2012 AUDI Q7 engine

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,,

possible to raise the suspension to a high leve l
above certain speeds .
When a speed of about 75 mph (120 km/h) is
exceeded for more than 30 seconds, the vehi­
cle is automatically lowe red to
low level when
in comfort and automatic mode. Ground
clearance is about 0.6 inch (15 mm) less,
compared to the
normal level.
When a speed of about 100 mph (160 km/h)
is exceeded for more than 20 seconds , the ve­
h icle is automat ica lly lowered to
highway lev­
el
when in automatic and dynamic mode.
Ground clearance is about 1.4 inches (35 mm)
less, compared to the
normal level. Road
holding is opt imized as a result of the lower
center of gravity, and fuel consumption is re­
duced as a result of reduced wind resistance .
Level adjustment
high level 2
high level 1
normal leve l
low level
highway level
Ground clearance
about 9 .4 inches
(240 mm)
about
8 inches
(205 mm)
about 7 inches (180 mm)
about 6 .5 inches
(165 mm)
about 5.7 inches (145 mm)
The segment disp lay @ in the MMI Display
c:::> page 152 or in the instrument cluster dis­
p lay
i:> page 153 shows the current vehicle
level.
Automatic
Select the automatic mode if you prefer a bal­
anced, comfortable suspension setting . The
damping characteristics are adjusted accord­
ingly.
- Automatic lowe ring: When a speed of
about 75 mph (120 km/h) is exceeded for
more than 30 seconds, the vehicle is auto­
matically lowered by about 0.6 inch (15
mm) to the
low level, wh ich is more suitable
for highway speeds. Road hold ing is opti ­
mized as a result of the lower center of grav-
Ad aptive Air Su sp en sion 15 1
ity and fuel consumption is reduced as a re ­
sult of reduced wind resistance . When a
speed of about 100 mph (160 km/h) is ex ­
ceeded for more than 20 seconds, the veh i­
cle is automatically lowered by an addit ional
0 .8 inch (20 mm) to
highway level.
- Automat ic raising: When the vehicle is at
highway level and the speed falls below
about 80 mph (130 km/h) for more than 20
seconds, the vehicle is automatically raised
to
low level. T he ve hicle is automat ica lly
ra ised aga in to
normal level if the speed
fa lls below abo ut 44 mph (70 km/h) for a
period of 2 minutes . The vehicle is raised im ­
mediately when speed fa lls below abo ut 22
mph (35 km/h).
Dynamic
Se lect the dynamic mode if you prefer a spo r­
ty suspension setting. In t his mo de, the veh i­
cle is lowered to
low level while it is still sta­
tionary and sporty damping characteristics
are se lected . The warning light
Ill in the in­
strument cl uster will come on for a few sec­
onds just to rem ind you of the reduced ground
clearance .
If you switc h off the engine whi le the vehicle
is in the dynamic mode and then switch on the
ignition once aga in, the
Ill warning light will
also come on aga in for a few seconds as a re­
minder .
-Automa tic lo weri ng : When a speed of
about 100 mph (160 km/h) is exceeded for
more than 20 seconds, the vehicle is auto ­
matically lowered by 0 .8 inch (20 mm) to
highway level .
-Automat ic ra is ing: The veh icle is automati­
cally ra ised to
low level aga in, if the speed
fa lls below about 80 mph (130 km/h) fo r a
pe riod of 20 seconds. The veh icle is raised
immed iate ly w hen speed falls be low about
22 mph (35 km/h).
Comfort
Select the comfort mode if you desire a s us­
pension setting with a special emp hasis on
comfort . Damp ing cha racte ristics w ith a clea r
Iii-

filled out, the vehicle is at high level 2 and has
the greatest amount of ground clearance pos­
sib le.
Wh ile the vehicle is be ing raised or lowered,
the target level is indica ted by an arrow@
¢ fig. 174 or a white border @~ fig. 175 . The
arrow/border disappears aga in when the vehi­
cle is at the target level.
Limitation s to MMI s ettin gs
Please note that not eve ry dr iving mode can
be selected in every driving situation . For ex­
ample , it is not possible to switch to "lift"
mode at speeds above 12 mph (20 km/h) .
This mode is then shown
greyed out in the
MMI Display .
The vehicle can only be lowered when
a ll of
the vehicle's doors are closed. If one door is open, all driving modes whose level setting is
belo w the current vehicle level appear
greyed
out
in the MMI Display . If a door is opened
while the veh icle is being lowered , the lower­
ing process is inte rrupted until all doors are
closed again.
If the system is temporarily unava ilable due
to, for instance, an empty compressed air
tank, the driving modes that cannot be set ap­ pear
greyed out in the MM I Disp lay. As soon
as the system is available again, the drivi ng
modes can once more be selected in the dis­
p lay.
@ Tips
- For additional informat io n on the driving
modes ~
page 150, Chassis controls .
-When the compressed air tank is empty,
the comp ressor can be switched on by
starting the engine. The Adaptive Air
Suspension is once again available, after
waiting a few minutes.
- To prevent overload, the system switches off temporarily if several adjustments
are made in a row. The Adaptive Air Sus­pension is once again available, after
waiting a few m inutes.
Ad apti ve A ir Sus pension 15 3
Appearance in the instrument cluster
d isplay
Appl ies to vehicles: wi th Adaptive A ir Suspensio n
You can view the current vehicle level in the
instrument cluster display.
Fi g. 17 6 Disp lay: Adapt ive A ir Suspensio n
Fig. 177 Disp lay: Adapt ive A ir Suspension
Repeated, brief tapping of the I RESE T I button
on the windshield wiper lever allows you to
select whether information concerning the
trip computer, digital tachometer, navigat ion *
or "Adapt ive A ir Suspens ion" is to appear in
the instrument cluster d isp lay.
Display of the Adaptive Air S uspension is auto­
matic when the offroad or lift mode is select­
ed, or when the vehicle is automatically low­
ered in lift mode.
Rai sing and lowe ring
If arrow (Dis
white¢ fig. 176 or~ fig. 177,
the vehicle is raised .
If arrow @is
white, the vehicle is lowered .
The respective arrow stays on until the level
c hange is complete. The time required for a
level cha nge can va ry, depending on the cur -
ren t driving conditions . .,..

156 Hom eli nk®
Homelink ®
Universal remote
control
General information
Applies to vehicles: with Home link® universal remote
control
The Homelink ® feature can learn up to three
radio frequency codes for most current trans­
mitters used for operating garage doors, es­ tate gates, home or outdoor lighting sys­
tems, and other devices.
You must first program the Homelink ® trans­
mitter before you can use the system
~ page 157, Programming the Homelink ®
transmitter.
In order to program the Home link ® transmit­
ter for devices utilizing rolling code, a second
person on a ladder who can safe ly reach the
garage door opener motor is recommended. I t is also necessary to locate the "learn" but­
ton on your garage door opener motor . Refer
to the operating instructions for the opener,
as the location and color of this button may
vary by manufacturer.
You can still use the origina l remote control
for the device at any time .
.&_ WARNING
-
- Never use the Homelink ® transmitter
with any garage door opener that does
have not the safety stop and reverse fea­
ture as requ ired by federa l safety stand­
ards. Th is includes any garage door open­
er model manufactured before April 1,
1982.
- A garage door opener which cannot de­
tect an object, signa ling the door to stop
and reverse does not mee t current feder ­
al safety s tandards. Using a garage doo r
opener without these features increases
risk of serious inj ury or death.
- F or sa fety reasons never release the
parking brake or start the engine w hile
anyone is stand ing in front of the vehicle . -
A garage door or an estate gate may
sometimes be set in mot ion when the
Homelink ® remote control is being pro­
grammed. If the device is repeatedly ac­
tivated, this can overstrain motor and
damage its e lectr ical components -an
overheated moto r is a fire hazard!
- To avo id possible injuries or property
damage, please always make abso lutely
certain that no persons o r objects are lo­
cated in the range of motion o f any
equ ipment being ope rated .
(D Tips
-If you would like more information on
Homel ink ®, where to purchase the
Homel ink ® compatib le produc ts, or
would like to purchase the Homelink ®
Home Lighting Package, please call to ll­
free: 1-800-355-3515 .
- For Declaration of Compliance to United States FCC and Ind ustry Canada reg ula­
tions~
page 322.

,&_ WARNING
-Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents. For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear safety belts when the vehicle is moving .
- Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person­
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles.
Fig. 186 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 187 The vehicle cras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies with vehicle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en­
ergy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Safety belts 1 71
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor. If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not
using safety belts
¢fig. 186, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
moving just before the crash, until something
stops them -here, the wall¢
fig. 187.
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision.
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
reach one ton (2,000 lbs. or 1,000 kg) or
more . At greater speeds, these forces are even
higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle . In a frontal colli­
sion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was travelling just before
the crash . Of course, the laws of physics don't
just apply to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of accidents and col­
lisions.

172 Safety belts
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 188 A driver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
Fig. 189 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt
will fly forward and strike the drive r
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained oc­
cupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what­
ever else is in the way
q fig. 188. This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup­ posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always there to offer protection in those accidents
in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed. Unbelted occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi­
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur .
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen­
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them­
selves but also the driver and other passen­ gers¢
fig. 189. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas­
senger.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It's simply
not true!
Fig. 190 Driver is correctly restra ined in a sudden brak­
ing maneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
cause serious injuries. In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle.
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing" the kinetic energy over a longer
period of ti me, the safety belts make the
lilJJ,