2012 AUDI A7 ECU

.. Pull the release handle c;,fig . 67 and fold
down the cover of the pass-through in the
vehicle interior .
.. Open the rear lid .
.. Push the ski sack* through the opening
from the luggage compartment .
.. Secu re the ski sack
c::> page 63 .
Closing the trunk pass-through
.. Open the rear lid .
.,. Remove the ski sack from the trunk pass­
through .
.. Push the pass-through cover up inside the
vehicle until it latches .
.. Raise the center armrest in the vehicle
again.
.. Close the rear lid .
& WARNING
Objects must only be transported in the ski
sack since the ski sack can be sec ured. In­
divid ual objects cannot be secured. There
is a risk of injury .
@ Tips
You can also open the pass-through from
the luggage compartment. Push the re­
lease button down and push the cover for­
ward .
Securing the ski sack
Applies to vehicles: wit h ski sack
The ski sack must be secured in the luggage
compartment .
Fig. 68 Luggage compartment: Securing the bag
Seats and storage 63
Fig. 69 Secur ing t he objects in the ski sack
Securing the ski sack in the luggage
compartment
.. The ski sack has two belts with hooks on the
unde rside
c;, fig . 68 @. Hang the hooks to
t he rear fasten ing eyelets in the luggage
compartment .
Securing the objects in the ski sack
.,. There is also a secur ing strap c::> fig. 69 @ in
the sack. Pull the strap taut using the free
end of the strap.
& WARNING ~ -
-The ski sack is intended only for the
transportation of skis and other light ob­
jects . To reduce the risk of serious per­
sonal injury , never transport heavy or
pointed objects in the sk i sack.
- When braking rapidly or dur ing an acci­
dent, the load could be disp laced and
cause injury to occupants.
- Sharp edges on the load must be covered
for protection. Always fasten the belt
tightly around the sack and its contents
c::> fig . 69 .
(D Tips
-Never stow the ski sack away when it is
st ill wet or damp (for examp le, snow
me lting from skis). Allow it to dry com­
pletely before stow ing it away.
- Position skis in the ski sack with the
pointed ends facing the front and ski
poles with the pointed ends facing the
rear .

"creep" forward or backward. When
stopped, keep the brake pedal fully de­
pressed and use the park ing brake if
necessary to keep the veh icle from roll­
ing.
- If the selector lever is unintentionally
moved into N wh ile you are driving, take
your foot off the accele rator pedal and
wait for the engine to return to idle speed before selecting a d riving position.
- Never shift into R or P when the vehicle is in motion.
- Never get out of the driver's seat when
the engine is running.
- If you must get out of the vehicle, move
the se lector lever securely into the P po­
sit ion and apply the par king brake firm ly.
- If the engine must remain running , never
have any driv ing position engaged when
chec king under the hood. Make sure the
selector lever has securely engaged and is locked in P with the parking bra ke
firmly set ¢
page 210, Engine compart ­
ment .
Otherw ise, any increase in engine
speed may set the vehicle in mot ion,
even with the parki ng brake applied.
Selector lever positions
Applies to vehicles: with tiptronic
This section describes the selector lever posi ­
tions and driving ranges.
F ig . 1 10 D isplay in th e inst rument cluste r: selec to r
lever position
The selector lever position engaged appears
next to the selector lever as well as in the i n­
strument cluster display.
Automatic Tra nsmi ssi on 10 3
P-Park
In this se lector lever posi tion the transm is­
s ion is mechanica lly locked. Engage
P only
when the vehicle is
completely stopped ¢ &
in Driving the automatic transmission on
page 102.
To shift in or out of posit ion P , you mus t first
press and ho ld the brake pedal and then press
the re lease button in the selector lever hand le
whi le moving the selector lever to or from
P.
You can shift out of this position only with the
ignition on.
You must release the parking lock man ua lly
before towing the vehicle
c:> page 107.
R -Reverse
Se lect R o nl y when the vehi cle is at a full s top
and the engine is running at idle speed ¢ A in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 102.
Be fore you move the se lector lever to R , press
both the button in the hand le of th e selector
lever
and the brake pedal at the same ti me .
When the igni tion is on, the backup lights illu­
minate when the selec tor lever is moved into
R.
N -Neutral
The transm iss ion is in neut ral in this pos ition .
S hi ft to th is position for standing with the
brakes a pplied
¢ page 104.
When the vehicle is stat ionary or at speeds
below 3 mph (5 km/h), yo u must always apply
the foo tbrake before and w hile mov ing the
lever o ut of
N .
D/S - Normal posit ion for driving forward
In the D/S pos ition, the transmission can be
operated either in the no rmal D mode o r in
the S spo rt mode . To select the S spo rt mode,
pull the selector lever bac k br iefly . Pul ling the
lever b ack again will se lect the norma l D
mode. The inst rument cl uster display shows
the selected driving mode.
II>

-Passengers must always sit in an upright
position and never lean against or place
any part of their body too close to the
area where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of po­
sition or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un­
folds with great force in the blink of an
eye.
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenger's breastbone and the instru­
ment panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front pas­
senger's knees and the lower part of the
instrument panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
passenger seat and head restraint prop­
er ly.
- Always keep your feet on the floor in
front of the seat. Never rest them on the
seat, instrument panel, out of the win­
dow, etc. The airbag system and safety
belt will not be able to protect you prop­
erly and can even increase the risk of in­
jury in a crash .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are tilted back, the greater the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi­
tion.
- Children must always ride in child seats
¢ page 163. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
¢ page 13 7.
Driving Safely 121
Proper seating positions for passengers
in rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with
both feet on the floor consistent with their
physical size and be properly restrained
whenever the vehicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incor­
rect seating position in the event of a sudden
braking maneuver or an accident, your pas­
sengers on the rear bench seat must always
observe the following:
.,. Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possible, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible
¢page 122 .
.,. Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front
of the rear seat.
.,. Fasten and wear safety belts properly
¢page 131.
.,. Make sure that children are always properly
restrained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their size and age
r::, page 163.
,& WARNING
..-
Passengers who are improperly seated on
the rear seat can be seriously injured in a
crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that seat.
- Safety belts only offer maximum protec­
tion when the safety belts are properly
positioned on the body and securely
latched . By not sitting upright, a rear
seat passenger increases the risk of per­
sonal injury from improperly positioned
safety belts!
- Always adjust the head restraint properly
so that it can give maximum protection.
•
•

-never put you r feet out the window
- never put your 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
A WARNING
Imprope r seat ing positions increase the
r is k of se rious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used .
- Always make sure that all vehicle occu­
pants stay in a proper seating pos it ion
and are properly restra ined whenever the
vehicle is be ing used .
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
App lies to vehicles: wit h knee airbags
A WARNING
Always make sure that the knee airbag can
inflate without interference. Objects be­
tween yourse lf and the airbag can increase
the risk of in jury in an acc ident by interfer­
ing w ith the way the a irbag deploys or by
being p ushed into you as the airbag de­
ploys.
- No persons (ch ildren) or animals should
ride in the footwell in front of the pas­
senger seat. If the airbag deploys, this c an res ult in serious or fat al injuries.
- No objects of any k ind sho uld be car ried
in the footwe ll area in front of the driv­
er's or passenger's seat. Bul ky objects
(shopping bags, for example) can ham­
per or prevent proper deployment of the
airbag. Small objects can be thrown
thro ugh the vehicle if the airbag deploys
and injure you or your passengers.
-
Dr iving Safel y 123
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
Make sure that a ll peda ls move free ly without
interfe rence 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 secured with floor mat fasten­ ers .
If a brake circ uit fai ls, increased brake pedal
trave l is required to b ring the vehicle to a f ull
stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move free ly can cause
Loss of vehicle control and increase the risk
of ser ious injury.
- Never p lace any objects in the driver's
footwell. An ob ject cou ld get into the
pe dal area and inte rfe re with pedal func­
tion. In case of sudden brak ing o r an ac­
cident, yo u wo uld not be able to b rake or
accelerate!
- Always ma ke sure tha t no thing can f all
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 ma t fasteners and do
not in terfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
"' Ma ke s ure that the floor mats are prope rly
secured and cannot move and in terfere with
t he peda ls ¢ ..&_ .
U se only floor mats that leave the peda l area
u nobst ructed and th at are firmly secu re d so
that they c annot slip o ut o f posi tion. You c an
obta in suitab le floor mats from yo ur aut ho r­
ized Audi Dealer.
Floor mat fastene rs a re in stall ed in your Aud i.
1111>
•
•

124 Driving Safel y
Floor mats used in your vehicle m ust be at ­
tached to these fasteners. Proper ly securing
the floor mats will prevent them from s liding
into pos itions 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 veh icle contro l and increase the
r isk of serious personal injury .
- Always make sure that floor mats are
properly secured.
- Never place or insta ll floor mats or other
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be properly secured in place to prevent
them from slipping and interfering w ith
the pedals or the ability to control the
vehicle.
- Never place o r insta ll floor ma ts or other
floor coverings on top of a lready insta l­
led floor mats. Additional floor mats and
other coverings w ill reduce the size of
the pedal area and interfere with the
pedals.
- Always properly reinstall and sec ure floor
mats that have been taken out for clean­
ing.
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall into the driver footwe ll wh ile the ve­
hicle is moving. Objects can become
trapped under the b rake pedal and accel ­
erator peda l causing a loss of veh icle
c o ntrol.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objec ts must be prop ­
erly stowed and secured in the luggage com ­
partment.
L oose items in the luggage comp art ment can
shift suddenly, changing veh icle hand ling
characteristics. Loose items can also increase
the risk of serious personal injury in a sudde n
vehicle maneuver or in a collision . ..
Distribute the load even ly in the luggage
compartment .
.. Always place and proper ly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as far
forward as possible .
.. Secure luggage using the tie -downs prov id ­
ed
¢ page 59, Luggage compartment.
.. Make s ure that the rear seatback is securely
la tc hed in place.
A WARNING
Imp roperly store d luggage or other items
can fly thro ugh the vehi cle causing ser ious
personal injury in the event of hard brak­
i ng or an accident. To help reduce t he risk
of ser ious personal in jury:
- Always put objects, fo r example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com­ pa rtment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compartment using the t ie-down hoo ks
and suitable straps.
A WARNING
=
Heavy loads w ill influence the way yo ur ve-
hi cle handles . To help reduce the risk of a
l oss of contro l leading to serious pe rsonal
i njury :
-Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change i n the cen­
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
veh icle ha ndling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
poss ible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible .
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat­
ing or the Gross Vehicle We ight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick­
er on the left door jamb. Exceed ing per­
miss ible weight standards can cause the
veh icle to slide and handle differently .
- Please observe information on safe dr iv­
ing
¢page 118.

A WARNING ,~
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always
keep the rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than
those fitting completely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win­ dows, the power roof* and the rear lid are
securely closed and locked to reduce the
risk of injury when the vehicle is not being
used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es­
pecially with the rear lid left open. A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle .
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
Gj) Tips
-Air circulation helps to reduce window fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open .
-
Driving Safely 125
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la­
bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar.
The tire pressure label lists the recom­
mended cold tire inflation pressures for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured. For recommended tire pressures for nor­
mal load conditions, please see chapter
r:!)page235.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo prop­
erly<>
page 124, Loading the luggage com­
partment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most
significant factor.
For example , in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb (4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item. This means that
the weight of the item would suddenly be about 200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imagine the
injuries that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item flying
freely through the passenger compartment
could cause in a collision like this.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur­
ing hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury.
-Always use suitable mounting straps and properly secure items to the tie-downs in
'
•
•

126 Driving Safely
the luggage compartment to help pre-To contact NHTSA, you may call
vent items from shifting or flying
the Vehicle Safety Hotline toll-forward as dangerous missiles.
- When the rear seat backrest is folded
free at:
down, always use suitable mounting
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: straps and properly secure items to the
tie-downs in the luggage compartment
to help prevent items from flying for-
1-800-424-9153)
ward as dangerous missiles into the pas-or write to:
senger compartment.
- Never attach a child safety seat tether
Administrator
strap to a tie-down.
NHTSA
Reporting Safety 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Defects Washington, D.C. 20590
Applicable to U.S.A. You can also obtain other infor-
If you believe that your vehicle mation about motor vehicle
has a defect which could cause safety from:
a crash or could cause injury or http://www.safercar.gov
death, you should immediately
Applicable to Canada
inform the National Highway Canadian customers who wish
Traffic Safety Administration
to report a safety-related de-
(NHTSA) in addition to notify-
feet to Transport Canada, De-
ing Audi of America, Inc.
If NHTSA receives similar com- feet Investigations and Recalls,
may telephone the toll free hot-
plaints, it may open an investi- line:
gation, and if it finds that a
safety defects exists in a group Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 or
Tel.: 1-613-998-8616 if you are
of vehicles, it may order a recall
in the Ottawa area
and remedy campaign. Howev-
TTY for hearing impaired:
er, NHTSA cannot become in-
volved in individual problems 1-888-67 5-6863
between you, your dealer, or email comments/questions to:
Audi of America, Inc. [email protected]
or contact Transport Canada by mail at:
....

Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi­
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
~ Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
~ Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly.
- Always fasten your safety be lts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas­
sengers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned properly on
the body .
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit­ ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being d riv­
en .
- Never let any person ride with their feet
on the instrument panel or sticking out
the window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve­
hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of be ing injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat
hardware .
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi ­
tion . Safety belts
131
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in­
terfere with correct positioning of belts and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system .
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latch­
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt . Howev­
er, special clips may be requ ired for the
proper use of some child restraint sys­
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly.
If web­
bing , bindings, buckles, or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt
by an authorized Audi dealer. Replace­
ment may be necessary even if damage
cannot be clearly seen . Anchorages that
were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety belts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inertia reel
c::> page 209, Safety belts .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 136 Bel t bu ckle and to ngue on the drive r's seat