2012 AUDI Q7 coolant level

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 11
too high, or the coolant level is too low
¢ page 32.
If the needle is well in the upper area of the
ga uge , the coolant temperature is too high.
Stop the vehicle , switch the eng ine off and
allow the engine to cool.
If the warning light
comes on again after driving a short distance,
contact an authorized dealer.
A WARNING
-Always observe the warning in
¢ page 248, Engine compartment, be ­
fore opening the hood and checking the
engine coolant level.
- Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dripping from the engine compartment.
You could burn yo urself. Let the engine
cool off first so that you cannot hear or
see any steam or engine coolant.
(D Note
- Mounting additional lights or accessories
i n front of the air inlets reduces the cool­
in g effect of the rad iato r. At high outside
temperatures or high engine load, the
engine could overheat.
- The front spoi ler has been designed to
properly distribute the cooling air when
the vehicle is moving. If the spoiler is
damaged, this cou ld red uce the cooling
effect and the engine could then over­
heat. Ask your authorized Aud i dealer for
assistance .
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes) .
The tachometer @¢ page 10, fig. 3 is the left
of the two large clock-type displays.
The engine turns at a speed
1,000 times the
single digit in the display, e.g . if the needle is
pointing at the "2" the engine is turning at
2,000 RPM. If
eng ine RPM drops below 1,500, you should
downshift to the next lower gear. The red area
at the end of the scale indicates maximum
permissible engine RPM after the break -in pe­
riod. Before reaching this area, move these­
lector lever to position "D (Drive)" or ease
your foot off the accelerator pedal.
Q) Note
The tachometer needle should not move
i nto the red range. If it does, then only for
a very short per iod of t i me. You could
damage your engine by driving at high
RPM .
@ For the sake of the environment
Upsh ifting early saves fuel and reduces en­
gine noise .
Digital clock with date display
Date and time of day can be set in the MMI.
Fig. 4 Instrument cluster w ith digita l clock
The date, time of day, and time and date for­
mat ca n be set in the MMI. You can find out
more in the MMI manual.
(D Tips
- The d ig ita l clock and the odometer are
turned on for about 30 seconds when
the driver's door is opened.
- When the ignition is turned off, the od­
ometer reading and the digital clock w ith
date display can be switched on for
about 30 seconds by pressing the
! CHECK I button c> page 12, fig . 6.

For example, the symbol Ill appears in the
display, indicating low windshield washer flu­
id level. The follow ing message also appears:
Pl eas e refill w asher flu id
The driver message disappears after a few
seconds. The driver message can be displayed
again by briefly pressi ng the
!CHECK I button.
Red symbols
A red symbol means DANGER.
Fig. 25 Display: engine coolant level warning (pr ior ity
1)
• Pull off the road .
• Stop the veh icle.
• Turn off the engine .
• Check the ma lfunctioning system. Contact
your authorized Aud i dea ler or a qualified
workshop for assistance.
Red symbols indicate a priority 1 ma lf u nction
- Danger!
W ith a pr iority 1 malfunction, a large symbol
appears in the center area of the display
¢ fig. 25. When the symbol appears, three
warning tones sound in succession . T he sym­
bol co nti nues to bli nk until the ma lf u nct ion
has been repaired.
I f there are
more than one prio rity 1 ma lfunc­
tions, the symbols appear one after the other
for about 2 seconds.
An addit ional driver message can also be d is­
p layed by briefly pressing the
I CHECK ! button.
The red symbols mean:
Driver inform ation di spl ay 31
@ Tips
Alternato r malfunction
<:!> page 31
USA models: Brake system
malfunction
r:!>page32
Can ad a mod els : B rake sys­
tem malfunc tion
r:!> page32
Engine coolant level too
low/engine coolant temper­
ature too high
<:!>page 32
Engine oil pressure too low
<:!>page 33
Refill Ad Blue*
¢page255
AdBlue malfunction*
<=> page255
Faulty steering
r:!>page33
Fa ulty ignition switch
<=>page34
-If the wa rning/ind icator light 11111 (USA
mode ls)/ . (Canada mode ls) in the in­
strument cluste r flashes, there is a brake
system malfunction. By pressing the
! CHECK I but ton, you can bring up a driver
message which explains the malfunction
in more detail. Please note
r:!> page 32.
-Speed warnings threshold 1. (USA
mode ls)/ . (Canada models) and thresh ­
old 2. (USA
models) ta (Canada mod­
els) are also shown as red symbols. The
warning is always shown as a small sym­
bol in the upper area of the display
r:!> page 28 .
0 Alternator malfunction
If the . symbo l in the instrument pane l dis­
play flashes, then there is a malfu nction in the
alternator or the vehicle elect ron ics. A warn -
ing to the driver will appear, too. The driver ..,_

32 Driver information display
warning goes out after about 5 seconds, but it
can be brought up at any time by pressing the
I CHECK ! button again.
Usually , you can still drive to the next dealer­
ship. Turn off all but the most necessary elec­
trica l consumers, since these drain the vehi­
cle's battery.
(D Note
If the . warning symbol (coolant system
malfunction) also lights up on the instru­
ment panel during the trip
¢ page 32,
then you have to stop immediately and
turn off the engine. The coolant pump is
not working anymore -danger of damage
to the engine!
BRAKE/( ©) Brake system malfunction
A malfunction in the brake system must be
repaired as soon as possible .
If the warning/indicator light-(USA
models)/ . (Canada models) in the instru­
ment cluster flashes, there is a brake system
malfunction. By pressing the
I CHECK ! button,
you can bring up a driver message which ex­
plains the malfunction in more detail.
Stop vehicle and check brake fluid level
> Pull off the road .
> Stop the vehicle.
> Turn off the engine.
> Check the brake fluid level¢ page 268 .
> Contact your nearest authorized Audi dealer
or qualified workshop if necessary.
Warning! Fault in brake system. Contact
workshop
> Drive carefully to the nearest authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop and have
the malfunction corrected ¢
&_.
If the ABS system malfunctions, the ABS
warning/indicator light illuminates together
with the brake system malfunction warning/ indicator light¢&. .
A WARNING
-Always observe the warnings in
¢ page 248, 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
and the
B warning light come on to­
gether, 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 qualified workshop. Drive
slowly and avoid sudden, hard brake ap­
plications.
- Canada models: If the brake 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 accident . Have your vehi­
cle repaired immediately by your author­
ized Audi dealer or a qualified workshop .
Drive slowly and avoid sudden, hard
brake applications.
- L Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engine cooling system
must be repaired as soon as possible.
When the. symbol in the display blinks,
then either the engine coolant
temperature is
too high, or the coolant
level is too low. An
additional driver message can also be dis­
played by pressing the
I CHECK! button:
Switch off engine and check coolant level
> Pull off the road.
> Stop the vehicle .
> Turn off the engine.
> Check coolant level¢ page 266 .
> Add coolant if necessary¢ page 267.
> Continue driving only after the engine cool-
ant warning/indicator light goes out.
1J>

~ Contact your authorized Audi dea ler fo r as -
sistance if necessary.
If the engine coolant level is co rrect, then the
radiato r fan may be the cause of the malfunc­
tion.
If the . warning symbo l (alternator mal­
f u nction) a lso l ights up on the instr ument
panel ¢
page 31, then the fan belt may be
damaged .
A WARNING
- If your vehicle should break down for
mechanica l or other reasons, park at a
safe distance from moving traffic, turn off the engine and turn on the hazard
warning lights¢
page 60, Emergency
flasher.
-
- Never open the hood if you see or hear
steam o r coolant escap ing from the en­
gine compartment - you risk being scald­
ed. Wait until you can no longe r see or
hear steam or coo lant escaping.
- The e ngine compartment of any ve hicle
is a da ngerous a rea. Before you perform
any wor k in the engine compar tment,
t ur n o f the eng ine and allow it to cool.
Follow the warning stickers¢
page 248,
Engine compartment .
(D Note
Do not cont in ue d riving if the . symbol
illuminates. There is a malf unct ion in the
engine cooling system -you co uld damage
your eng ine.
9=:7-Engine oil pressure malfunction
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol
requires immediate service or repair. Driving
with a low-oil -pressure indication is likely to
inflict severe damage to the engine.
If the . symbo l appears in the disp lay and
b links, the oil press ure is too low . An addition ­
a l dr iver message can also be disp layed by
press ing the
I CH ECKi button:
Switch off engine! Oil p ressure too low
Dri ver information di spla y 33
Immediate act ions
~ Pull off the road.
~ Stop the vehicle.
~ T ur n off the engine .
~ Check the engine oil le vel with the dipstick
¢ page 263.
Dipstick readings check s too low
~ Top off oil to the proper level¢ page 264.
~ Make s ure that the oil pressure wa rning
symbo l. appears no longer in the display
before you start driving again.
Dipstick read ing checks OK
~ If the oil p ress ure warn ing symbol .
s t arts flashing aga in even though the en­
gine oil level checks OK on t he d ipstick,
do
not continue d riving and do not let the en­
gine run in idle .
Instead, contact your au­
thorized Audi dealer for assistance.
(D Tips
- The engine oil pressure symbol. is
not an indic ator for a low engine oil lev­
el. Do not rely on it . Instead, check the
oil level in your engine at regular inter­
vals, preferably each time you refuel,
and always before going on a long trip .
- The yellow oil lev el warn ing indication
1111 requires oil refill or workshop s erv­
ice without delay . Do not wait until th e
red oil pre ssure warning . start s to
flash before you r espond to the low oil
level warning
Ill . By then , your engine
may already have suffered serious dam­
age.
i Steering malfunction
If there is a malfunction in the electronic
steering column lock, the steering cannot be
unlocked .
If the I symbol i n the display blinks, there is
a malfunction in the electronic steering col­
u mn lock. An additional driver message can
a lso be displayed by pressing the
ICHECK I but-
ton:
~

-The brake booster and servotronic only
work when the engine is running. With
the ignition turned off, you have to apply
more force when steering or braking .
S ince you cannot steer and stop normal­
ly, this can lead to accidents and ser ious
injuries.
- The rad iator fan can continue to run for
up to 10 min utes even after you have
turned off the engine and removed the ign ition key. The radiator fan can also
turn on again if the engine coolant heats
up because of intense sunlight or heat
build -up in the engine compartment.
«I) Note
Do not stop the engine immed iate ly after
hard or extended dr iving. Keep the engine
running for approximately two minutes to
prevent excessive heat build-up .
Starting and stopping
the engine with
Convenience key
Starting the engine with the~
button
App lies to vehicles: with Convenie nce key
This bu tton swi tches on the ign ition and
starts the engine .
Fig. 121 Co nvenie nce k ey: ENG INE START b utton
The I S TAR T! button is provided w ith two -sta ge
o p era tion
¢ fig. 121.
Switching the ignition on
.. Press the !START I button once to the fir st
stage to switch on only the ign ition .
On th e road 107
Gasoline eng in e: St arting th e engine
.. Step on the brake.
.. Move the se lector lever to the P or N posi ­
tion ¢,&. .
.. Press the
r::1s=Tc:- A=RT =I button to th e seco nd
stage to start the engine .
Diesel en gine : Starting the engine
.. Step on the brake.
.. Mov e the selector lever to the P or N posi­
tion ¢,&. .
.. Press the
r::1s=TAc:-=R T=I button down to the fi rst
level to begin the preheating process . The
glow plug indica tor light &; illuminates
when the glow plug sy stem is active .
.. When the indicator light
m;J switches off,
press the
I S TA RT ! button down to the se c­
ond
level to start the eng ine .
After a cold engine is started, there may be a br ief period of increased no ise because oil
pressure must first build up in the hydraulic
valve adjuste rs. This is norma l and not a cause
for concern .
If the engine does not start immediately, stop
trying after 10 seconds and then try to restart
the engine abou t 30 seconds later .
Glow plug system *
Di ese l engine s
are equ ipped with a glow plug
system whose preheating time is controlled
by the coo lant and outs ide temperature . Start
the engine
immediately afte r the glow plug
indicator light
m switches off.
The glow plug indicator light will only illumi ­
nate fo r approximate ly 1 second when the en­
gine is warm or the outs ide temperature is
higher than 46 °F (8 °C) . That means yo u can
star t the eng ine
immediately .
WARNING
Never allow the engine to run in confined
spaces -danger of asphyxiation .
(D Note
-Avo id h igh engine rpm, full thrott le and
heavy engine loads until the eng ine has

232 Driving o ff road
Driving off road
Driving in difficult road
conditions and offroad
General information
The operation of the E lectronic Stability Con­
trol (ESC) is expanded for operation away
from paved roads. In situations where slip or a
d ifferential locking function is required, the
ESC offroad mode can be act ivated
c::;, page 219 . Hill descent control is also availa­
ble in the ESC offroad mode, which automati­
cally b rakes the vehicle and thereby keeps
speed constant when diffe rent wheel speeds
a re detected when descending a hill
c::;, page 220. Your Audi also has permanent
a ll-whee l drive in addition.
H oweve r, your Aud i is not a pure off road vehi­
cle .
It was no t built for d riving unde r extreme
conditions, e .g. fo r trips that are in the natu re
of an expedit ion .
Dri ve only on road s and offroad section s
which match the de sign of y our vehicl e and
y ou r abilitie s as a dri ver. Never take risks!
Before driving offroad
- Check the eng ine oil level, ti re p ressu re ,
coolant level , and the fluid level in the w ind­
shield washe r reservo ir.
- Stow luggage items and o ther objects in the
luggage compartment, and secure t hem
against s liding aro und .
After driving offroad
- After trips offroad, remove any twigs and
othe r foreign objects from the grill, the un­
derbody and the wheels. Pay spec ia l atten­
t ion to fo re ign objects (stones) which have
be come lodged in the tire tread.
- Clean t he body a nd the veh icle unders ide,
and in spec t the veh icle for poss ible damage.
- Clean dirty w indows , headlamp lenses , rear
l ights, and li cense plates .
- Perfo rm a brake check (part icularly after
t ravel ling th rough water) .
A WARNING
-Drive especially attentively and plan
a head in d iff icu lt road conditions and
when off road. Excessive speed o r inco r­
rect maneuvers can cause injuries and
damage to the vehicle.
-
- Always adapt your speed and driving
style to road, offroad, t raff ic, and weat h­
er cond itions. Drive e specially slowly off­
ro ad when you r view is res tricted.
- Please be awa re that in ESC off road
mo de, particularly on a smoo th and s lip­
pe ry road, the wheels may have an in­
crease d tendency to sp in and the vehicle
may b reak away - danger of skidding!
- Stabili ty is limited in the ESC off roa d
mode .
@) For the sake of the environment
Avoid damage to t he environmen t an d re­
s pect na tu re .
(D Tips
Only d rive w here it is permitte d and stay
on marked road s and pat hs.
Explanation of some technical terms
The following data refe r to ideal cond itions.
Depend ing on veh icle load and gro und condi ­
tions and the environment, the numbers may
vary. It is the driver's responsibility to decide
whether a vehicle can overcome a specific s it­
uat io n
c::;, ,&. .
Gradient angle
The number of meters in alt itude ga ined over
a distance of 109.4 yards or 100 meters
(grade) are given as a percentage or degrees.
Information about the gradient the vehicle
can climb under its own power (depends in
part on the road surface and engine power) .
Max imum pe rm itt ed grade : 3 1
°
Later al angle (slope of vehicle )
Indicates the angle up to which the vehicle
can be driven diagonally or across the fall line ..,.

266 Check ing and filling
For year-round driving, antifreeze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
- -31°F(-35°C)USA
- - 40 °F ( - 40 °C) Canada.
_& WARNING
-
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARN INGS
¢ .&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 258.
(D Note
- Befo re winter se ts in, have the coolant
checked to see if t he coolant addit ive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli­
mate conditions. This is especially impor­
tant if you live in a region where the win­
ter is extremely co ld. If necessary, in­
crease the proport ion of coolant additive
to 60%.
- When adding coolant additive to your
cooling system, remember:
- We recommend using only coolant ad­ ditive G12++ or G13 for your vehicle.
Th is coo lant add itive is available at au­
thorized Audi dealers. Other types of
antifreeze can significantly reduce cor­
rosion protection. The resulting corro ­
sion can cause a loss of coo lant and se­
r ious engine damage.
- Do not add any type of radiator leak sea l­
ant to your vehicle's engine coolant.
Adding rad iator repair fluid may adve rse­
ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and could result in
damage not covered by your New Vehicle Limited Wa rranty.
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance .
Fig . 233 Engine compartment : Coo lant expansio n ta nk
Before you check a nyth ing in the engine com­
partment,
alw ays re ad and h eed all WARN­
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 258.
.,. Park yo ur vehicle on a level surface.
.,. Turn off the ignition.
.,. Let the engine cool down.
.,. Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
tank ¢
fig. 233, c> page 260, fig. 229 and
care full y twist the cap counter-clockwise
¢,&. .
.,. Read the engine coolant level in the open
coolant expansion tank. W ith a cold eng ine,
the coolant level should be between the "min" and "max" markings. When the en­
g ine is wa rm, the level may be slightly above
the "max" mark ing.
T he locat ion of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus­
tration
¢ page 260.
To obtain an accu rate reading, the engine
must be switched off.
The expansion tank in your vehicle is equipped
with an electric coolant level sensor.
When the coolant level is too low, the warning
light in the Auto-Check System¢
page 32 will
blink until you add coolant and the level has
been restored to normal. Even though there is
an electric coo lant level sensor, we still rec­
ommend you check the coolant level from
time to t ime.

268 Checking and filling
-If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
tainer clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant pollutes the environment and
could cause an engine fire . Excess cool-
ant will be forced out through the pres­
sure relief valve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added , the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze
c:::> page 265 must be re­
stored as soon as possible .
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be reused. Al­
ways dispose of used coolant while observ­ ing all environmental regulations.
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself
The radiator fan is driven by the engine via the
V-belt . The viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan accord ing to the temperature of the
coolant.
An auxiliary electric radiator fan* switches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and other vehicle operating conditions.
After you switch the engine off, the aux iliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself
c:::> &. , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
t he engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunligh t.
_&. WARNING
- To reduce the risk of personal injury nev­
er touch the radiator fan. -
The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on au­
tomatically when the engine coolant reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper­
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a
quick glance.
Fig. 234 E ngine compart men t: cove r on the brake fluid
reserv oir
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS c:::> _&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 258.
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir
c:::> fig. 234, c:::> page 260,
fig.
229. The brake fluid level m ust be be­
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The brake fluid reservoir is located at the rear
partition of the engine compartment on the
left side
c:::> page 260.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads. This is not cause for alarm.
If the brake flu id level falls
considerably be­
low the
"MIN " mark, the brake warning/indi­
cator light ( U.S. models: -· Canadian
models :. ) w ill come on
c:::>page 19 and
c:::>page 32. Do not continue to operate the ve-
hicle. The compl ete brake system should be ..,.