2012 AUDI Q7 ECU

258 Checking and filling
Checking and filling Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig . 2 27 Dr iver' s side footwe ll: e ngin e hood re lease
lever
.. Open the drive r's door.
.. Pull the release lever on the left under the
inst rument panel
c> fig . 227 in the d irect ion
of the ar row .
The hood pops up s light ly under spring pres­
sure.
Opening the engine hood
Fig. 228 Re lease lever under the e ng ine hood
Before opening the engine hood, make s ure
that the windshie ld w ipers are flat against the
windshie ld. Otherwise, they co uld damage the
pa in t on the hood.
.. Lift the hood s light ly
c> _& .
.. Pull up on the release under the hood
¢ fig. 228 . This releases the catch .
.. Open the hood all the way.
A WARNING
-Hot eng ine co olant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of being b urned, never
o pen the hood if you see or hear steam
or coo la nt escapi ng from the eng ine
compa rtment . W ait unt il no steam or
coo lant can b e se en o r heard before care­
fu lly openi ng the ho od.
Closing the engine hood
.. Pull the hood down un til the pressure from
t he stru ts is reduced .
.. Let the hood
drop down and la tch in p lace.
Do not try to push it shut; it may fail to en­
gage
c> _& .
A WARNING
--
A ho od t hat is not completely latched
could fly up an d block your vi ew while dr iv­
i ng.
- W hen you close the engine hood, ch eck it
to make sure the safety catch has proper­
ly engaged . The hood should be flush
wit h the surrou nding vehicle body parts.
- If you notice while dr iv ing t hat t he hood
is not s ecured properly, stop at once and
close it .
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in
the engine compartment .
Whenever you must perform any wo rk in the
engine compartment, for example checking
and filling different fluids, th ere is a risk of
injury, burns and accidents. To pr event per­
sonal injury alway s observe the following
WARNINGS. The engine compartm ent of any
vehicle is a hazardous area
c> &, .
A WARNING
To he lp avo id i njury, before yo u check any­
thi ng under the hoo d:
- Tu rn off the eng ine .
- Remove the igni tion key.

driving a few yards and correct if neces­
sary . Follow the instructions from the
snow cha in manufacturer when doing so.
- If the Adaptive Air Suspension* should
malfunction, do not mount or use snow
chains beca use the vehicle will be ex­
tremely low. If you do drive with snow
chains on while the vehicle is at this lev­ el, the snow chains might severe ly dam­
age the wheelhouse and other parts of
the veh icle.
(0 Tips
W here snow cha ins are mandatory oncer­
tain roads, this normally also applies to ve­
hicles with all-wheel drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of whee l bolts is matched to the
factory installed r ims. If different rims are fit­
ted, the cor rect wheel bolts wit h the right
lengt h and correctly s haped bolt heads must
be used. This ens ures t hat w heels a re fitted
secure ly an d that the brake system f unctions
correctly.
I n ce rtain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bo lts from a d ifferent vehicle -even if it
is the s ame mode l~
page 3 21.
& WARNING
Improperly tig htened or maintained whee l
bolts can become loose ca using loss of
cont ro l, a co llision and serious persona l in­
jury.
- Always keep the w heel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop­ erly t ightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose w hile driving if greased or
o iled, even if tig hte ned to the specified
torq ue.
Tire s an d wheel s 2 91
-On ly use whee l bolts that be long to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different wheels bolts on yo ur
veh icle.
- Always maintain the correct t ightening
torque for the whee l bolts to reduce t he
risk o f a wheel loss. If the tightening tor­
que of t he wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when t he vehi­
cle is mov ing.
If the tig hte ning torque is
too high, the wheel bolts and threads can be damaged and the whee l can be­
come loose.
(D Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
120
ft l b ( 160 Nm) with a to le rance of
± 7, 4
ft lb( ± 10 Nm). Torque w heel bo lts
d iagon ally . After changi ng a w heel, the
torque m ust be chec ke d as soon as poss i­
b le with a to rque wrench -preferab ly by an
a uthorized Audi dea ler or q ua lified work­
shop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equ ipped with tow aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoroughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb perfo rmance, road feel
and handli ng under a var iety of drivi ng condi­
tions. As k your au thori zed A udi dealer for
more de tails.
The low asp ect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a nu mera l of
55 or l ess in the tire's s ize
designation. The n ume ra l rep resen ts the ra tio
of the tire's sidew all height in rel ation to its
tread width exp ressed in percentage . Conven ­
tiona l tires have a he ight/width ratio of 60 or
more.
The performance of low-aspect-ratio tire s is
particularly sensitive to improper inflation
pre ssure. It is therefore important th at low
aspect ratio tires are inflated to the specified pressure and that the inflation pressure is
regularly checked and mainta ined. Tire pres-
sures should be checked at least once a .,..
•
•

2 96 What do I do now ?
plate. If this happens, the vehicle may
start to move while a wheel is being changed.
- Never use the folding chocks if they are
damaged or if they have not been assem­
bled correctly.
A WARNING
Improper use of the vehicle jack can cause
ser ious persona l injuries.
- Never use the jack supplied with your Au­
di on anothe r vehicle, pa rticularly on a
heavier one. The jack is only suitable for
use on the vehicle it came w ith.
- Us ing a bumper jack to raise the vehicle
will damage the bump er system. The
jack may slip, causing in jury.
- Never support your veh icle on cinder
blocks, b ricks or other objec ts. These
may no t be ab le to suppor t the load and
c ou ld cau se injury whe n they fail.
- Never start o r run the engine while the
vehicle is supported by the j ack.
- If you must wo rk under the vehicle, al­
ways use safety stands specifically de­
signed for this purpose.
- Always make su re the inf latable spare
ti re and even a flat tire a re se cu red in
pla ce and not loose, otherwise t hey
c ou ld f ly forward, causing personal in jury
to passengers in the veh icle in an acc i­
dent o r sudden mane uver.
Removing bass box
Applies to vehicles: with bass box
Before the inflatable spare tire can be taken
out, the bass box must be removed .
Fig. 247 Spare wheel well: Bass box
Removing bass box
" Squee ze the locking tabs ¢ fig. 247 (!) of
the connector .
" Disconnect the connector @and place the
lead to one side.
" Turn t he large screw counter-clockwise.
" Carefully
remove the bass box.
Installing bass bo x
" Carefully place the bass box in the wheel.
The insc ription " FRO NT" on the bass box
m ust face forward .
" Reconnect the connector that was removed.
" Secure the bass box with t he large screw.
· Inflatable spare tire
The inflatable spare tire expands to its full di­
ameter when it is inflated.
Fi g. 2 48 In flatable spare t ire w ith compressor
Removing inflatable spare tire
" Lift up the cargo floor us ing the handle .
" Tu rn the large screw¢
fig. 248 co unter-
clockwise.
" Remove the bass box as required
¢page 296.
" Take out the inflatable spare tire .
" Always sto re the vehicle tool kit, the jack
and the replaced tire in the luggage com­
partment
¢page 166.
Stowing the inflatable spar e tire
" Release the air by unscrewing the valve
stem.
" Screw the
valve stem back in afterwards .
" Wait a few hours befo re p lacing the wheel
in the spare whee l we ll
r=:, _.&.
" Install the bass box as required r=:, page 296 . ..,.

• Secure the wheel with the large screw.
• Fold the cargo floor back down.
After using the inflatable spare wheel
The inflatable spare tire can be re-used as
long as it is not damaged and is not worn
down to the tread wear indicators~.&. .
When you let the air out of the inflatable
spare tire, it does not assume its folded shape
again for several hours. Until then, it cannot
be placed back in the spare wheel well and
stowed securely.
A WARNING
- Never use the spare tire if it is damaged
or if it is worn down to the tread wear in­
dicators.
- If the inflatable spare tire is more than 6
years old, use it only in an emergency
and with extreme caution and careful
driving .
- The inflatable spare tire is intended only
for temporary and short-term use .
It
should be replaced as soon as possible
with the normal wheel and tire.
- The tire pressure value for the inflatable
spare tire is located on the driver's side
8-pillar
~ page 2 78, fig . 238.
-Maximum permissible speed is 50 mph
(80 km/h).
- Avoid full-throttle acceleration, heavy
braking, and fast cornering.
- When the air is let out of the inflatable
spare wheel, it does not assume its fold­
ed shape for several hours . Until then, it
cannot be placed back in the spare wheel
well and stowed securely.
- Never drive with more than one inflata­
ble spare tire.
- For technical reasons, the use of tire
chains on the inflatable spare tire is not
permitted. If it is necessary to drive with
tire chains, the inflatable spare wheel
must be mounted on the front axle in the
event of a flat in a rear tire. The newly
available front wheel must then be in­
stalled in place of the rear wheel with
What do I do now? 297
the flat tire. Installing the tire chain be­
fore mounting the wheel and tire is rec­
ommended.
- Loose items in the passenger compart­
ment can cause serious personal injury
during hard braking or in an accident.
Never store the inflatable spare tire or
jack and tools in the passenger compart­
ment.
(D Note
- The inflatable spare tire has been devel­
oped specifically for this vehicle model.
It must not be exchanged or used for
other vehicle models. Similarly, inflata­
ble tires from other vehicle models must
not be used.
- Normal summer or winter tires must not
be installed on the inflatable tire rim.
Inflating inflatable spare tire
• Remove the compressor from the luggage
compartment
~ page 296, fig. 248.
• Unscrew the valve stem from the spare tire.
• Screw the tire filler hose from the compres­
sor firmly onto the valve of the spare tire.
• Insert the plug from the compressor into a
socket of the vehicle
~ page 87 .
• Switch the compressor on.
• Let the compressor run until the value
specified on the tire pressure label is
reached
~ page 2 78, fig. 238. Switch the
compressor off after running for 12 minutes
at the most -danger of overheating!
A WARNING
-
The compressor and the tire filler hose can
become extremely hot while they are run­
ning -danger of burns!
(D Note
Switch the compressor off after running
for 12 minutes at the most -danger of
overheating! Allow the compressor to cool
down for a few minutes before you use it
again .
•
•

_& WARNING
-You or your passengers could be injured
while changing a wheel if you do not
follow these safety precautions:
- Position the jack only at the designated
lifting points and align the jack. Other­
wise, the jack could slip and cause an
injury if it does not have sufficient hold
on the vehicle.
- A soft or unstable surface under the
jack may cause the vehicle to slip off the jack. Always provide a firm base for
the jack on the ground . If necessary,
use a sturdy board under the jack.
- On hard, slippery surface (such as tiles)
use a rubber mat or similar to prevent
the jack from slipping .
- To help prevent injury to yourself and
your passengers:
- Do not raise the vehicle until you are
sure the jack is securely engaged.
- Passengers must not remain in the ve­
hicle when it is jacked up.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a
safe place away from the vehicle and
well away from the road and traffic.
- Make sure jack position is correct, ad­
just as necessary and then continue to
raise the jack.
(D Note
Do not lift the vehicle by the sill. Position
the jack only at the designated lifting
points on the sill. Otherwise, your vehicle
will be damaged.
What do I do now? 301
Taking the wheel off/installing the inflatable spare tire
Follow these instructions step-by-step for
changing the wheel
Fig. 254 Chan ging a wh eel : ali gnment p in inside the
t op hole
After you have loosened all wheel bolts and
raised the vehicle off the ground, remove and
replace the wheel as follows :
Removing the wheel
.. Remove the topmost wheel bolt comple tely
and set it aside on a
clean surface .
.. Screw the threaded end of the
alignment
pin from the tool kit hand-tight into the
empty bolt hole
~ fig . 254.
.. Then remove the other wheel bolts as de­
scribed above.
.. Take off the wheel leaving the alignment
pin in the bolt hole
~ 0.
Putting on the inflatable spare tire
.. Inflate the inflatable spare tire~ page 297
and push the wheel over the alignment pin.
.,. Screw in and tighten all wheel bolts
slight­
ly.
.. Remove the alignment pin and insert and
tighten the remaining wheel bolt slightly
like the rest .
.. Turn the jack handle counter-clockwise to
lower the vehicle until the jack is fully re­
leased .
.,. Use the wheel bolt wrench to tighten all
wheel bolts firmly
~page 299 . Tighten
them
crosswise, from one bolt to the (ap­
proximately) opposite one, to keep the
wheel centered.

302 What do I do now?
When removing or installing the wheel,
the rim could hit the brake rotor and dam­
age the rotor. Work carefully and have a
second person help you.
- When mounting tires with
unid irectional
tread design
make sure the tread pat­
tern is pointed the right way
¢ page 302.
-The wheel bolts should be clean and easy
to turn. Check for d irt and corrosion on
the mat ing surfaces of both the wheel
and the hub. Remove all dirt from these
su rfaces before remount ing the wheel.
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed in
the right direction.
Using a spare t ire w ith a tread pattern
int ended fo r use in a specific direct ion
When us ing a spa re tire w ith a t read patte rn
i n te nded for use in a specific direction, p lease
note the fo llowing:
- The direction of rotation is marked by an ar­
row on the side of the tire .
- If the spare tire has to be installed in the in­
correct d irection, use the spare tire only
temporarily since the t ire will not be able to
a chieve its optimum perfo rma nce character­
ist ics w ith reg ard to aquapl ani ng, noise and
wea r.
- We recommend tha t you pay pa rticular at ­
tent ion to this fact du ring wet weather and
that you adjust your speed to ma tch road
con ditions.
- Replace the fla t tire w ith a new one and
have it installed on your veh icle as soon as
poss ible to restore the handling advantages
of a unid irect iona l tire.
Notes on wheel changing
Please read t he i nfo rmat ion Q page 285, New
tires and replacing tires and wheels
if yo u are
go ing to use a spa re tire which is different
from the tires on yo ur vehicle.
After you change a tire:
- Check the tire pressure on the spar e imm e­
diately after installation .
- Ha ve the wheel bolt tightening torque
ch ecked with a torque wr ench as soon a s
po ssible by your authorized Audi deal er or
a qua lifi ed workshop.
- With steel and alloy wheel rim s, the wheel
bolt s are corre ctly tightened at a torque of
120 ft lb (160 Nm) .
- If you notice that the wheel bolts ar e cor ­
roded and difficult to turn while changing
a tire, they should be repla ced before y ou
c heck the tightening torque .
- Re pla ce the flat tire wi th a new on e and
have it in stalled on y our vehi cle a s soon a s
po ssible. Remount the wheel cover.
Until th en , dr ive with extra car e and at re­
duc ed speed s.
&_ WARNING
-
- If you a re going to eq uip you r vehi cle
with tires or rims which differ from those
which were factory installed, then be
sure to read the information
Q page 285,
New tires and replacing tires and
wheels.
- Always make s ure the damaged wheel o r
even a flat tire and the jack and tool kit
are property secured in the luggage com­
partment and are not loose in the pas­
senger compartment .
- In an accident or sudden maneuver they
could fly forwa rd, injuring anyone in the
ve hicle.
- Always store damaged wheel, jack and
too ls securely in the luggage compa rt­
ment. Othe rwise, in a n accident o r sud­
den maneuve r they could f ly forwa rd,
causing inj ury to passengers in the ve hi­
cle.

310 Emergency sit uat ions
-Jumper cables mus t be long enough so
that the vehicles do not touch.
- W hen connecting jumper ca bles, make
sure that they cannot get caught in any moving parts in the eng ine compart­
ment.
- Before you check anything in the engine compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
c> page 248, Engine com­
partment.
({D Note
Improper hook-up of jumper cables can r u­
in the generator.
- Always connect POSITIVE( +) to POSI­
TIVE(+), and NEGATIVE( -) to NEGATIVE
( - ) ground post of the battery manager
control unit.
- Check that all screw plugs on the battery
ce lls are screwed in firmly. If not, tighten
plugs prior to connecting clamp on nega­
tive battery terminal.
- Please note that the procedure for con­
nec:t i ng a jumper cable as described
above applies spec ifically to the case of
you r vehicle being jump started. When
you are giving a jump st art t o anothe r ve­
hicle, do
not connect the negat ive (-) ca­
ble to the negat ive (-) terminal on the
discharged battery ©
c> fig. 261. In­
stead, securely connect the negative(-)
cable to e ither a solid metal component
that is firmly bolted to the engine block
or to t he engine block itse lf. If the bat­
te ry that is being charged does not vent
to t he outside, es caping batte ry gas
could ignite and explode!
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow­
ing.
T he following information is to be used by
commercial tow truck operators who know
how to operate their equipment safely.
- Ne ver tow your Audi , towing will cau se
damage to the engine and tr an smi ssion .
- Ne ver wrap th e safet y chain s or winch ca­
ble s around the brak e lines.
- To prevent unne ces sary damage, your Audi
must be tr an sp o rt ed with a flat bed tru ck.
- To load th e vehi cle on to the fl at bed, use
the towing l oop found in the ve hicle to ols
and att ach to th e front or rea r anchorage
i=> page 311 and i=>page 311 .
& WARNING
--==
A vehicle being towed is not safe for pas-
sengers. Never allow anyone to ride in a
vehicle be ing towed, for any reason.
-

320 Consumer 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 dev ices 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
cab le 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 258 .
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 and the igni­
tion key has been removed. The rad iator
fan switches on automatically when the coo lant reaches a certai n tempera ture
and will cont inue to run until the coo lant
temperature drops .
- Always remove the ign ition key befo re
anyone gets under the veh icle.
- Always support your veh icle with safety
s tands if it is necessary to work under­
neath the vehicle. The jack s upplied with
the vehicle is not adequate for this pur ­
pose and co uld co llapse causing serio us
personal injury.
- If you must work unde rneath the vehicle
wit h the wheels on the ground, a lways
make sure the vehicle is on leve l ground,
that the wheels are always secure ly
blocked and that the engine cannot be
started.