2012 AUDI A7 light

2 Table of content s
Vehicle lite ratu re .. .. .. .. .. ... .
5
About thi s Owner' s Manual . . . 6
C ontr ols and equi pm ent .. ... .
Ins truments and controls .. . .
General illustration ...... ... .. ... .
Instruments and warning /
indicator lights ........ .. .. .. . .
Instruments ............ ... .. ... .
Warning/indicator lights .. ... ... .. .
Driver information display .... .. ... .
On-Board Diagnostic system (OBD) . . .
Opening and closing .. .. .... . .
Keys .. ...... ........... .. .. ... .
Power locking system ..... .. .. .. . .
Rear lid .. .. ........ ........ .... .
Child safety lock for the rear doors .. .
Power windows ............... .. .
Valet park ing . ........... .. .. ... .
Sliding/tilting sun roof ... .. .. .. .. . .
Clear vi sion ................... .
Lights . .. .. .. . .......... .. .. .. . .
I nter ior lights ............ .. .. .. . .
V1s 1on .......... ......... ... ... .
Wiper and washer system ... .... .. .
Mirrors .... .............. ... ... .
Seats and storage ...... ... ... .
General recommendations ... .... . .
Front seats ... ........... .. .. ... .
Head restraints .............. ... .
Seat memory . ........... .... ... .
Ashtray .. .. ... .... ...... .. .. .. . .
C igarette lighter .............. .. . .
12-vo lt sockets ............ ... .. . .
Sto rage ................. .. .. ... .
Roof rack ............... .. .. .. . .
L uggage compartment ... ... ... .. .
Pass-through with ski sack ... .. ... .
Warm and cold ............ ... .
C limate controls ......... ... .. ... .
Three-zone climate control ... .. ... .
8
8
8
10
10
11
22
27
29
29
31
35
37
38
39
39
41
41
44
45
45
47
so
so
51
52
53
54
54
55
55
57
59
62
64
64
65 Four
-zone automatic climate control .
Steering wheel heating ...... ... .. .
On the road ... ... ....... ... .. .
Steering . ..... .. ... ....... ..... .
Starting and stopping the engine .. . .
E lectromechanical parking brake . .. . 67
69
70
70
71
74
Speed warning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Cru ise control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Adaptive crui se control and
braking guard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
79
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Adaptive cruise control . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Audi braking gua rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Audi side assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Lane Change Assistant. . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Audi drive select . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Driv ing set tings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Night vision a ssistant . . . . . . . . . 98
N ight vision assistant with detec ted
pedestrian marking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 102
t. t
. ® 1p ronic ..... .. ... .. ..... ... .. . 102
Parking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Genera l informa tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Audi parking system p lus . . . . . . . . . . 108
Audi parking system plus with rear
view camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Adjusting the d isplay and warn ing
tones. .... .... .. ............. ... 113
Error messages 114
Homelink® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Universal remote control. .......... 115
Safet y first . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Driving Safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Proper occupant seating positions . . . 119

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
•
•

(!) Door handle
@
®
©
®
®
(j)
Audi side assist d isplay
Power locking sw itches
Memory function buttons . ... .
Aud i side assist button .. .. .. .
A ir vents with thumbwheel
Control lever for :
- T urn signal an h igh beam
@ Multifunction steering wheel
with:
- Horn
- Driver's airbag
- Driver information system but-
tons . .. ............. .... .
- Audio/video, telephone and
vo ice recogn ition buttons
- Steering wheel heating* ... .
- Shift padd les* (automatic
transmission) ..... ... .. .. .
® Instrument cluster ..... .. .. .
@ H ead-up Display* ...... .. .. .
@ Windshield washer system
lever .. .. ............. .... .
@ Buttons for:
-MMI display
- Reset button for trip odome -
ter .... .. ... ..... ... .. .. .
@ Starting the eng ine if there is a
malfunct ion ............ ... .
0 Knee airbag* .......... .... .
@ Steer ing whee l adjustment, de­
pending on equipment:
- mecha nical .......... .... .
- electrical ............. ... .
@ Lever fo r:
- Cru ise contro l system
- Adaptive cruise contro l* .. .. .
@ Button for switch ing the Head­
up Disp lay* on/off, adjusting the
h eight .. ............. .... .
@ Instrument i llumination ... .. .
@ Eng ine hood release ........ .
@ D ata Link Connector for On
Board Diagnostics (OBD II)
@ Lig ht swi tch ........... .... .
88
34
53
88
43
141
22
69
106
10
26
45
25
73
1 54
70
70
77
79
26
44
2 16
27
41
In strument s and control s 9
@ Buttons for :
- All-weather lights
- Night vision assistant* ..... .
- Rear fog lights .. .. .. ..... .
@ Power exterior m irror ad just -
ment .. .. .. .... .......... .
@ Rear lid switch ... . .. .. ..... .
@
@
@ Power w indows
MM I display
Emergency flashers
@ G love compartment . .. .. ... .
@ Fron t passenger's a irb ag .... .
@ Valet parking feature ....... .
@ Drives (MMI)
@ Buttons /Indicator lights for
- Parking system ........... .
- PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF ... .
- Rear spoiler .. .. . ... ...... .
- Elect ron ic Stabilization Pro-
gram (ESP) .... . .. .. ..... .
@ Climate controls, depending on
vehicle equipment:
- Three -zone clima te control ..
- Four-zone au tomat ic climate
con tro l ... .. ............ .
@ Storage compartment or ash-
tray* with c igarette lig hter* ...
@) I S TART ENGI NE STOPI button
@ MMI controls
@ 12-volt socket*, (upholder
@ Elec tromec hanical p arking
brake . ... .... ... .. .. ..... .
@ Selector lever (automat ic trans­
mission)
(!) Tips
41
98
41
47
35
38
42
56
141
39
108
150
186
186
65
67
54 ,54
71
55,55
74
102
- Some of the equipment or features
shown in the genera l ill ustration may be
standard equ ipment on your vehicle or
may be opt ional equ ipment depending
on your model. Always ask your author­
ized Aud i dea le r i f you have a quest io n
abou t your ve hicl e.
- Ope rat ion of t he Mu lti Med ia Interface
(M MI) is described in a separate manua l.

10 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Instruments and warning/indicator Lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster and controls
The instrument cluster is your central source of information.
Fig. 3 Overv iew of the inst rument cluster
CD Coolant temperature gauge ...
@ Tachometer (engine rev counter)
@ Turn signals ........... .. .. .
© Display with
- Driver information system .. .
- Warning/ind icator lights
® Tachometer 10
11
43
22
11
@ Fuel
gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
@ Tips
The instrument illumination (for dials and
needles) turns on when the ignition is on
and the vehicle lights are turned off . As
the daylight fades, the illumination of the
dia ls likewise dims automatically and will
go out completely when the outside light
is very low. This feature is meant to rem ind
you to switch on the headlights when out­
side light conditions become poor.
Engine coolant temperature gauge
The engine coolant gauge CD c:> page 10, fig. 3
only works when the ignition is on . To prevent
damage to your engine, please note the fol­
l owing important points:
Engine cold
If only the LEDs at the bottom of the gauge
turn on, the engine has not reached operating
temperature yet. Avoid high engine speeds, heavy engine loads and heavy th rottle applica­
t ions.
Normal temperature
The engine has reached its operating temper­
ature once the LEDs up to the center of the
gauge turn on unde r normal driv ing cond i­
t ions . Th e LEDs higher up may turn on when
the engine is under heavy load or the exterior
temperature is high. This is no need to worry
as long as the . warning light in the instru­
ment cluster does not illuminate . If the LEDs
in the upper area of the disp lay and the indica­
tor light . in the instr ument cluster display
turn on, the coolant temperature is too high
c:> page 15.
A WARNING
-Always observe the warn ing in
c:> page 210, Engine compartment, be­
fore open ing the hood and checking the
engine coolant level.

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 13
Canada models:
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
defective ./
c:>page 18
Worn brake pads
c:>page 19
Electromechanical parking brake
c:>page 74
Tire pressure mon itoring system
./
c:> page249
-pa ....,.,.. -,,
ll@l@t Tire pressure monitoring system
-
•
•
-
•
•
m
-
I!
c:>page2 49
Electronic power contro l ./
c:> page 19
Malfunction indicator Lamp (MIL)
./
c:>page19
Engine speed limitation
c:>page 20
Engine oil level
c:>page 17
Engine o il sensor
c:> page20
Battery
c:>page 16
Tank system
c:>page20
Windshield washer fluid level
c:>page20
Windshie ld w ipers
c:>page20
Remote control key
c:>page 71
Remote cont ro l key
c:> page 73
Battery in remote control key
c:>page30
-
Defective light bu lb warn ing
9 page20
Rear fog light(s)
c:>page20
Headlight range cont rol
9 page 21
-
adaptive lig ht*
¢page 21
Light-/rain sensor faulty
¢page 21
Transmission (tiptronic®)
c:>page 106
Electronic steering col umn lock
9page 17
Engine start system
c:>page 17
Ele ctrome chanical steering ./
¢page 189
-
Rear spoiler
c:>page 186
Other indicator light s
11!1 a Turn s ignals
Iii !!!9':ii ¢ page 21
~ USA models: Cruise con trol*
~ c:> page 77
• -
r!I
I
I
Canada models : Cruis e control*
¢page 77
-
Adaptive cruise control *
c:>page Bl
Adaptive cruise cont ro l*
¢page Bl
Adaptive cruise control *
¢page 81
High beam
c:>page43

14 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
BRAKE /((J) ) Brake system
The light illuminates when the ignition is
switched on.
It goes out after the engine has
been started. This indicates that the brake
warning light is functioning properly.
If the brake warning light does not light up
when the engine is cranking, there may be a
malfunction in the electrical system. In this
case, contact your Audi dealer.
If the brake system warning/indicator light
turns on, there is a brake system malfunction.
-(USA models) tllll (Canada models)
Stop vehicle and check brake fluid level
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, proceed as follows :
.. Pull
off the road.
• Stop the vehicle.
• Turn
off the engine.
• Check the brake fluid level¢
page 225 .
.. Contact your nearest authorized repair fa-
cility if necessary .
Warning! Fault in brake system. Contact
dealer
If the ABS indicator light II] (USA models)/11]
(Canada models), the ESP indicator light DJ
and the brake system indicator light
- (USA models)/ . (Canada models) turn
on and the message appears , the ABS, ESP
and braking distribution are not working¢&, .
Carefully drive to your authorized Audi dealer immediately to have the malfunction correct­
ed ¢&, .
- (USA models)/ . (Canada models)
Parking brake: system fault! Please contact
dealer
- If the indicator light and the message ap­
pear
when stationary or after switching the
ignition on,
check if you can release the
parking brake. After releasing the parking
brake, carefully drive to your authorized Au­
di dealer immediately to have the malfunc­
tion corrected.
If you cannot release the
parking brake, seek professional assistance. - If
the indicator light and the message ap­
pear
while driving, the emergency braking
function may not be available. It may not be
possible to set the parking brake or release
it once it has been set. Seek professional as­
sistance .
(USA models): If the warning light- and
the warning light
r,J appear together, imme­
diately contact your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop to have all brake pads in­
spected
¢ page 19.
When the light comes on, an audible warning
signal is also given.
A WARNING
=
- Always observe the warnings in
¢ page 210, Engine compartment, be­
fore opening the hood and checking the
brake fluid.
- Driving with low brake fluid is a safety
hazard . Stop the car and get professional
assistance .
-USA models: If the - warning light,
the
G1 warning light and them warn­
ing light come on together, the rear
wheels could lock up first under hard
braking. Rear wheel lock-up can cause
loss of vehicle control and an accident. Have your vehicle repaired immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer or a quali­
fied workshop. Drive slowly and avoid sudden, hard brake applications .
-Canada models: If the brake warning
light •• the
DJ warning light and the
ABS warning light
II] come on together,
the rear wheels could lock up first under
hard braking. Rear wheel lock-up can
cause loss of vehicle control and an acci­
dent. Have your vehicle repaired immedi­
ately by your authorized Audi dealer or a
qualified workshop. Drive slowly and
avoid sudden, hard brake applications.
- If the brake warning/indicator light does
not go out after a few seconds and the
parking brake released, or lights up while
you are driving, the fluid level in the
brake fluid reservoir is too low. If you
~