2012 AUDI A7 power steering

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

(!) 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.

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

Opening and closing Keys
Key set
Fig. 16 Key set
@ Remote control key with mechanical
key
You can centrally lock and unlock your vehicle
and start the engine with the master key with
remote control. A mechanical key is integrat­
ed in the remote control key~
page 30.
® Emergency key
The emergency key is not intended for con­
stant use.
It should only be used in an emer­
gency . Keep it in a safe place and do not carry
it on your key ring .
Key replacement
If you lose a key, contact your authorized Audi
dealer immediately to have the
lost key disa­
bled. Be sure to bring all your keys with you.
Personal comfort settings
If two people use one vehicle, it is recom­
mended that each person always uses "their
own" master key. When the ignition is switch ­
ed
off or when the vehicle is locked, personal
convenience settings for the following sys­
tems are stored and assigned to the remote
master key.
- Automatic climate control
- Central locking system
- Ambience lighting*
- Seat memory*
- Parking system*
- Adaptive cruise control*
Opening and closing 29
- Audi side assist*
- Audi drive select
- Night vision assistant*
- Heated steering wheel*
The stored settings are automatically recalled
when you unlock the vehicle, when you open
the doors or when you switch the ignition on.
A WARNING
---Do not leave your vehicle unattended . Al­
ways take your ignition key with you and
lock your vehicle. Entry by unauthorized
persons could endanger you or result in
theft or damage the vehicle.
- Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle, especially with access to vehicle
keys. Unguarded access to the keys pro­
vides children the opportunity to start the engine and/or activate vehicle sys­
tems such as the power windows, etc. Unsupervised operation of any vehicle
system by children can result in serious
injury.
{!) Tips
- The operation of the remote control key can be temporarily disrupted by interfer­
ence from transmitters in the vicinity of
the vehicle working in the same frequen­
cy range (e .g. a cell phone , radio equip­
ment).
- For security reasons, replacement keys
are only available from Audi dealers.
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions
~ page 276.

-If you leave the vehicle with the ignition
switched on, the ignition will switch off
after a certain period of time . Please
note that e lectrica l equipment such as
exterior lights will switch off as well
when that happens.
Stopping the engine
.,. Bring your vehicle to a complete stop.
.,. Move the selector lever to the
P or N posi­
t ion.
.,. Press the
!START ENGINE STOPI button
¢page 71, fig. 76.
Emergency off
If necessary, the engine can be sw itched off
with the selector leve r in the
R or D/ S posi­
tion . The engine stops if you p ress the
I START ENGINE STOPI button at speeds below
6 mph (10 km/h) and press the brake pedal.
A WARNING
- Never turn off the engine until the vehi­
cle has come to a complete stop.
- The brake booster and power steering
only work when the engine is running. If
the engine is off, you have to use more
force when steering or braking. Because
you cannot steer and brake as you usua l­
ly would, this could lead to crashes and
serious injur ies.
- For safety reasons, you should always
park your vehicle with the selector lever
in P. Othe rwise, the veh icle could inad­
vertent ly roll away.
- After the engine has been switched off,
the radiator fan can continue to r un for
up to 10 minutes - even with the ign it ion
swit ched off.
It can a lso swi tch on aga in
after some time if the coo lant tempera ­
ture rises as the result of a heat buildup
or if the engine is hot and the engine
compartment is additionally heated by
the sun's rays.
On th e road 73
(D Note
Do not stop the engine immediately after
hard or extended driving. Keep the engine
running for approximately two minutes to
prevent excess ive heat bu ild-up.
Starting the engine if there is a
malfunction
It may not be possible to start the engine un­
der certain circumstances, for example if the
battery in the vehicle key is drained, if inter­
ference is affected the key or if there is a sys­
tem malfunction.
F ig . 77 Center console/master key: start ing the eng ine
i f there is a malfunction
Requirement : The message K ey not recog­
nized . Ho ld back of k ey against mark ed area .
Se e own er's manual.
must appear and the in­
di cator light
I] must swi tch on.
.,. Hold the master key vertically in the loca­
tion indicated
y >>) 9 fig. 77.
.,. Press the b rake pedal¢
& in Starting the
engine on page
72.
... Press the '"" I s"'T ,..,A ""'R ,.,,T ,..., E"' N...,. G = I N~ E-=s"'T '""o '"" P,..,I button.
The engine will start.
... Drive to your authorized Audi dea ler imme­
diately to have the malfunction corrected.
(D Tips
You can view the message again by press­ i ng the
I STAR T ENGINE STOP ! button.

Parking
Various rules apply to prevent the parked ve­
hicle from rolling away accidentally .
Pa rkin g
.. Stop the vehicle with the foot brake .
.. Pu ll the switch(®) to apply the park ing
brake.
.. Select the
P selector lever position
~page 102 .
.. Turn the eng ine off ~,&. .
In addition on inclines and grade s
.. Turn the steering wheel so that your vehicle
will roll against the curb in case it should
start to move .
A WARNING
-When you leave your veh icle - even if on­
ly b riefly - always take the ignition key
with you. This applies particu la rly when
children remain in the veh icle . Otherw ise
the chi ldren could start the engine, re ­
lease the parking brake or operate elec­
trical equipment (e.g. power windows) .
There is the risk of an accident .
- When the vehicle is locked, no one - par­
ticularly not children sho uld remain in
the vehicle. Locked doors make it more
difficult for emergency workers to get in­
to the vehicle - putting lives at risk.
Starting from rest
The star ting assis t func tion ensures tha t the
parking brake is released automatically upon
starting .
Stopp ing and appl ying park ing b rake
.. Pull the switch<®) to apply the park ing
brake.
Startin g and automatically relea sing the
pa rking br ake
.. When you start to drive as usua l, the park ­
ing brake is automatically re leased and your
vehicle begins to move.
On th e ro ad 75
When stopping at a traffic signal or s topping
in city traffic, the parking brake can be ap­
plied. The vehicle does not have to be he ld
with the footbrake . The parking brake elimi­
nates the tendency to creep w ith a dr ive range
engaged. As soon as you drive off as usual,
the parking brake is released automatically
and the veh icle starts to move .
Starting on slope s
When starting on inclines, the starting assist
prevents the vehicle from un intent ionally roll­
i ng back. The braki ng force of the parking
brake is not released unti l suff ic ient driving
fo rce has been built up at the wheels .
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re­
leased automatically only when the d riv­
er's safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Starting off with a trailer
To prevent rolling back unintentionally on an
incline, do the following:
.. Keep the switch<®> pulled and depress the
accelerato r. The parking brake stays applied
and prevents the vehicle from roll ing back­
ward .
.. You can release the switch<®) once you are
sure that you are developing enough for­
wa rd momentum at the whee ls as you de­
press the acce lerator .
Depend ing on the weight of the rig (veh icle
and t ra iler) and the severity of the incline, yo u
may ro ll backwards as yo u start . You can pre ­
vent rolling backwards by holding the parking
brake switch (®) pulled out and accelerating -
just as you would when starting on a hill with
a conventiona l hand brake.

184 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorde r (EDR), ins talled by some manu­
facture rs fo r the express p urpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or cras h
event . EDR's are sometimes ca lled "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restr ict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
A ltho ugh yo ur vehicle is not equ ipped wit h an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine f unction, em is­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic contro l modules also record
vehicle-re lated data during norma l vehicle op­
erat ion for diagnostic and repa ir purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded ove r a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a sys tem faul t or o ther
cond ition is sensed by a cont ro l u nit. Some of
the data then stored may re late to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condit ion. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded w ith special equip­
ment.
Electronic stabilization
program (ESP)
Description
ESP helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESP detects certain difficult driving situat
ions, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw) o ut of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under contro l by se lectively braking the
whee ls, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steer ing ass istance to he lp hold the
vehicle o n the dr ive r's intended cou rse. The in­
dicato r light
G] in the instrument cluste r
blinks when ESP is taking action to help you
control the veh icle.
ESP has l imitations.
It is importa nt to remem­
ber that ESP cannot overcome the laws of
physics. It will not always be able to help out
under a ll cond it ions you may come up aga inst.
F or example, ESP may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
s u dden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is sudden ly covered w ith water,
s lush or snow, ESP cannot perform the same
way it wou ld on the dry surface . If the ve hicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESP will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle be cause con­
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESP cannot a lways deal as effectively
with difficult driv ing situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESP is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic; and weather condit ions. ESP can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a ve hicle
on the road if road departu re is a result of
drive r inattent io n. Instead, ESP improves the
poss ibil ity of keeping the vehi cle under con ­
trol and on the road during extreme maneu­
vers by using the d river's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection . If you are traveling at a speed that
ca uses you to run off the road before ESP can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESP .

Electro-mechanical
power assist
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering .
Power steering adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed .
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defective! Stop the vehicle
If th is ind icat or light turns on and stays on
and this message appears, the power steering
may have failed.
Do
not continue driving. See you r authorized
Aud i dealer or other qualified repair fac ility
for assistance.
t :r- fl Steering: System malfunction! You may
continue driving
If the indicator lig ht turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steer ing may be more diffi­
cult to
move or more sensitive than usual.
Drive slowly to your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected.
(D Tips
If the . or t:r- fl ind icator light only stays
on for a short time, you may continue driv­
ing.
Driving with your
quattro ®
Appl ies to vehicles : wit h all- wheel d rive
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv ­
en.
General information
With all-whee l dr ive, power is distributed to
all four wheels. This happens automatically
depending on your driving sty le and the road
conditions at the time . See also
c!.> page 184.
The all-wheel drive concept is designed fo r
high engine power. Your vehicle is exception ­
ally powerful and has exce llent driving charac-
Intelligent technology 189
teristics both under normal driving conditions
and on snow and ice. Always read and follow
safety precaut ions ¢&. .
Winter tires
When driving in the winter, your vehicle with
all-wheel drive has an advantage,
even with
regular tires. In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all-sea ­
son tires) for improved driveability and brak­
ing : these tires must be mounted on
all four
wheels.
See also ¢ page 246, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this normally also applies to vehicles
with all-wheel drive¢
page 247, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheels/tires
Vehicles with all-wheel drive must always
have tires of the same size. A lso avoid tires
with different tread depths . For detai ls see
page
c:> page 242, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels.
Off-Road driving?
You r Audi does not have enough ground clear­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle . It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un­
even terrain as much as possib le. Also refer to
c:> page 193.
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to road and traf­
fic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
- Although the all-wheel drive is very ef­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is lim ited by tire traction. You
should therefore not drive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippe ry road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
drive too fast because the front wheels
could begin to slide on top of the water
(aquaplaning) . If this should occur, you
will have no warning from a sudden
•
•