2012 AUDI A7 cooling

Driver and passenger side footwell . . . 123
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Stowing luggage . ..... ... .. .. .. .. 124
Report ing Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Safety belts ... ..... ... .. .. .. . .
General notes ............ .... .. . .
Why safety belts? ........ .... .. . .
Safety belts ............ .... ... . .
Safety belt pretens ioners ...... .. . . 128
128
129
131
135
Airbag system ................. 137
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . 137
F ront airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Mo nitoring the Advanced Airbag
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Knee airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Side curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Child Safety .. .. .... ... .. .. ... .
Important things to know . ... .. .. . .
C hild safety seats . ..... ... .. .. .. . .
Instal ling a child safety seat .. .. .. . .
LATCH Lower anchorages and tethers
for chi ldren . ............. .... .. . .
Addit ional Information 163
163
169
174
177
181
Audi pre sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Preventat ive passenger protection 182
Vehicle operat ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Intelligent technology . . . . . . . . 184
Not ice about data recorded by veh icle
control modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
E lect ron ic stabilization program ( ESP) 184
Rear spoiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Braki ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 7
E lect ro-mechanical power assist . . . . . 189
Driving with your quattro ® . . . . . . . . . 189
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Driving and environment . . . . . 19 2
The first 1,000 miles (1 ,500 km) and
afterwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Avoid damaging the vehicle. . . . . . . . . 193
Table of contents 3
Driving through wate r on roads . . . . . 194
Operate yo ur vehicle economically and
min imize poll ution. .. .. ... .... ... . 194
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Driving with a trailer . .. ..... ... .. .
Trai ler tow ing tips
Vehicle care ...... .. .. ..... ... .
Cleaning and protection ..... .
197
198
200
200
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Care of exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Care of interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank .............. .........
211
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Fuel tank .. .. .. .. .. . .. .... ...... . 212
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . 216
En gine hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
E ngine compartment........... ... 218
E ngine o il . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
E ngine cooling sys tem . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Windsh ie ld/headlight washer
container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Tire pressure monitoring system 249
Do-it-yourself service . . . . . . . . . 252
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 2S2
Emergency warn ing triangle . . . . . . . . 252
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Chang ing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Fuses and bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Fuses ........ ... .. .............. 260
Bul bs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Emergency situations . . . . . . . . . 264
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Star ting by pushing or towing . . . . . . . 264
Starting with jumpe r cable s . . . . . . . . 264
U se o f ju mpe r cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
•
•

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 11
- Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dr ipping from the engine compartment.
You could burn yourself . Let the engine
cool off first so that you cannot hear or
see any steam or engine coolant.
Q) Note
- Mount ing additional lights or accessories
i n front of the a ir inlets reduces the cool­
i ng effect of the rad iator . At h igh outside
temperatures or high eng ine load, the
engine could overheat.
- The front spo ile r has been designed to
proper ly distrib ute the cooling air wh en
t h e veh icle i s moving.
If the spoiler is
damaged, this cou ld red uce the cooling
effect and the engine co uld then over ­
heat . Ask yo ur authorized Audi dea ler fo r
ass istance.
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
If engine R PM drops be low 1 ,500, you should
downshift to the next lower gea r. T he red area
at the end of the sca le indicates maximum
pe rmissib le engine RPM after the break- in pe­
riod. Before reach ing this area, move these­
lector lever to position "D/S (Drive)" or ease
your foot off the accelerator peda l.
(D Note
The tachometer needle should only br iefly
be in the red zone: you cou ld damage your
eng ine! The beginn ing of the red zone var­
ies depending on the e ng ine.
@ For the sake of the environment
Upshift ing early saves fuel and reduces en­
g ine noise.
Fuel gauge
The fuel gauge only wo rks when the ignition is
on .
If the fuel level drops below 2.6 gallons (10 liters), the bottom LED turns red and the
indicator
light~ turns on ¢
page 20. The
bottom LED blinks red when the fue l level is
very low.
T he possible range based on the current f uel
level is shown in tab@¢
page 22, fig . 4 .
(D Note
Neve r run the tan k comp letely dry. An ir­
r egular supp ly o f fu el can cause engine
misfiring and fuel could enter the exha ust
system . The cata lytic converter could then
overheat and be damaged.
Warning/indicator Lights
Description
The ind icator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or turn on. They indicate funct ions or
malfunctions
q ,& .
Messages may appear with some indicato r
lights. A warning signal will sound at the
same time. The indicator lights and messages
in the center of the displays may be rep laced
by other d isplays . To show them again, select
the tab for ind icator lights and messages us­
ing the multifunction steering whee l
¢
page 22. I f there are several malfunc­
tions, you can display them one at a time us­
ing the thumbwheel.
Some indicators lights in the d isplay can tu rn
o n in seve ra l c olors.
&_ WARNING
- F ailure to heed warning l igh ts an d other
important vehicle in formation may resu lt
in serious personal inj ury or vehicle dam­
age .
- Whenever stalled or stoppe d for repair,
move the vehicle a safe d istance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the
emergency flasher
q page 42.
- The engine compartment of any motor
veh icle is a potentially hazardous area.
Before you check anything in the engine

12 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
compartment, stop the engine and let it
cool down. Always exercise extreme cau­
tion when work ing under the hood
¢ page 210, Engine compartment
Malf u nctions or faults wi ll be identified ei­
ther with a red symbol (pr iority 1 -Dan­
ger!) or with a yellow symbol (priority 2 -
Warn ing).
Overview
Some indicator lights turn on briefly to check
the function of that system when you switch
the ignition on. These systems are ma rked
with an./ in the follow ing tab les. If one of
these indicator lights does not turn on, there
is a malfunction in that system.
Red indicator lights
Red symbols indicate a priority malfunction -
Danger!
- Pull off the road.
- Stop the vehicle.
-Turn off the engine.
- Check the ma lfunctioning system. Contact
your authorized Audi dealer or a qualified
workshop for assistance.
USA model s:
Brake ma lf u nction./
¢page 14
Canada model s:
Brake malfunction ./
¢page 14
- USA model s:
____ ,
Electromechanical parking brake
¢ page 15
Canada models:
Electromechanical parking brake
¢page 15
Engine cooling system
¢page 15
Engine oil pressure
¢page 16
I
Engine oil level
¢ page 17
Battery
Qpage 16
Safety belt
¢page 16
Electromechanical steering ./
¢page 189
Electronic steering column lock
Qpage 17
Engine start system
¢page 17
Speed warning system
Qpage 77
Adaptive cruise control./
Qpage 81
-
Pedestrian warning
¢page98
Rear spoiler
¢page 186
Yellow indicator light s
Yellow symbo ls indicate a priority 2 malfunc-
tion - Warning!
I
USA model s: Safety systems
Qpage 17 '
m
Canada models : Safety systems
Qpage 17
Ji]
Electronic Stab ilizat ion Program
(ESP)./
¢page 18
I
Electronic Stabilization Program
(E SP)./
¢page 18
rJ}E
USA models:
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
defective ./
Qpage 18
I

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 15
believe that it is safe to do so, proceed
immediately at low speed to the nearest
authorized Audi dealer or qualified repair
facility and have the brake system i n­
spected .
- Always keep in m ind that after several
brake applicat ions, you will need greater
pressure on the brake peda l to stop your
vehicle . Do not re ly on stra ined brakes to
re spond w ith maxim um stopp ing power
in cri tic al situa tions. You mus t all ow for
increased bra king distances. The extra
distance used up by fading brakes could
lead to an accident.
PARK /(®) Electromechanical parking
brake
Th e warning/indicator light monitors th e
electrome chanical parking broke.
If the indicator light- (USA models) ti
(Canada models) turns on, the parking brake
was set . If the parking brake is set when the
ignit ion is off, th@ indicator light turns off af­
t er abou t 20 seconds.
The warning/indicator light will go out when
the park ing brake is released.
- (USA model s) /. (Canada model s)
Caution: Vehicle parked too steep
If the indi cator lig ht blinks and the message
appears, t here is no t eno ugh braking powe r to
keep the vehi cle from ro lling . The brakes have
overheated. The vehicle could ro ll away even
on a small incline .
Pres s brake p ed al to r elea se parkin g brake
To release the parking brake, press the b rake
pedal and p ress the button~ or start driving
with start ing ass ist a t the same time
r=.> page 75.
Pleas e release parking brake
To release the parking brake man ua lly, pre ss
t he brake pedal and press the button ~ at the
same time . The parking brake on ly release au ­
tomatically if the dr iver 's safety belt is fas­
tened.
ll'J Parking brake!
If the ll'J indicato r light turns on and this
mess age appears , the re is a parki ng b ra ke
malfu nction . Drive to your au thori zed A udi
dealer or qualified workshop immediately to
hav e the malfunctio n corrected .
-L Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engine cooling system
must be repaired as soon as possible.
• Switch off engine and che ck coolant level
If the indica tor l ight turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the coolant temperature is too high or the coolant leve l is too low.
.,. Pull off the road .
.,. Stop the vehicle .
.,. Tu rn off th e engine.
.,. Check coolant level¢
page 223 .
.,. Add coo lant if necessary r=.> page 224.
.,. Con tinue driv ing on ly afte r the engine cool­
ant warning/indicator ligh t goes out .
.,. Contact yo ur authorize d Au di d ealer for as-
s istance if necessary.
I f the engine coo lant level is correct, then the
radiator fan may be the cause of the malfunc­
tion .
• Coolant temperature too high! Pl ease let
engine run with vehicle stationary
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appea rs in trailer mode*, let the eng ine
run a t idl e for a few minutes to cool down .
A WARNING
- If your vehicle should brea k down for
mechanical or other reasons, park at a
safe distance from moving traffic, tu rn
off the eng ine and turn on the hazard
warn ing lights
r=.> page 42, Emergency
flasher .
-
-Never open the hood if you see or hear
steam or coola nt escaping from the en­
g ine compartment -you r isk be ing scald­
ed . Wait unt il you ca n no longer see o r
hea r steam o r coolant escap ing . ..,.

16 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
-The engine compartment of any vehicle
is a dangerous area. Before you perform
any work in the engine compartment,
turn of the eng ine and allow it to cool.
Follow the warning stickers¢
page 210,
Engine compartment.
@ Note
Do not continue driving if the. symbol
illuminates. There is a malfunct ion in the
eng ine cooling system -you could damage
your eng ine .
0 Battery
This warning/indicator light detects a mal ­
function in the generator or in the vehicle's
electrical system.
The .warning/indicator light illuminates
when you sw itc h on the ignit ion and must go
out after the engine has started .
• Alte rnator fault: Batte ry is not being
c ha rged
I f the indicator light t urns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
generator or vehicle electr ica l system.
Drive to yo ur authorized Audi dea ler or quali ­
fied workshop immediately. Because the vehi ­
cle battery is discharging, turn off a ll unnec­
essary electrical equ ipment such as the radio.
Seek professional ass istance if the battery
charge level is too low .
(•i Low battery charge: b atte ry will be
cha rged while dri ving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there may be limited starting
ab ility.
If th is message turns off after a litt le while,
the battery charged enough whi le driving.
I f the message does not turn off, have you r
author ized Audi dealer or qua lified workshop
correct the mal function.
,(,. Safety belts
This warning/indicator light reminds you to
put on your safety belt.
The . warning/indicator light illuminates
when the ignition is switched on to remind
the driver and any front passenger to put on
the safety belt. Addit ionally, an acoustic warn­
ing (gong) wi ll also sound .
For more Information¢
page 128, ~ Safety
belt warning light .
"l!::7": Engine oil pressure malfunction
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol
requires immediate service or repair . Driving
with a low-oil-pressure indication is likely to
inflict severe damage to the engine .
• Swit ch off engine and check oil le vel
If the indicator light turns on the message ap­
pears, the oil pressure is too low .
"" Pull off the road .
... Stop the vehicle.
... Tu rn off the engine .
... Check the engine oil level ¢ page 221.
"" If the eng ine oil level is too low, add eng ine
oil
¢ page 221. Make sure that the oil pres­
sure warning symbol. appears no longer
in the display befo re you start dr iv ing again .
"" If the eng ine o il level is co rrect and the i ndi­
cato r ligh t still turns on, tu rn the engine off
and do not cont inue dr iv ing. Seek professio­
na l assistance .
@ Tips
- The engin e oil pressure symbol. is
not an indicator for a low engine oil lev­
el. Do not rel y on it. In ste ad, check the
oil level in your engine at regula r inter­
vals, p referably each time you refuel ,
and always be fore going on a long tr ip.
- The yellow oil level warning indication
II requires oil refill or workshop se rv­
i ce without delay. Do not wait until the
red oil pressure warning. sta rts to

56 Seats and storage
Front cuphold er
.,. To open the c upholder, tap the cover
~ fig. 55.
Rear cuphold er
.,. Press on the symbol 'i@ ~ fig . 56 .
.,. To adjust the a rm @ , swing it in the direc­
t ion of the a rrow .
.,. Place the beverage in the holder and release
the arm . The arm swings back by itself and
automatically secures the beverage .
.,. Press on the center section between the
two arms and push the cup holder in the
slot as far as it will go.
_& WARNING
Spilled hot liquid can cause an accident
and personal inj ury .
-
- Never carry any beverage containers with
hot liquids, such as hot coffee or hot tea,
in the vehicle while it is mov ing . In case
of an accident, sudden b ra ki ng o r other
vehicle movement, hot liq uid could spill,
causing sca ld ing burns. Sp illed hot liq ui d
can also ca use an accident and personal
injury.
- Use only soft cups in the cupholder . Hard
cups and g lasses can ca use inj ury in an
accident.
- Never use the cupho lder or adapter as an
ashtray- r isk of f ire.
(D Note
On ly drink containers wi th lids should be
carried in the cupho lder. Liqu id could spi ll
ou t and damage your vehicle's e lectronic
equ ipment or stain the upholstery, etc.
Cooled glove compartment
Applies to vehicles: with coo led g love compartment
The cooled glove compartment only functions
when the A/C system is switched on .
Fig . 57 G love compartme nt: sw it c hin g cooli ng m ode
on/off
.,. Turn the knob @counterclockwise to
sw itch cooling on . The symbols on the knob
ind icate the correct position .
.,. Turn the knob @clockwise to switch cool-
ing off.
The glove compartment cooling mode only
funct ions when the vehicle A/C system is
switched on . If the heating is sw itched on,
switching the g love compa rtment coo lin g
mode off is recommended.
Additional storage
T here a re a var iety of storage compartments
and fasteners in various places in the vehicle.
- S torage compartments in the doors
- Compartment in the glove compartment
(coo led*) . T he g love compar tment can be
loc ked using the mechan ica l
key ~ page 30.
-Sta rage compartment for (su n)g lasses* in
t he roof (near the interio r mirror)
- Storage compartments under the center
armrests
- Storage compartment on the rear side of
the front seat *. T he compa rtment can hold a
maximum weigh t of 1 kg.
- Compa rtments* on the back of the front
seat ba ckrests
- Garment hooks on the sides of the pi llars in
th e rear of the vehicle and in the rear g rab
ha ndles
lllJ,,

64 Warm and cold
Warm and cold
Climate controls
Description
App lies to vehicles: with three-zone climate control or
four-zone automat ic climate contro l
The climate control system warms, cools and
adds humidity to the air in the vehicle interior .
It is the most effective when the windows and
sunroof* are closed .
If the temperature inside
the parked veh icle becomes very warm, open ­
ing the w indow br iefly will speed up the cool­
ing process.
In all heating mode functions except
defrost,
the blower on ly switches to a highe r speed
once the engine coolant has reached a certain
temperature.
Condensat ion from the cooling system can
d rip and form a puddle of wate r under the ve­
h icle. This is normal and does not mean there
is a leak .
Pollutant filt er
The pollutant filter removes pollutants such
as dust and po llen from the air.
The air pollutants filter must be changed at
the intervals spec ified in your Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet, so that the air condi­
tioner can properly work .
If you drive your vehicle in an area with h igh
a ir pollution, the filter may need to be
changed more freq uently than specified in
your Aud i Warranty & Ma intenance booklet . If
i n doubt, as k your author ized Audi Se rvice Ad­
visor for adv ice.
K ey coded setting s
Three-zone climate control: the blower set ­
ting and air distribution are stored automati­
cally and ass igned to the remote control key
that you are using.
Four-zone automatic climate control: The cli­
mate control settings are automatica lly stor­
ed and assigned to the remote control key
that is in use .
A WARNING
Reduced visibility is dangerous and can
cause accidents.
-
- For safe driving it is very important that
all windows be free of ice, snow and con­
densat ion .
- Comp lete ly fami liarize yourse lf with the
proper use and funct ion of the heat ing
and venti lation system and especially
how to defog and defrost the w indows.
- Never use the windshield wiper/washer system in freez ing weather unt il you
have wa rmed the windshie ld first, using
the heating and ventilation system. The
washer sol ution may freeze on the w ind­
shie ld and red uce visib ility.
(D Note
- If you suspect that the air conditioner
has been damaged, switch the system
off to avoid further d amage and have i t
inspected by a q uali fied dealership .
- Repairs to the Audi air conditioner re­
quire speci al technical know ledge and
special tools. Contact an authorized Audi
dea ler fo r ass istance.
@ For the sake of the environment
By reducing the amount of f uel you use,
you also red uce the amount of pollutants
emitted into the air.
(D Tips
- Keep the air intake s lo ts (in front o f the
windshield) free from ice, snow and de ­
bris in order to maintain the proper func­
tion of the climate control system.
- The energy management system may
switch the seat heating* or rear window
defroster off temporar ily. These systems
are available again as soon as the energy
balance has been restored .
-Air escapes through vents under the rear window. When plac ing items of cloth ing
on the luggage compartment cover, en­
sure that the openings are not covered.

Warm and cold 65
Three-zone climate control
Operation
Applies to vehicles: with three-zone climate control
We recommend pressing the !AUTOI button and setting the temperature to 72 °F (22 °C).
F ig. 70 Three -zone cl imate control : controls
Press the buttons to turn the funct ions on or
off. The dial adjusts the temperature and the
blower . The LED in the buttons illuminates
when the funct ion is active.
IAUTO I Switching automatic mode on
Automatic mode maintains a constant tem­
perature inside the vehicle. Air temperature,
airflow and air d istribution are controlled au­
tomatically.
e °F e Adjusting the temperature
The temperature can be adjusted individually
for the driver and front passenger using the
d ials (!) and @.
8fr Adjusting the airflow
Using the dial@, you can manually adjust the
amount of air generated by the blower to suit
your preferences . To have the airflow regulat­
ed automatically, press the
! AUTO ! button.
~. rill, [2] Adjusting the air distribution
You can manually se lect the vents where the
air will flow. To have the air distribution regu­ lated automatically, press the
!AUTOI button .
l""" I Switching recirculation mode on/off
In recirculation mode, the air inside the vehi­
cle is circulated and filtered. This prevents the
unfiltered air outside the veh icle from enter­
ing the vehicle interior . We recommend
switching recirculation mode on when dr iving
through a tunnel or when sitting in traffic
~.& -
The !AUTO ! button or~ button switches recir­
cu lation mode off.
I OFFI Switching the climate control
system on/off
The ! O FF! button switches the climate con trol
system on or off.
It also switches on when yo u
turn the dial or press any button. Airflow from
outside is blocked when the climate control
system is switched off.
IACI Switching cooling mode on/off
The air is not coo led and humidity is not re­
moved when cooling mode is switched off .
This can cause fog on the w indows. Cooling
mode switches off automatically when the
outside temperature is be low zero.