2012 AUDI A7 maintenance

220 Checking and filling
temperatures stay below freezing point for long periods.
Detergent additives in the oil w il l make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run­
ning for a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than
recommended.
Damage or malfun ctions due to lack of
maintenance
It
is essential that you change your oil at the
recommended intervals using only engine o il
that complies with Audi oi l standard
VW 502 00. Your Limited New Vehicle War­
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
due to fail ure to fo llow recommended mainte­
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet . Your dealer will have to
deny warranty coverage unless you present to
the dea ler proof in the form of Service or Re­
pa ir Orders that all scheduled ma intenance
was performed in a timely manner.
Eng ine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In order to provide effective lubrication and
cool ing of internal engine components, all in­
ternal combustion eng ines consume a certain
amount of oil. Oil consumption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typically, engines
with a specif ied break-in period (see
¢
page 192) consume more oil during the
break-in period than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized.
Under norma l conditions, the rate of oil con­
sumption depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road condit ions . Further fac­
tors are the amount of oil d ilution from water
condensat ion or fuel residue and the oxida­
tion level of the oil. As any engine is subject to wear as mi
leage builds up, the oil consump­
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
With all these variables coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es­
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regu lar and frequent checking of the o il lev ­
el, see
Note .
If
the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
in the instrument cluster
II! lights up, you
shou ld check the oil leve l as soon as possible
¢
page 221. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience ¢
page 221.
A WARNING '"---
Before you check anythi ng in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢
A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 216.
(D Note
Driving with an insufficient o il level is like­
ly to cause severe damage to the engine.
(D Tips
-The oil pressure warning display. is
not an indicator of the oil level. Do not
rely on it. Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at regular intervals, pref­
erably each time you refuel, and always
before going on a long trip.
- If you have th e impression your engine
consumes excessive amoun ts of oil, we
recommend that you consult your Audi
dealer to have the cause of your concern
properly diagnosed. Keep in mind that
the accurate meas urement of oil con­
sumption requ ires great care and may
take some t ime. Your Audi dealer has in­
structions about how to measure oil con­
sumption accurately.
-

222 Check ing and filling
and ad versely a ffect yo ur New Vehicl e
W arr ant y.
@) For the sake of the environment
- Under no circumstances can the oil come
in contact with the sewage network o r
the soil.
- Observe and follow lega l regu lations
when disposing of empty oil containers .
Changing the engine oil
We recommend that have your oil changed by
an authorized Audi dealer or a qualified serv­
ice station.
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
a lw ays rea d an d h eed all WARN­
INGS c::> .& in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 216.
The engine oil must be changed accord ing to
the intervals specified in your Warranty
&
Maintenance book let. This is very important
because the lubricating properties of oil di­
minish gradua lly during normal vehicle use .
Under some ci rcumstances the engine oi l
should be changed more frequently. Change
oil more often if you drive most ly short dis­
tances, operate the vehicle in dusty areas or under predominantly stop-and-go traffic con­
ditions, or have your vehicle where tempera­
tures remain below freezing for extended pe ­
riods .
Detergent addit ives in the oil w ill make fresh
oil look dark after the engine has been run­ n ing for a short time. This is normal and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than recommended.
Because of the problem of proper disposal,
along w ith the special tools and necessary ex ­
pertise required , we strongly recommend that
you have your o il changed by an authorized
Audi de ale r or a qual ified servi ce station.
If you choo se to c hang e y our oi l y our self,
please note the followi ng important informa­
tion :
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of personal injury if you
must change the eng ine oil in your vehicle
yourself:
- Wear eye protect ion.
- To reduce the risk of burns from hot en- gine oil, let the engine cool down to the
touch.
- When removing the o il dra in plug with
your fingers, stay as far away as possible.
Always keep your forearm parallel to the
ground to help prevent hot oil from run­n ing down you r arm.
- Dra in the oil into a container designed
for this purpose, one large enough to
hold at least the total amount of oil in
your engine.
- Engine oil is poisonous. Keep it we ll out
of the rea ch of childre n.
- Continuous contact with used eng ine o il
is harmfu l to your sk in. Always protect
your skin by washing oil off tho roughly
with soap and wate r.
@ Note
Never mix oil additives with your engine
oi l. These additives can damage your en­
g ine and adversely affect you r A ud i Limit­
ed New Veh icle War ranty.
@ For the sake of the environment
- Before changing your oil, first make su re
you know where you can prope rly dispose
o f the used oil.
- Always dispose of used eng ine oi l proper­
ly. Do not dump it on garden soil, wood­
ed areas, into open streams or down
sewage drains.
- Recycle used engi ne oil by taking it to a
used engine oil collection facility in you r
area, or contact a service station.

Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv­
ing style.
F ig. 178 Tire tread: tread wea r ind ica tors (TWI)
Fi g. 179 Rotat ing t ires fo r m ore even wea r
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The origina l tires on your veh icle have
1/16 in ch (1.6 mm) high "wear ind icators"
r::!;> fig . 178 run ning across the tread. Depend ­
ing on the make, there will be six to eight of
them evenly p laced around the t ire . Marks on
the t ire s idewall (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear ind icators . Worn t ires must be replaced.
Different fig ures may apply in other countries
r::!) & .
Tir e pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premat ure wear
and can cause sudden tire blow-out . For th is
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
r::!;> page 23 7.
Dri ving sty le
Driving fast around curves , heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear. Tires and wheels 241
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your ve
hicl e to have the
same service life, we recomme nd that the
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer 's suggested tire rota­
tion inte rvals. Please remember the follow ­
ing :
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from the
veh icle service inte rva ls o utlined in your
Warranty & Maintenance booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points ; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufactu rer 's suggested
tire rotation intervals .
- Vehicles w ith front-wheel dr ive exper ience
more tread wear on the front wheels com­
pared to all -wheel d rive (quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown
r::!;> fig. 179.
-Extra care must be taken when rotat ing di-
rection-specific tires
r::!;> page 258 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new veh icles are balanced .
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unba l­
anced, resulting in vibrat ions you can usually
feel through the steer ing wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, s uspension
and t ires. A whee l must also be reba lanced
when a new tire is insta lled.
Inco rrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wear, impair ing the safety of the vehi­
cle . If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an authori zed
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All-whe el drive
Vehicles wi th quattro ® mus t always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type. For details see
r::!;> page 189.

2 70 General information
General information
Explanation of
technical data
Some of the technical data listed in this man ­
ual requires further explanation .
The technical data for your vehicle is listed in
the charts starting on
r:::>page 27 2. This sec ·
tion provides general information, notes and restrictions which apply to this data .
Vehicle identification
The key data is given on the vehicle identifica·
tion number (VIN) plate and the vehicle data
sticker.
Fig. 206 Veh icle Ide ntific atio n Number (VlN) p late: lo­
cation on driver 's sid e das h panel
Fig. 207 Th e vehicle identi fication label -inside the
luggage co mpa rtmen t
The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
is located on the driver's side so that it is visi­
b le from the outside through the windshield
r:::> fig . 206. You can also display the Vehicle
Identification Number of your vehicle in the
MMI. Select: Function button
ICAR ! > Car sys­
tems
> VIN number . The
vehicle identification label
is located in the luggage compartment in the
spare wheel wel l.
The label¢
fig. 207 shows the following vehi­
cle data :
(D Production control No .
@ Vehicle identification No.
® Type code number
@ Type designation/engine output in Kilo·
watts
® Engine and transmission code letter
@ Paint No./Interior
(f) Optional equipment No.'s
Vehicle data 2 to 7 are also found in your War·
ranty
& Maintenance booklet.
The safety compliance sticker
is you r assurance that your new vehicle com­
plies with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards which were in effect at the
time the vehicle was manufactured . You can
find this sticker on the left door jamb.
It
shows the month and year of production and
the ve hicle ident ification number of your vehi ·
cle (perforation) as well as the Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating (GVWR) and the Gross Axle
Weight Rating (GAWR) .
The high voltage warning label
is located on the lock carr ier .
The spark ignition system complies with
the Canadian standard ICES-002.
Weights
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), and
the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) for
front and rear are Listed on a sticker on the
left door jamb.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating includes the
weight of the basic vehicle plus full fuel tank,
oi l and coolant, plus maximum load, wh ich in·
eludes passenger weight (lSO lbs/68 kg per
Ill>

Consumer Information
Warranty coverages
Your Audi is covered by the following war­
ranties :
- New Vehicle Limited Warranty
- Limited Warranty Against Corrosion Perfo-
ration
- Emissions Control System Warranty
- Emissions Performance Warranty
- California Emissions Control Warranty (USA
vehicles only)
- California Emissions Performance Warranty
(USA vehicles only)
Detailed information regarding yo ur warran ­
ties can be found in your
Warranty & Mainte­
nance booklet .
Operating your vehicle
outside the U.S.A. or
Canada
Government regulations in the United States
and Canada require that automobiles meet
specific emission regulations and safety
standards. Therefore, veh icles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada differ from vehicles sold in
other countries .
I f you p lan to take your vehicle outside the
continental limits of the United States or Can­
ada, there is the possibility that
- unleaded fuels for vehicles with cata lytic
converter may not be available;
- fuel may have a considerably lower octane
rating . Improper fuel may cause engine
damage;
- service may be inadequate due to lack of
proper service facilities, tools or testing
equipment;
- replacement parts may not be readily availa­
ble.
- Navigation systems for vehicles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada will not necessari ly work
in Europe, and may not work in other coun­
tries outside North America .
Consumer Information 273
@ Note
Audi cannot be responsible for mechanical
damage that could result from inadequate
fuel, serv ice or parts availab ility.
Audi Service Repair
Manuals and Literature
Audi Offic ial Factory Service Manuals and Lit ­
erature are published as soon as possible after
model introduct ion. Service manuals and lit­
erat ure are available to order from the Audi
T echnical Literature Ordering Center at:
www.audi.techliterature.com
Maintenance
' General
Your vehicle has been designed to help keep
maintenance requirements to a m inimum.
However, a certain amount of regular mainte­
nance is still necessary to assure your vehicle's
safety, economy and reliability . For detailed
vehicle maintenance consult your Warranty &
Maintenance booklet.
Under difficult operating conditions , for ex­
ample at extremely low outside temperatures,
in very dusty regions, when towing a trailer
very frequently, etc., some serv ice work
shou ld be pe rformed between the intervals
specified. This applies particularly to:
- oil changes, and
- cleaning or replacing the air filter.
® For the sake of the environment
By regularly maintaining your veh icle, you
help make sure that emission standards
are maintained, thus min imiz ing adverse
effects on the environment .
Important considerations for you and
your vehicle
The increasing use of electronics, sophistica t­
ed fuel injection and emission contro l sys-
tems, and the genera lly increasing technica l ..,_
•
•

274 Con sum er Inf ormation
comp lexity of today's automobi les, have
steadi ly reduced the scope of maintenance
and repairs which can be carried out by vehicle
owners.
Also, s afety an d e nvir onm ent al con­
cerns place very strict limits on the nature of repairs and adjustments to engine and trans ­
miss ion pa rts which an owner can perform .
Maintenance, adjustments and repa irs usua lly
require special tools, testing devices and oth­
er equipment avai lab le to specially trained
workshop personnel in order to assure proper
performance, reliab ility and safety of the vehi­
cle and its many systems .
Improper ma intenance, adjustments and re ­
pa irs can impair the operation and reliab ility
of your vehicle and even void your vehicle war­ ranty. Therefo re , proof of servici ng in accord­
ance w it h the ma intenance sched ule may be a
condition for upholding a poss ible warranty
claim made within the warran ty period.
Above all, operational safety can be adve rsely
affected, creating unnecessary risks for you
and your passengers.
If in doubt about any serv icing, have it done
by your author ized Audi dealer or any other
p roperly equipped and qualified workshop .
We strong ly urge you to give your authorized
Audi dealer the opportunity to perform all
schedu led maintenance and necessary repairs .
Your dea ler has the facilities, or iginal parts
and tra ined spec ialists to keep your vehicle
running properly .
Performing lim it e d m aint en anc e y ourself
The fo llowing pages describe a limited num­
ber of procedures which can be performed on
you r vehicle with ordinary too ls, shou ld the
need arise and trained personnel be unavaila­
ble. Before performing any of these proce­
dures, always thoroughly read all of the app li­
cable text and ca refully follow the instruc­
tions given. Always rigorously obse rve the
WARNINGS p rovided .
Before you ch eck anything in th e engin e
compartme nt, alway s read an d heed all WARNINGS
¢ & a
nd ¢ & in Working in the
engine comportment on page 216 .
A WARNING
--Serious personal in jury may occur as a re-
sult of improperly performed mainte­ nance, adjustments or repa irs.
- Always be extremely careful when work­
ing on the vehicle. Always follow com­
monly accepted safety pract ices and gen­
eral common sense. Never r isk personal
in jur y.
- Do not attempt any of the maintenance,
checks or repairs descr ibed o n the fol­
lowing pages if you are not fu lly fam iliar
with these or other procedures with re­ spect to the vehi cle, or are uncerta in how
to proceed .
- Do not do any work withou t the proper
too ls and equipment . Have the necessary
work done by your authorized A udi deal ­
er or anothe r properly equipped and
qualified workshop.
- The engine compar tment o f any motor
vehicle is a potentially hazardous area. Never reach into the area around or
touch the rad iator fan. It is temperature
control led and can sw itch on suddenly -
even when the engine is off . The radiator
fan switches on automatically when the
coo lant reaches a ce rtain temperature
and will cont inue to ru n until the coo lant
tempera ture drops.
- Always sw itch off the ignition before any­
one gets under the vehicle.
- Always support your veh icle with safety
s tands if it is necessary to work under­
neath the vehicle. The j ack s upp lied with
the vehicle is not adequate for this pur­
pose and cou ld co llapse causing serio us
pe rsonal injury .
- If you must work underneath the vehicle
with the wheels on the ground, a lways
make sure the vehicle is on leve l ground,
that the wheels are a lways secure ly
blocked and that t he engine cannot be
started .

28 4 Index
Lifting vehicle
Light 268
Ambience lighting ........ .... .. .. .. 44
Com ing/ Leaving home ............... 43
Daytime running lights ...... .. .... .. 41
E mergency flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Exterior lighting ....... ... .. .. .... .. 41
Headlight rang e contro l ... .. .. .. .. . . 41
High beam ... ........ ..... .. .. .. .. 43
Low beam .. ...... ......... .. .. .. .. 41
Rear fog lights ................ ..... 41
Side ma rker lights ........ .. .. .. .. .. 41
Turn signa ls .............. ... .. .... 43
Light/ra in sensor
H eadligh ts ..... ..... ...... .. .. .. .. 41
Intermittent (windshield wipers) .. .... 45
Sensor defective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Loading the roof rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
L oc king
Power locking sw itch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Remote control .. ..... ... .. .. .... .. 33
Using the key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
L ow beams .. .......... ...... ... .. .. 4 1
Lower universa l anchorages (Canada) 177
Lugg age compartmen t
Cargo net .. ..... ..... ... .. .. .... .. 61
carpeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Cover .. .. .... ........... .. .. .. .. .. 60
Enlarg ing ... ............ .. .. .. .. .. 60
Fastening eyes ..................... 62
Loading ... ................... ... .. 59
Ski sack ... ................... ... .. 62
Stowing luggage ............. .. ... 124
Tie-downs ... ............ .. .. .. .. .. 6 1
Trunk pass-thro ugh ................. 63
M
Maintenance ....................... 273
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) . . 19, 27
Mechanical key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
M irrors
Adjust ing the exte rior m irrors ... .. .. . . 47
d imm ing . .. ... .......... .. .. .. .. .. 48
Vani ty mir rors ..................... 45
Mo nitoring the Advanced Airbag System 149
M ultifunction stee ring wheel ... .. .. ... . 23
N
Natura l lea ther .... ... .. ..... .... . .. 207
New ti res and wheels
NHTSA 242
Contacting .. .. .. ... ... .... ....... 126
N igh t vision assistant .......... .... .. . 98
Cleaning camera lens ... ..... ... .. .. 202
Number of seats . ................... 128
0
Occupant seating positions 119
Octane rating ..... .. .... .... ... .. .. 211
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
OFF (au tomatic climate control) . . . . . . . . 67
OFF (climate control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Oil
refer to E ng ine oil ................. 218
On-board computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
On-Board D iagnost ic System (O BD)
Data Link Connector (D LC) .. ... .. .. .. . 27
E lectronic speed limiter .... ... .. .. .. . 28
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) . ... . 27
Open door/hood/rear lid warning . . . . . . . 22
Open ing
Hood ........ ................... . 216
Power w indows .................. .. 38
Rea r lid . .. .. .. .. .......... ..... ... 35
S lid ing/ti lting s unroof .......... .. .. . 39
Operate your vehicle economically and
min imize pollution ... ... ....... ... .. 194
Other equipment (efficiency program) . .. 24
Outlet . ...... .. .. ............. .. .. . 54
p
Pa int
T ouc h-up .. .. .. .. .. ... ....... ... .. 204
Pa int No .... .. .. .. ............. .. .. 270
Parking ...... .. .. ............... .. . 75
Automat ic transmiss ion ..... ... .. .. 102
Valet parking .... .. ... ..... ... .. .. . 39
Pa rking brake ... ... .......... ...... . 74
also refer to Electromechani cal pa rking
b rake . .. .. .. .. .. ............... .. . 74