2012 AUDI Q7 Owner´s Manual

Lane width
Applies to vehicles: with side assist
-· Fig. 155 Lan es o f a norma l wid th a re in detect ion area
Fig . 156 Narrow lanes: Side ass ist may detect vehicles
two la nes away
Side assist's detection area is designed to cov­
e r l anes of standard w idth to the left and
r ight of your travel lane, depending on wheth­
er you dr ive in the center of your lane or closer
to the edge.
I f you drive in narrow lanes, s ide ass ist's de­
tec tion a rea may a lso incl ude other lanes -es­
pec ia lly if you tend to drive on the edge of
your lane
c:::> fig. 156 . Under these cond it ions,
ve hicles can also be detected that are two
lanes away, and side assist then could switch
between the informat ional and warn ing stage
signals.
When driving in very wide lanes, vehicles in
the adjacent lane may not be detected be ­
cause they are not inside the detection area.
Notes
Messages in instrument cluster display
Applies to vehicles: with side assist
If s ide ass ist t urns off automa tically, the ind i­
cator l igh t on the button wi ll go ou t and you
Aud i side assist 135
will see a message in the instrument cluster
display:
Audi side assist not available: sensors
bloc ked
The side assist sensors are built into the rear
bumper on the left and r ight (not visible on
the outside)
c:::> page 129, fig . 147. To ensure
that you do not adversely affect the way side
ass ist functions, foreign objects (such as stick­
ers or bicycle racks) should not be attached to
the area on the rear bumper where the sen­
sors a re located . If side ass ist functions are
adverse ly affec ted, you w ill see th is message
in the instrument cluster disp lay . Remove any­
th ing t hat may be blocking the sensors.
If no vehicle is detected for a longer per iod of
t ime wh ile dr iv ing, s ide ass ist w ill also switch
off automatically.
Audi s ide as sist cu rrentl y not available
If there is a temporary problem (such as the
vehicle 's battery charge be ing low), side assist
cannot be act ivated temporar ily .
Audi side assis t: sy stem fault
Have the system checked by an author ized Au­
di dealer or qualified workshop.
Audi side assist not availabl e when
towing
The radar sensor's view is limited when tow­
ing a tra iler. For vehicles with a factory instal­
led towing hitch or a trailer hitch that was in­
stalled later according to facto ry specifica­
tions, s ide ass ist is automatically deact ivated
as soon as the ele ctrical connection to the
trailer's e lectrical socke t is made, and this sta­
tus message appears in the instrument clus­
ter display. Deactivation cannot be guaran ­
teed when using a retrofitted towing hitch
that was
not installed according to factory
specifications.

136 Audi side a ssis t
Safety tips
App lies to vehicles: wit h side ass ist
The s ide ass ist detect ion may be lim ited when
d riving around narrow street corners , on hilly
streets, and under poor weathe r cond itions.
It is poss ible that the radar sensors may also
detect other objects , such as high or stag­
gered guardra ils .
Side assist does not measure actual lane
width . The system assumes a fixed lane w idth .
Detection in the left and r ight lanes is based
on this assumed lane width . When driving on
na rrow roads or when driving to the left or
right of the center of a travel lane , it is possi ­
b le that vehicles will be detected that are
not
in the lane next to the lane you are using.
A WARNING
- Improper reliance on the s ide assist sys­
tem can cause collisions and serious per­
sonal injury :
- Never rely only on side assist when
changing lanes .
- Always check rear view mirrors to make
sure that it is safe to change lanes.
- Side ass ist cannot detect a ll vehicles un­
der all cond itions- danger of accident!
- Side ass ist cannot detect vehicles in time
to alert you when they approach from beh ind at very h igh speed, or fall d rop
back very quickly.
- T he radar sensor's
vision can be reduced
or entirely blocked by rain, snow, and
heavy spray. This can result in side assist
not adequately detecting vehicles or, in
some cases, not detecting them at a ll.
Always keep an eye on the direction you are traveling and the relevant area
around the vehicle .
- Please note that side assist indicates
there are approaching vehicles, or vehi­
cles in your blind spot, only after your ve­
hicle has reached a driving speed of at
least 19 mph (30 km/h). -
Side assist signa l does not work around
tight corners (turning radius less than
328 feet, or 100 m).
- Side assist is no replacement for the driv­
er 's full attention. The driver alone is re­
sponsible for lane changes and sim ilar
driving maneuvers. Always keep an eye
on the d irect ion you are traveling and the
re levant area around the vehicle.
(D Note
To ensure that side assist is not adversely
affected, you should not block the area on
the rear bumper where the radar sensors
are located with foreign objects (such as
with stickers or bi cycle racks).
(D Tips
If the pos itions of the radar sensors have
been changed as a result of a rear end-co l­
lision, for instance, have s ide assist
checked by an autho rized Aud i dealer for
safety reasons.

Automatic transmission
tiptronic ®
General information
Your vehicle is equipped with an electronically
controlled automatic transmission. Upshifting
and downshifting takes p lace
automatically.
The transmission is also equipped with tip­
tronic ®. It allows the driver to shift gears
manually if desired ¢ page 140.
Driving the automatic transmission
Fig. 157 Shift gate o n the center console : se lector lev ­
er with release button
Starting the engine
.. The selector lever must be in Nor P.
Starting off
.. Press and hold the brake pedal.
.. Press and hold the release button in these­
lector lever handle and move the selector
lever from
P or N to D and release the but­
ton ¢.&,. .
.. Wait briefly until the transmission has shift­
ed (you will feet a slight movement).
.. Remove your foot from the brake pedal and
accelerate.
Rocking back and forth to become
unstuck
.. Shift only between D and R when the vehi­
cle is at a full stop and the engine is running
at id le speed.
Autom atic transm ission 13 7
Stopping
.. Press and hold the brake pedal until the ve­
hicle has come to a complete stop.
.. Keep the brake pedal depressed so that the
vehicle cannot roll forward or backward
while it is idling
c> .&,. .
.. Once stopped,
do not depress the accelera­
tor pedal to rev up the engine
c> .&, .
Parking
.. Press and hold the brake peda l until the ve­
hicle has come to a comp lete stop.
.. Set the parking brake firmly
¢page 110,
Parking .
.. Press and hold the release button in these­
lector lever handle, move the selector lever
into
P and then let go of the release button
¢ .&,.
The selector lever must be in Nor P. If one of
the driving positions is engaged a safety
switch will p revent the eng ine from being
started . See also
<=>page 106.
Before you move the selector lever from the P
position, you must always apply the brake
pedal before and while depressing the button
in the handle of the selector lever.
A WARNING
-Unintended vehicle movement can cause
serious injury .
- When the se lector lever is in a driving
pos ition, the vehicle may creep, even at
i dle speed . Therefore do not release
the parking brake o r foot brake until
you are ready to move, because power
i s transmitted to the wheels as soon as
a driving position is engaged .
- Do not accelerate while selecting a
driving position. At this time the en­
gine must be at idle speed so that un­
due stress is not placed on the clutches
in the transmission .
- Remember: -even when stopped brief-
l y with the automatic transmission in
"D", "S" or "R", engine power is being
transmitted to the wheels. Your vehicle
~

138 Automatic transmi ssion
co uld "creep" forward or backward.
When stopped, keep the brake pedal
fully depressed and use the parking brake if necessary to keep the vehicle
from ro lling .
- If the selector lever is unintentionally
moved into N wh ile you are driving, take
yo ur foot off the accele rato r pedal and
wa it for the engine to return to idle
speed befo re selecting a d rivi ng position .
- Never shift into "R" or "P" when the vehi­
cle is in mot ion.
- Never get out of the dr iver 's seat when
the engine is runn ing .
- If you must get out of the vehicle, move
the se lector lever securely into the P po­
sit io n and apply the par king brake f irm ly.
- If the eng ine must remain ru nning, never
hav e any driv ing pos ition engaged when
c hec king under the hood . M ake sure t he
sele ctor lever has securely eng aged and
is locke d in "P" with the par king brake
firmly set ¢
page 248, Engine compart ­
ment .
Otherw ise, any increase in eng ine
speed may set the vehicle in m otion,
even w ith the par kin g brake applied.
Selector lever positions
This section describes the selector lever posi ­
tions and driving ranges.
F ig. 158 Display in t he in st rum en t cluste r: selecto r
lev er in po sit ion P
The inst rumen t cluste r display shows the c ur­
rent selector lever position .
P - Park
In this selector lever posi tion the transm is­
s ion is mechanica lly locked. Engage
P only
whe n the vehicle is
completely stopped¢&.
in Driving the automatic transmission on
page 137.
T o 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 leve r hand le
whi le moving the selector lever to or from
P .
You can shift out of th is position only with the
ignition o n.
R • Reverse
The transm iss ion w ill automatically select the
lowest gear ratio when you shift into reverse .
Se lect
R o nly when t he vehi cle is at a full stop
and the engine is running at idle speed¢&. in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 137.
B efore you move the se lector lever to R , press
both the button in the hand le o f the se lecto r
lever and the brake pedal at the same t ime.
W hen the ignition is on, the bac kup light s illu­
minate w hen t he selec to r l ever is
moved in to
R .
N -Neutral
The transm iss io n is in neut ral in this pos it ion .
S hi ft to t his position fo r standing with the
brakes app lied
¢ page 139.
When the vehicle is stat iona ry or at speeds
below 3 mph (5 km/h) , you must always app ly
t h e foo tbrake before and wh ile mov ing the
l ever o ut o f
N.
D - Normal position for driving forward
Position D is for no rma l city and highway driv ­
ing . It ranges from zero to top speed and all
gears shift automatically , depend ing on en­
gine load, d riving speed and a utomat ically se­
l ected shift p rog rams.
When the vehicle is stat iona ry or at speeds
below 3 mph (5 km/h), you must always app ly
IJ,,

the foot brake before and while moving the lever to
D o ut of N .
In ce rt a in circumst ances i t may be advan ta­
geous to tempor arily swi tch to the manu al
shift p ro g ram to manually se lect gear ratios
to matc h specif ic dr iving conditions
r::!) page 140.
S - Sport position
Select this pos ition for sport ie r perfo rmance.
I n t his posi tion , the transm iss ion w ill not up­
shift as soon, allowing the vehicle to use the increased power avai lab le at higher engine
speeds to achieve live lier acce lerat ion.
W hen the ve hicle is st ationary o r at speeds
be low 3 mph (5 km/h), you must a lways a pply
the foot brake before and while moving t he
l ever to
S out of N .
A WARNING
Read and follow a ll WARNI NGS <=> & in
Driving th e automatic transmission on
page 137.
(D Note
-
Coast ing downh ill with the transmission in
N and the engine not running w ill result in
damage to the automatic transmiss io n
and possibly t he catalytic converte r.
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL)
The Automa tic Shift Lock safeguards you
against accidentally shifting into a forward or
the reverse gear and causing th e vehicle to
move unintentionally .
Fig. 159 Shift gate: s elec tor lever lock pos itions and
i n te rl ock bu tt on highli ght ed
Autom atic transm ission 139
T he selector lever lock is re leased as follows:
.. Turn t he igni tion on .
.. Ste p on the bra ke pedal.
At the same time
press and hold the inte rlock bu tton on the
side o f the gea r sele ctor knob
r::!) fig . 159
w ith your thum b until yo u have moved the
selector leve r to the desired posit ion .
Automatic selector lever lock
The selecto r leve r is lo cked in the P and N po­
s itions w hen the ig nitio n is tu rned on. To
move t he lever from these posit ions the driver
must de press the brake peda l. As a remin der
to the d river, the following warning appears in
the instr ument cluster d isp lay w hen the selec­
tor is in
P and N :
When stationary apply foot brake while se­
lecting gear
A time de lay eleme nt preven ts the sele ctor
l ever from locking when it is moved through
the
N position (going from R to D ). T he lock ­
ing element wi ll lock the selector lever i f the
lever is left i n N (Ne utral) for more than ap­
proximately 1 second, without the brake ped­
al be ing pressed .
At speeds above about 3 mph (5 km/h) the
Automat ic Shift Lock is automatically deact i­
vated in the
N posit ion.
Interlock button
The loc k button on t he selecto r lever prevents
the lever from being accidentally s hifted into
certain positions. Pressing this b utton deacti­
vates the selector lever lock. Depending on
the d irection of the shift, the selector lever
l ocks at differe nt pos it io ns. Th e pos itions are
highlig hted i n the i llustration
r::!) fig . 159.
Ignition key safety interlock
The key cannot be removed from the ign ition
u nless the selector lever is in t he
P park posi­
tion . When the ignit ion key is removed, t he
selector lever w ill be locked in t he
P pos ition.

140 Automatic transmission
Kick-down
The kick-down feature allows the vehicle to
generate maximum acceleration.
When you press the accelerator pedal beyond
the resistance point that is reached at full
throttle, the transmission will select a lower
gear ratio based on vehicle speed and eng ine
RPM. The engine RPM will be controlled to
produce maximum vehicle accelerat ion as
long as you continue to press the accelerator
pedal beyond this resistance point .
& WARNING ,--
Be careful when using the kick-down fea­
ture on slippery roads. Rapid acceleration may cause the vehicle to skid.
Dynamic shift program (DSP)
The automatic transmission is electronically
controlled .
The transmission is self adapting and will au­
tomatically
select the best shift program suit ­
ed to the driving conditions and driving style.
The transmission will select one of the
econo­
my
programs when you drive at a steady
speed or a gradually changing speed without
heavy acceleration. This achieves optimum
fuel efficiency, with early upshifting and de­
layed downshifting.
The transmission will automatically select the
sporty shift programs when you drive at high ­
er speeds, or with heavy acceleration and fre­
quent ly changing speeds. Upshifts are delayed
to make full use of engine power. Oownshift­
ing takes place at higher engine speeds than
in the economy programs.
The selection of the most suitable shift pro­
gram is a continuous, automatic process. The
driver can also make the transmission switch
to a sporty program by
quickly pressing down
the gas pedal.
This causes the transmission to shift down to
a lower gear to achieve rap id acceleration, e.g .
for quickly passing another veh icle. You do not need to press the gas pedal into the
kick-down
range. After the transmission has upshifted,
the or iginal program is selected according to
your driving style.
An additional shift program allows the auto­matic transmission to select the proper gear
for uphill and downhill gradients.
This keeps the transmission from shifting up
and down unnecessarily on hills . The trans­
mission will shift down to a lower gear when
the driver presses the brake pedal on a down ­
hill gradient. This makes use of the braking ef­
fect of the engine without the need to shift
down manually.
Manual shift program
Using the manual shift program you can
manually select gears.
Fig. 160 Cente r conso le: shifting the t iptronic® man­
ually
Fig. 161 D isplay: manual shift program, selected gear
Switching to manual shift program
.. Push the selector lever to the right from D.
As soon as the transmission has switched
over, the selected gear appears in the dis­
play
Q fig . 161.

To upshift
• Push the selec tor leve r forw ard to the pl us
pos ition
0 ¢ fig. 160 .
To downshift
• Push the lever to the m in us position Q .
When acce lerating, the transm iss ion w ill au­
tomatically sh ift into the next gear before the
e ngine reaches its maxim um RPM .
If you app ly a light throttle when accelerat­
ing , tiptronic ® will automatically shift from
1st to 2nd gear to save fuel. If you apply a
h eavy thrott le, the transmission will stay in
1st gear unt il n ear maximum R PM is reached,
or until the d river sh ifts i nto 2nd gear .
If you take your foot off the accelerator peda l
when dr iv ing down a steep incli ne , tiptronic ®
will downshift from th e se lected gear into the
n ex t lowe r gear until it reaches 1st gea r,
b ased on ro ad s peed and eng ine RPM . A uto­
mat ic downshifting is in ter rupted as soon as
you apply t he thrott le again.
@ Tips
- Wh en you sh ift i nto the next lower ge ar,
t h e transm iss io n will dow nshi ft only
whe n there is no possibility of over-rev­
v ing the engine.
- When t he kick -down comes on, t he
transmission will s hift down to a lower
gear, depending on ve hicle and engine
speeds .
- tiptron ic® is inoperative w hen the trans­
mission is in the fail-sa fe mode.
Autom atic transm ission 141
Steering wheel with tiptronic ®
Applies to vehicles: w ith t iptronic-steering wheel
T he shift buttons on the steering wheel allow
the driver to shift gears manually .
Fig. 162 Steering w hee l: S hift b utt ons
• To down shi ft, tou ch the bu tton on t he left
o .
• To upshift, touch the button on the right
0 .
The shift bu tton s a re activ at ed when these ­
lector lever is in D, So r in the manual s hift
program (tiptronic) .
O f c ourse , you can c ontinue to use the manu al
s hift p rogram wi th the selecto r leve r on the
cente r co nsole.
Automatic transmission malfunction
[O] Transmission malfunction: You can con­
tinue driv ing
T he re is a system mal func tion in the t ransmis­
s io n. You may cont inue dr iving . Drive to your
a u tho rized Aud i dea ler o r qualified repa ir fa­
cility soon to have the ma lfunction corrected.
[O] Transmis sion malfunction: Limited driv­
ing functionality
T he re is a system mal func tion i n the t ransmis­
s io n. The transm iss ion is swi tching to emer­
gency mode. This mode o nly shifts into cer­
ta in gears o r will no longer shift at all . The en ­
gine may sta ll. Drive to your a uthorized Audi
dealer or qualified repair facility immediately
to have the malfunction correcte d.
IJJ,,

142 Automatic transmission
(D Note
If the transmission switches to emergency
mode, you should take the vehicle to an
authorized Audi dealership as soon as pos­
sible to have the condition corrected.
Emergency release for selector lever
If the vehicle's power supply fails, the selec­ tor lever can be released in an emergency .
Fig. 163 Emergency release fo r selecto r lever
The emergency release is located under a rub­
be r mat .
.,. Carefully
lift the rubber mat with a screw­
driver or something similar~
fig. 163 .
.,. You now have access to a rocker switch . Us­
ing a screwdr iver or similar object, press the
rocker switch down and hold it down .
.,. Now press the interlock and move the selec-
tor lever to the
N position.
The selector lever can only be moved from the
P position if the ignition key is in the lock and
the ignition is turned on . If the vehicle has to
be pushed or towed if the power supply fai ls
(e .g. battery is discharged), the selector lever
must be moved to the
N position using the
emergency locking device.