2012 AUDI Q7 open hood

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.

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 15
Canada m od els: Anti-lock brake
system (ABS) defective
¢page 18
USA models: Parking brake
¢page 19
Canada m od els: Park ing brake
¢page 19
USA models : Brake malfunction
¢page 19
Canada models : Brake malfunc­
tion
¢page 19
Vehicles w ith the adaptive cruise control*
have the following additional check lamps :
-
Open road
¢page 121
Driving in traffic
¢page 121
Request for drive r to as­
sume control
¢page 121
A WARNING
-Failure to heed warning lights and other
important vehicle information may result
in serious persona l injury o r vehicle dam­
age.
- Whenever sta lled or stopped for repa ir,
move the vehicle a safe distance
off t he
road, stop the engine, and turn on the
emergency flasher¢
page 60.
-The e ngine compartment of a ny motor
vehicle is a potentially h azardous area.
Be fore you check anything in the engine
compartment, stop the engine and let it
cool down. Always exercise extreme ca u­
t ion when working under the hood
¢ page 248, Engine comportment.
Many f unctions are monitored by the A uto­
Check system¢
page 30 . Malfunctions
or faults will be identif ied either w ith a red symbol (priority
1 -Danger!) or with a ye l­
l ow symbo l (prio rity
2 - Warning).
EPC Electronic power control
Applies to vehicles : with gasoline engine
This warning/indicator light monitors the
electronic power control .
The ~ warning/ind icator light ( Electronic
Power Contro l) illuminates when you turn on
the ignit ion as a f unct ion check.
(D Tips
If this war ning/ indica to r light illum inates
while yo u are d riving, then there is a mal­
funct ion in the engine electronics. Have
the malfunct ion corrected as soon as pos­
sib le by your authorized A udi dealer or
qualified workshop.
W Glow plug system
App lies to vehicles: wit h diese l eng ine
The control light illuminates when the glow
plug system is active.
If the mlJ indicator light illum inates, the glow
pl ug system is act ive . You should start the en­
gine immediately after the indicator light
switches
off. The indicator light only illum i­
nates for approximate ly 1 second if the en­
gine is warm or if the outs ide temperature is
above 46 QF (8 QC) .
(D Tips
- If the glow plug indicator light i llum i­
nates while dr iving, there is an eng ine
cont rol malfunction . The engine should
be checke d immed iate ly .
- If the ind icator light does not illuminate
at a ll when switch ing the ig nit ion on,
there may be a malfunction in the glow
plug system. The engine sho uld be
c hecke d.

22 Driver in formation d ispl ay
Outside temperature display
Fig. 11 Display : outside temperature
At temperatures below 41 °F (+S °C) a snow­
flake symbol appears ahead of the tempera­
ture display . It is intended to remind the driv­
er to pay spec ial attent ion to
ic e on the roa d.
If the vehicle is stationary, or if you are driving
at a very low speed, the temperature shown in
the display might be slightly higher than the
actual outside temperature . Th is is caused by
the heat being rad iated from the engine .
If you have selected the °C (degrees Celsius)
unit for temperature in the MMI, the outside
temperature display also appears automat i­
cally in
°C.
A WARNING
- Never rely excl usively on the outside
temperatu re d isplay to determine if a
road surface is icy or not . Keep in mind
that road surfaces, especially bridges
and overpasses, could be ice covered and
s li ppery even at an outs ide temperature
above 41 °F (+ S °C).
- Always remember, even if the "snow­
flake" symbol (ice warn ing) does not ap­
pear in the display, black ice could be on
the road.
- Always reduce your speed and dr ive with
special care in cold weather conditions
when the chance of encountering icy road s urfaces increases .
Digital speedometer
Fig. 12 Display: Digi tal speedometer
Current speed appears in the disp lay. Speed is
shown in 1 mph measures (USA models) or 1
km/h measures (Canada models) .
You can switch the disp lay from m iles to kilo­
meters and vice versa via the MMI.
Open door or trunk lid warning
The pictogram alerts you when doors or the
rear lid have been left open .
Fig. 13 Display: open doo r or rea r lid wa rning
With the ign it ion sw itched on, the ope n door
or rear lid warning illuminates when at least
one door or the hood or the trunk lid is not
cl osed . The symbol a lso shows you
which
doo r(s) o r lid is not closed.
In the illustration
~ fig . 13 it is the dr iver's
doo r, the left rear door and the rear lid. As
soon as all the doors, the hood, the rear lid
and the f uel filler cap are prope rly closed, the
door and rear lid warning turns off and the
Driver Information System functions selected
are displayed again.

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:
~

How is the anti-theft alarm system
switched off?
The anti -theft a la rm system is switched off
on ly when you unlock yo ur vehicle. If yo u do
not open a door w ith in 60 seconds after you
have unlocked with the remote control , the
ve hicle w ill lock itse lf again automat ically .
When will the anti-theft alarm sy stem be
triggered?
W hen the ve hicle is locked, the alarm system
mon itors and protects the following parts of
the vehicle:
- engi ne compartment
- lu ggage compartment
- doo rs
- i gnition
When the system is activated, the alarm will be tr iggered if on e of the doo rs, the eng ine
h ood or t he rear lid a re opened, o r if the ig ni­
tion is tur ned on. The anti-t heft alarm sys tem
will also go off when the battery is discon­
nected .
You can a lso tr igge r the alarm by p re ssing t he
P ANIC button o n your remote con trol. T his
will alert other peop le in case of emergency.
Press the
PANIC b utton again to t urn off the
a larm.
How is the anti-theft alarm switched off
when triggered?
The a larm system is switc hed off when you
un lock the vehicle o r whe n the ignition is
sw itched on. The alarm will also switch itself
off when it comes to the end of its cycle.
Emergency flasher and horn
The emergency flas her wi ll blink brief ly and
the hor n sounds when the doors, engine hood
and rear lid are proper ly closed .
If th e emergen cy fl ashe rs do no t blink , or the
horn does no t sound, check the doors, engine
h ood an d rear lid to make sure they are p rop­
erly closed.
If you close a door, t he hood o r
the rear lid w ith the anti-theft alarm sw itched
on, the emergency flashers will b link and the
Opening and clo sin g 51
horn wi ll sou nd on ly afte r you have closed the
door or li d.
(D Tips
For the anti-theft ala rm sys te m to fu n c­
tion properly, make sure all ve hicle doors
and win dows are closed before leavi ng t he
vehicle .
Power windows
Controls
Fig. 4 6 Drive r's doo r: power w indow sw itches
Switches for front door windows
@ o p erates the w indow in the d river's door.
® opera tes the w indow in the front passe ng-
er's door .
Switches for rear windows
© operates the left rear window.
@ operates the r ight rear wi ndow.
Safety switch
® Safety switch for rear window operat ion.
A WARNING
- Do not lea ve c hildren unattended in t he
ve hicle, especially wi th access to veh icle
keys. Unsupervi sed us e of the keys can
resu lt in start ing of the engi ne and use
o f vehicle system s such as po wer w in­
dows, etc. w hich co uld res ult in se riou s
in jur y.
- R eme mber -you can s till ope n or close
the powe r win dows for about ten mi ­
n utes after the ign ition is switc hed off.
O nl y w hen eit her of t he fro nt doors are

directly at locks, or at door or hatch
openings -they can freeze shut.
- Never use sponges designed to remove
insects , or any kitchen scouring sponges
or similar products. They can damage
your paint finish .
- You should remove debris (such as in­
sects) from the headlight lenses on a
regular basis, for example when refuel­
ing your vehicle. Never use a dry cloth or
sponge to clean the headlights . Only use
wet cloths or sponges to prevent
scratches . It is best to use soapy water .
@) For the sake of the environment
In the interest of the environment, the ve­
hicle should only be washed in special
wash bays .
Washing your vehicle with a power
washer
Cleaning the exterior of your car with a high­
pressure power washer is safe as long as you observ e a few simple rules.
" Before using the power washer , make sure
you have read and understood the WARN­ INGS ~.&.
in General information on
page 239.
" Always follow the operating instructions for
the pow er wash er.
" Make su re that the jet on the spray hose
produces a "fan shaped spr ay" .
" Do
not hold the spray nozzle too close to
soft materials .
When cleaning the vehicle with a power wash­
er
always follow the operating ins truc tions.
T his applies particularly to the
operating
pressure
and the spraying distance. Maintain
a sufficient distance to soft materials such as
rubber hoses and sound/vibration deadening
materials (particularly on the underside of the
engine hood). Do not use a jet which sprays
water in a
direct stream or one that has a ro­
tating
jet.
Water temperature should not exceed 140 °F
(60 °().
Cleaning and protection 241
A WARNING
Never wash tires with a jet that sprays wa­
ter in a direct stream . This could cause in­
visible damage to the tires and weaken
them, even if the spray is from a relatively
long distance and for a short time . Dam­
aged and weakened tires can fail and cause
accidents and personal injury.
(D Note
To avoid damaging your vehicle, always make sure that there is sufficient distance
between the spray head and soft materials
like rubber hoses, plastic parts and sound­
deadening materials. Never aim the spray
head at the same point for a long time.
This also applies to cleaning headlights
and painted bumpers. Remember : the
closer the nozzle is to the surface of the
material, the greater the stress on the ma­
terial.
Waxing and Polishing
Waxing
A good wax coating protects the vehicle paint
to a large extent against the environmental
factors listed under ~
page 239, Washing and
even against slight scratches.
You can use a liquid car wax to protect your
paint as soon as one week after your vehicle
has been delivered.
Even if you regularly use a
waxing process in
automatic car washes, we recommend that
you manually apply a coat of wax to give the paint extra protection, particularly if water no
longer beads on the clean paint .
Protect plastic body parts with car wax in the
same way as the vehicle body .
During warm weather dead insects tend to
collect on the front bumper and on the for ­
ward area of the hood. They are much easier
to remove from paint that is waxed
often . IJ,-
•
•

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.