hicle is exceptionally pow­
erful and has excellent driving characterist ics
both under norma l dr iv ing condit ions and on
snow a nd ice. Always read and fo llow safety pre­
cautions
c> .&. .
Winter tires
By us ing all w heel d rive , yo ur vehicle has good
forward mot ion w ith standa rd t ires in winter con­
d itions . However, in winter we recommend us ing
w in ter o r all season t ires o n all fo ur wheels, be ­
cause this will improve the b raking effect .
Snow chains
If there are snow chai n laws, snow chains must
a lso be used on vehicles with all w heel d rive
c> page 298, Snow chains .
130 Replacing tires
Fo
r vehicles wi th a ll wheel d rive, o nly wheels with
the same ro ll ing circ umfe rence sho uld be used .
Avo id using tires with different tread depths
c> page 290, New tires or wheels .
Offroad vehicle?
You r A udi is not an off road vehicle -there is not
enough ground clearance. For th is reason, avoid
difficult terrain .
A WARNING
- Also, in ve hicles with all wheel drive, adapt
your driving sty le to the current road and
traffic conditions. Do not let the increased
safety provided tempt you into taking r isks,
because this increases the risk of an acc i­
dent.
- The braking ab ility of your vehicle is limited
to the traction of the wheels . In this way, it
is not different from a two wheel d rive vehi­
cle. Do not be tempted to accelerate to a high speed when the road is s lippery, be ­
c a use th is i ncreases the r is k of an accident.
- Note that on wet st reets, the front wheels
c a n " hydroplane " if driv ing at speed s tha t
are too high. Unlike front wheel drive
vehicles, t he engine does not rev higher sud ­
de nly when the vehicle begins hydroplan ing.
For this reason, adapt yo ur speed to the
road conditions to reduce the risk of an acci­
dent.
Energy management
The starting ability is optimized
The energy management system manages the
electrical energy distribution and optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the
engine.
When a vehicle with a conventiona l energy sys­
tem is no t drive n for a long t ime, the veh icle bat­
te ry is drained by equ ipment (fo r example, the
i mmob ilizer). In certa in circ umstances, there
could may not be enough energy to start the en ­
gine.