Get Driving -> Driving the vehicle Guide for Audi Rs Q8 SUV First Generation (2020-2026)

Driving

If the fault persists, drive to a qualified workshop

soon and have it rectified.

position P is selected when you park the ve-

hicle – risk of accident!

– Always switch off the ignition and take the

key with you when you leave the vehicle.

This is particularly important if persons or

animals are left in the vehicle. They might

otherwise unintentionally start the vehicle,

release the parking brake or use power-oper-

ated equipment – this could cause accidents.

– Do not leave any persons or animals in the

vehicle when it is locked. Locked doors could

delay assistance in an emergency, potential-

ly putting lives at risk.

Driving the vehicle

Driving away, stopping, parking

Driving away from a standstill

►

Press and hold the brake pedal.

►

Start the engine.

►

Select transmission position D or R.

►

Release the parking brake.

►

Take your foot off the brake pedal. The vehicle

may start to creep forwards.

– If you do not drive away immediately after

releasing the brake pedal, the vehicle may

start to roll backwards. You should there-

fore immediately press the brake pedal or

apply the parking brake.

►

Press the accelerator to increase the speed.

Securing the vehicle to prevent it from

rolling away

Before leaving the vehicle, always secure it so

that it cannot roll away.

CAUTION

►

Apply the parking brake.

To avoid rolling back on gradients always hold

the vehicle with the brake pedal if you have to

stop. Do not attempt to hold the vehicle by

keeping your foot on the accelerator. This

could cause the gearbox to overheat – risk of

damage!

►

Select transmission position P.

►

When parking on a slope, turn the steering

wheel so that the vehicle would roll into the

kerb if it did start to move unexpectedly.

If this is not possible (e.g. if the vehicle has no

electrical power), you must take additional steps

to secure the vehicle so that it cannot roll away.

Hill hold assist

►

Only park the vehicle on a level surface.

►

When you take your foot off the brake pedal

when driving away on a slope, the braking force

will be maintained for several seconds. During

this period, the vehicle will not roll backwards

when you set off.

Block the wheels by placing suitable objects un-

derneath both the front and rear of each wheel.

Always apply the parking brake before selecting

transmission position P. This reduces the load on

the locking mechanism when the vehicle is on a

slope.

Important: The driver's door must be closed, the

engine must be running and the vehicle must be

on a slope and facing uphill.

WARNING

►

– Always apply the parking brake before leav-

ing your vehicle – even if you only intend to

be gone for a short time. Otherwise the ve-

hicle can roll away – risk of accident!

To activate the hill hold assist, press and hold

the brake pedal for several seconds while the

vehicle is stationary.

Use the hold assist ðpage 126 if you want to

hold the vehicle with the brakes for more than a

few seconds.

– Never leave your vehicle unattended while

the engine is running – risk of accident!

– If the parking brake is engaged, it may be re-

leased automatically if the accelerator pedal

is pressed. Take care when pressing the ac-

celerator pedal and always make sure that



112

Driving

– D (Drive): Normal driving

WARNING

– E (Efficiency*): Economical driving

– S (Sport): Performance driving

– If you do not drive away immediately after

releasing the brake pedal, the vehicle may

start to roll backwards. You should there-

fore immediately press the brake pedal or

apply the parking brake.

Selecting a transmission position

Important: The ignition must be switched on.

– Stop the vehicle and press the brake pedal.

– Press and hold the release button 1 on the se-

lector lever.

– The hill hold assist function cannot keep the

vehicle stationary in all conditions on a gra-

dient (e.g. if the road is slippery or icy).

– To select the next adjacent transmission posi-

tion, move the selector lever forwards or back-

wards to the first point of resistance.

– To skip a transmission position (e.g. to go from

D to R), move the selector lever past the point

of resistance in the desired direction.

– The selected transmission position will light up

next to the selector lever.

Transmission positions and driving

programs

Transmission position N (neutral)

No power is transmitted to the driven wheels in

transmission position N. Use transmission posi-

tion N, for example, in a tunnel car wash.

Fig. 92 Centre console: Selector lever

If you accidentally select transmission position N

while the vehicle is moving (at more than

2 km/h), you can switch back to D without press-

ing the brake.

The automatic gearbox changes gear according

to the transmission position selected and the way

the vehicle is currently being driven. When you

drive at moderate speeds, the gearbox will

change up early and delay the downshifts to give

better fuel economy. The gearbox allows higher

engine speeds for performance driving.

For safety reasons, the vehicle cannot be locked

when N is selected.

Transmission position P (parking lock)

Important: The ignition must be switched on.

Transmission positions

In transmission position P, the vehicle is preven-

ted from rolling away by the parking lock. The

parking lock is a mechanical locking mechanism

for the gearbox.

The transmission positions are shown next to the

selector lever.

– P (Park): Parking lock

– R (Reverse): Drive backwards

– N (Neutral)

– Stop the vehicle and press the brake pedal.

– Press the P button 2 on the selector lever.

– Transmission position P will light up next to the

selector lever.

– D (Drive): Drive forwards

Driving programs

If you switch off the engine when transmission

position D or R is selected, transmission position

P will be engaged automatically. If you switch off

the engine in transmission position N, transmis-

sion position P will be selected automatically af-

ter approx. 30 minutes.

Various driving programs can be selected in

transmission position D. These have an effect on

when the gearbox changes gear and the reaction

to accelerator pedal inputs, for example.

The selected driving program will be displayed in

the instrument cluster.



113

Driving

The engine must be running if you wish to move

from P to another transmission position.

Note

– You do not have to press the brake pedal if

you switch back and forth between D and R

within one second. This allows you to rock

the car backwards and forwards, e.g. to free

it from snow or mud, etc.

If you cannot move out of transmission position P

(e.g. if the vehicle has no electrical power), you

may need to release the parking lock manually

ðpage 116.

– Audi recommends driving program D for ev-

eryday use.

Selecting a driving program

Press the selector lever downwards to switch be-

tween the current driving program and S.

Manual gear selection

If you select dynamic or efficiency mode in Audi

drive select*, the driving program S or E respec-

tively will be activated. The driving program may

be switched back to D when the ignition is

switched off.

It may not be possible to select S in Audi drive se-

lect* mode offroad.

Plug-in hybrid drive: Not all plug-in hybrid modes

are possible in driving program S. When they are

operated, the driving program or the plug-in hy-

brid mode are automatically adjusted if they can-

not be combined.

Fig. 93 Centre console: Manual gear selection using selec-

tor lever

WARNING

– Before driving off, check that the desired

transmission position is displayed next to

the selector lever.

– Before leaving the vehicle, secure it to pre-

vent it from rolling away ðpage 112.

– In all transmission positions except P and N

the vehicle must always be held with the

footbrake when the engine is running. This

is because an automatic gearbox still trans-

mits power even at idling speed, and the ve-

hicle tends to “creep”.

Fig. 94 Steering wheel: Paddle levers*

You can change gear manually in transmission

position D. The gearbox must be in tiptronic

mode.

– Do not press the accelerator before select-

ing a transmission position with the vehicle

stationary and the engine running, as this

could cause an accident.

Gear selection with selector lever

You can switch to manual gear selection mode ei-

ther with the vehicle stationary or on the move.

– Never select transmission position R when

driving at normal speeds, as this could cause

an accident.

►

To switch to manual gear selection mode, move

the selector lever toward the passenger’s side

ðFig. 93. M will be displayed in the instrument

cluster.

– The car can roll away even if the ignition is

switched off.

►

To change up: Press the selector lever forwards

+ .



114

Driving

►

To change down: Pull the selector lever towards

the rear – .

To switch back to automatic mode, move the

selector lever toward the driver's side.

Applies to vehicles with boost function: In driving

programs D and S, the electric motor may cut in

briefly when the accelerator pedal is pressed

heavily. The availability of this function depends,

among other things, on the charge level of the

high-voltage battery and the temperature of the

drive components.

Gear selection with paddle levers

Applies to: vehicles with paddle levers

►

To change up: Press the paddle lever

ðFig. 94.

WARNING

►

To change down: Press the paddle lever – .

To shift into the lowest possible gear for maxi-

mum acceleration, hold the paddle lever – .

To switch back to automatic mode, hold the

The driven wheels may start to spin when you

use the kick-down function, causing the vehi-

cle to lose grip, on slippery or wet roads – risk

of accident!

►

paddle lever

for longer or pull the selector

lever towards the rear.

Launch control

The gearbox will revert to automatic mode if you

do not operate one of the paddle levers again

within a short period. To switch to manual gear

selection mode permanently, move the selector

lever toward the passenger’s side.

Applies to: vehicles with launch control

The launch control gives you optimum accelera-

tion when starting from a standstill.

Important

– The engine must be warm.

Note

– The steering wheel must be pointing straight

ahead.

– The gearbox only allows manual gear

changes if the engine speed would remain

within the permissible range.

– The start/stop system* must be deactivated

ðpage 122.

– The gearbox automatically shifts up or down

into the next gear before a critical engine

speed is reached.

– The hold assist* must be deactivated

ðpage 126.

– The ESC must be restricted ðpage 136.

– Driving program S must be selected

ðpage 114 and Audi drive select* must be set

to dynamic mode ðpage 131.

– Applies to RS model: The letter M may be

displayed in red in the instrument cluster in

certain situations (this is an engine-depend-

ent feature). In this case, a high-perform-

ance variant of the manual mode is activa-

ted. The gearbox does not automatically

shift up into the next gear shortly before

the maximum engine speed is reached. Re-

member to shift to the next gear in good

time.

Using the launch control

– Press the brake pedal with your left foot and

hold it down for at least one second.

– Keeping the brake pedal pressed, simultane-

ously press the accelerator all the way down

with your right foot.

– When the engine revs are high and steady, take

your foot off the brake.

Accelerator

– Applies to RS model: Depending on the vehi-

cle’s equipment, the following driver message

may appear: Launch control programme: acti-

vated. When the engine revs are high and

steady, take your foot off the brake. On some

equipment versions, the red flashing shift light 

You can use the accelerator pedal to increase the

vehicle’s speed.

Maximum acceleration

A kick-down function is available for maximum

engine output and acceleration if you press the

accelerator all the way down.

115

Driving

Releasing the parking lock manually

display ðpage 21 will indicate the best time to

release the brake.

►

Secure the vehicle so that it cannot roll away

ðpage 112.

Insert the screwdriver (provided in the vehicle

When you are finished with the launch control,

please remember to fully activate the ESC again.

►

toolkit ðpage 353) in one of the two slots and

prise out the cover.

WARNING

►

Insert the box spanner (from the vehicle tool-

kit) into the opening.

Turn the box spanner clockwise as far as the

stop 1 and then push it downwards 2 until it

engages.

Leave the box spanner inserted.

Only use the launch control when road and

traffic conditions permit, and make sure your

driving style and acceleration do not incon-

venience or endanger other road users. The

driven wheels may start to spin, causing the

vehicle to lose grip, in particular on slippery or

wet roads – risk of accident!

►

Reactivation of parking lock

►

Take hold of the box spanner with both hands

and pull it out carefully upwards.

Replace the cover.

CAUTION

– Accelerating with the launch control places

a heavy load on all parts of the vehicle. This

can result in increased wear and tear.

►

WARNING

– Do not use the launch control when the ve-

hicle is in towing mode as this could result

in damage to the vehicle, trailer and load.

– The parking lock must only be released man-

ually in order to recover/manoeuvre the ve-

hicle.

– The parking lock must only be released man-

ually when the vehicle is secured so that it

cannot roll away ðpage 112. If you do not

apply the brake, the vehicle may roll away

and cause an accident.

Note

Some vehicle components may be hot after

accelerating with the launch control. In this

case, the function may not be available for

several minutes. This is to avoid damage. The

launch control will be available again after a

cool-down period.

– Only use the manual release mechanism

when the vehicle is on level ground or a

slight gradient.

– You must not drive the vehicle if the parking

brake has been released manually – risk of

accident!

Manual release of parking lock

Driver messages

The following driver messages may appear, de-

pending on the equipment installed in your vehi-

cle:

 Gearbox: fault. Safely stop vehicle

Do not drive on. Stop the vehicle in a safe place

as soon as possible and secure it so that it cannot

roll away ðpage 112. Seek professional assis-

tance.

Fig. 95 Footwell: Manual release of parking lock

The manual release mechanism is located under

the floor mat on the driver's side. Please observe

the important safety warnings on towing vehicles

away ðpage 362.

 Gearbox overheating: please stop vehicle



116

Driving -> Driving the vehicle for Your Audi Rs Q8 SUV First Generation (2020-2026)

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