2012 AUDI Q7 power steering

Adaptive Air Suspension .. .. . .
Air suspension and damping 150
150
Homelink ® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Universal remote control . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Safet y fir st . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Driving Safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Gene ral notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Proper occupant seating posit ions . . . 161
Ped al area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Stowing luggage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Report ing Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Why safety belts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4
Safety bel t pretens ioners . . . . . . . . . . 177
Airbag system .......... ... ... .
Important things to know .. .. .. .. . .
Fr ont airbags ............ .... .. . .
M on itoring the A dvanced Airbag
System .... .. ... .. ..... ... .. .. . .
Side airbags . ... ...... ... .. .. .. . .
Side curtain airbags .... ... .. .. .. . .
Child Safety .. .. .... ... .. .. .. . .
Important th ings to know . ... .. .. . .
Ch ild safety seats ......... .... .. . .
Instal ling a child safety seat .. .. .. . .
LATC H Lower ancho rages and tethers
for chi ldren .... .. .. ...... .. .. .. . .
Addit ional Information
Vehicle operation ..... .. .. .. . .
Intelligent technology .. .. . .. .
179
179
183
190
194
197
200
200
205
209
212
218
219
219
Not ice about data recorded by vehi cle
con trol mod u Les . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 19
E lect ronic S tabili ty Control ( ES C) . . . . 219
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Servotronic ® -advanced power
steering system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Driving w ith your quattro ® . . . . . . . . . 225
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Table of contents 3
Driving and environment . . . . .
228
The first 1,000 miles (1,SOO km) and
afterwa rds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Catalytic co nverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Diesel particulate filter . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Avoid damaging the vehicle . . . . . . . . . 230
Operate your vehicle eco nomically and
min imize poll ution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Driving off road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Driving in d ifficult road conditions and
offroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
D riving with a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
T rai le r tow ing tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Vehicle care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Cleaning and protection . . . . . . 239
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Care of ex terior . ... .. .. .. .... ... .
Care of inte rior ... .. . .. .. ..... ... .
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank ... .... .. . .. .. ..... ... .
Fuel supply ...... .. . .. .. ..... ... .
Diesel f uel .. .. .. .. .. ... ..... ... .
Fuel tank .. .. .. .. .... ........... .
Se lective cata lytic reduction ..... .. .
Checking and filling .......... .
Engine hood ... .. ............... .
E n gine oi l ... .... ... .. .... ...... .
Engine cooling system .. .. ... ..... .
B rake fluid ....... ...... ........ .
B attery ... .. .. .. .. . ............ .
Windsh ie ld/headl ight washer
conta iner . .. .. .. .. ............. . 239
244
25
0
250
251
252
255
258
258
260
265
268
2 69
2 73
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
T ires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
T ire pressure monitoring system 292
Do -it -yourself service . . . . . . . . . 295
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Jack , tools and inflatab le spare tire . . 295
Changing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
•
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(!) Memory buttons (driver's seat)
@ Door handle
@ Power locking switch .... .. .. .
© Side assist button .......... .
® Adjuster control for outside m ir-
rors .... ... ............... .
@ Air outlets ................ .
(J) Light switch ........... .... .
@ Turn signal and high beam . .. .
® Multifunction steering wheel
with:
- Horn
- Driver's airbag ............ .
- Audio/video, telephone, navi-
gation and vo ice recognition
buttons
- Shift buttons ........ .. .. .
- Button for steering wheel heating ............. .... .
@ Instrument cluster ...... .. .. .
@ Switches for:
- Windshield wiper/washer . .. .
- Trip computer ........ .. .. .
@ Ignition lock ........... .... .
@ Buttons for:
- Parking system
- Resetting the trip odometer ..
- !CHECK lbutton ... ' ... .... .
- Instrument lighting ....... .
'3 Adjustable steer ing wheel, de­
pending on equipment:
- mechanical .......... .... .
- electrical ............ .... .
@ Control lever for: 73
44
129
68
96
57
60
183
141
101
10
63
24
105
144
12
12
13
103
103
- Cru ise control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
- Adaptive cruise control . . . . . 113
@ Data Link Connector for On
Board Diagnostics (OBD II) . . . . 27
@ Pedal for operating parking
brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
@ Engin e hood release . . . . . . . . . . 258
@ Handle for releasing parking
brake. ..... .... .... ... .. .. . 109
@ Switch for unlock ing the trunk
lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Instruments and controls 9
@ Power window switches ...... .
@ MMI Display (see separate man­
ual)
@ Buttons/Indicator light for:
- PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF
- Emergency flashers ........ .
- Electronic Stability Control
(E5C) ... .... .. . ......... .
@ Buttons for:
- Switching MMI display on/off
- Valet key function ......... .
- Unlocking glove compartment
@ Glove compartment ......... .
@ Front passenger's airbag ..... .
@ Audi multimed ia (see separate
manua l)
@ Climate controls . .. .. .. ..... .
@) Sh ift lever for automatic trans -
mission ....... .. .......... .
@ 12-volt outlets ... . .. .. ..... .
@ MMI control console (see sepa­
rate manual)
@ Storage compartment
@ IS TART I- / IS T OPI button
(D Tips
51
60
219
41
88
88
183
92
137 87
107
Some of the equipment or features shown
in the general illustration may be standard
equipment on your vehicle or may be op­
tional equipment depend ing on your mod­
el. Always ask your authorized Audi dealer
i f you have a question about your vehicle .

Ignition lock and ignition switch
Ignition key positions
The engine con be started or turned off with
the ignition key.
Fig. 119 Igni tion switch pos it io n s
Position @
The ignition key can be inserted into the igni ­
tion switch in this position . This automatically
unlocks the steering column lock . When the
ignition key is removed, the steering column
lock is automatically locked
Q .&. .
Switching the ignition on/preheating (D
Turn the ignition key to this position and re­
lease it. On vehicles with a d iesel engine*, the
system can preheat in this position .
Starting the engine@
The engine starts with the key in this position.
Major electrical loads are temporarily turned
off.
Ignition off@
Turn the ignition key to this position and re­
lease it.
A WARNING ,~ ~
- Never remove the key from the ign ition
lock whi le the vehicle is moving. The
steering wheel will lock, causing loss of
control.
- If you have to leave your vehicle, even for
just a minute, always remove the ignition key and take it with you. This is especially
important if you are going to leave chil-
On the road 105
dren unattended in the vehicle. The chil­
dren could start the engine or use other
vehicle controls. Unsupervised use of ve­
hicle controls (for example, power win­
dows) can cause ser ious personal inju­
ries.
(D Note
- If the I symbol in the display blinks,
there is a malfunction in the electronic
steering column lock . Follow the instruc­
tions in
Q page 33, i Steering malfunc­
tion .
-If the . symbol in the display blinks,
there is a malfunction in the electronic
ignition lock . Fol low the instructions in
Q page 34, .Pe Ignition lock malfunction.
a) Tips
-If you release the ignition key in position
@, the key automatically returns to posi­
tion (!).
- If you open the driver's door when the ig­
nition is sw itched on, a buzzer sounds
and the message
Ignition is on appears
in the instrument cluster display. Please
switch the ignition off.
- T o prevent malfunctions in the ign ition
lock, remove any dirt or deposits from
the key bit so that they do not enter the
ignition lock.
Ignition key safety lock
The ignition key con only be removed when
the selector lever is in the "P" (Pork) position.
After turning off the ignition, the ignition key
can only be removed from the ignition lock
when the selector lever is in the "P" (Park) po­
sition. After you have removed the key, these­ lector lever is locked and cannot be moved.

Adaptive cruise control Speed and distance
control system
Description
Applies to vehicles: with adaptive cruise cont rol
The adaptive cruise control driver assistance
program is a combined speed and distance
control system .
Fig . 126 Front bu mper: Pos itio n of r adar sen sor (not
vi sibl e from out side)
Adapt ive cruise control can he lp ma ke driv ing
more relaxed and less tiring , particularly dur­
i n g long trips on interstates or other hig hways
that are genera lly st raight. The system can al­
so ass ist in stop and go traffic .
The adaptive cruise co ntrol works within a
speed range be tween 0 and 95 mph (150 km/
h). Set ACC to maintain a constant , legal trav ­
el speed between 20 and 95 mph (30 -150
km/h) that is appropriate for prevailing traffic
conditions. Select a following distance to the
veh icle ahead and ACC will adjust your speed
to maintain that d istance down to a stop . At a
speed below 20 mph (30 km/h), the min imum
speed setting of 20 mph (30 km/h) will be se­ l ected automati ca lly.
Adaptive cruise control has technical limita­
tions that you must know, so p lease read th is
section carefully , understand how the system
wo rks and use it properly at a ll times.
How does it work?
You can operate the adaptive cruise control
using the lever on the steering wheel column
c::> page 116, How is the speed stored? and
Ad apti ve crui se control 11 3
c::> page 118, How is the distance (time inter ­
val) set? .
Driver information
Important information is brought up in the
speedomete r and in the instr ument clus ter
display as the vehicle is being driven
c::> page 120, Driver informat ion .
What is important for you to know
The adaptive cru ise contro l is set w ith system­
spe cified lim its; that is, as a driver, you will
have to adjus t the speed and distance to the
vehicle ahead in some instances
c:> page 124,
Driver intervention prompt
and c::> page 125,
System limitations.
A WARNING
Imp roper use of the adaptive cruise con­
trol can cause collisions, other accidents
and serious personal injury.
- Always remember that the adaptive cru ise contro l has limits -it will not slow
the vehicle down or ma inta in the set d is ­
tance when you dr ive towards an obsta­
cle or someth ing o n or nea r the road that
is not movi ng, such as ve hicles stopped
in a tra ffic jam, a sta lled or d is ab led vehi­
cle.
- Always remembe r that the adaptive
cru ise con tro l canno t detect a vehi cle
that is driving towards yo u in your traffic
lane and that it cannot detect narrow ve­
hicles suc h as motorcycles and bicycles .
- Never drive a t speeds that are too fast
for traffic, road and weather conditions .
- Never fo llow a vehicle so closely that you
cannot stop yo ur vehicle safely. The
adapt ive cruise control cannot s low or
brake the vehicle safely when yo u follow
a nother vehicle too close ly. Always re­
member that the adaptive cruise control
has a braking power t hat is o nly about
30% of the veh icle's maxim um braking
ab ility. The automat ic bra king f unctio n
cannot bring the vehicle to a s udden o r
-
emerge ncy stop . Always be p repared to IIJ,.

224 Intellig ent technol ogy
8_ WARNING
Although the ABS is very effective, always
remember that bra king capability is limit­
ed by t ire traction . Always adjust your dr iv­
ing spee d according to the road and t raffic
co nditions. Do no t let t he extra sa fety af­
forded by the ABS tempt you into ta king
extra risks. The ABS cannot overcome the
laws of physics.
@ Tips
- If ABS is not functioning prope rly, a
warning light will come on. See
¢page 18 .
-If a fault occurs in the ABS, the EDL is al­
so not functioning. This is indicated by
the ABS warning light .
Brake assistant
The brake assistant is designed to achieve the
optimum braking effect .
The brake assistant helps to increase the ef­
fective b rak ing power and thus to achieve a
shorter stopp ing distance. If the driver
presses the brake pedal very quickly, the brake
assistant automatica lly boosts the braking
force to the maximum level, up to the point where the anti-lock brake function (ABS) inter­
venes to stop the wheels from locking. You
should then keep the brake pedal pressed un­
til the veh icle has braked to the required
speed . The brake assistant sw itches itself off
as soo n as you re lease the brake pedal.
Automatic full braking a ssist
This funct ion allows full brak ing in spite of
h igh brake pedal forces (e .g . when the brakes
a re severely stressed because the vehicle is
fully loaded) . The driver notices th is function
throug h a reduction of pedal force and in­
creased pedal trave l. When the brake peda l is
r e leased, fu ll braking assis t switc hes off again
automatically.
I f the re is an ABS fa il ur e, the brake ass ista nt
and automatic full b rak ing ass ist are not avai l­
ab le . The brake assistant wi
ll not be operative if
there is a ma lfunction in the ABS .
8_ WARNING
-Please remember that the accident risk a l-
ways increases if you drive too fast, espe­
cially in corners or on a slippery road, or if
you follow the veh icle ahead of you too
closely. Increased r isk of an accident can­
not be compensated for even by the brake
assistant, so always maintain a safe speed.
Servotronic ® -
advanced power
steering system
The power steering systems uses the power of
the running engine to allow precise steering
with little effort.
The advanced Servotronic ® power steering
system senses the road speed and electron i­
cally adjusts power assistance to provide com­
fortab le and safe steering response exact ly
matched to the vehicle speed .
Power steer ing will not work if the engine is
off . As a result, the steering wheel will be hard
to turn .
The power steering fluid level is checked dur­
ing the scheduled maintenance services .
d) Note
If there is an electronic malfunction, ser­
votronic
will still function like a conven­
tiona l powe r steering system, providing a
constant steering support force that is no
l onger proportionate to the vehicle speed .
This is most not iceable when turning the
stee ring wheel at low speeds (fo r example
when pa rking), - more effort w ill be re­
q uired than us ua l.
- Be aware o f the different than usual
steering response and adjust your steer ­
ing force accordingly.
- Have the problem checked and set r ight
by an Audi dealer as soon as possible .

@ Tips
- When the engine is running, never hold
the steer ing whee l turned a ll the way to
the right or t o the left f or longer than 15
seconds . The power steering pump w ill
overheat the hydraulic f lu id if you keep
hol ding the steer ing wheel turned all the
way . This is likely to damage the power
steering system .
- If the power steer ing system should fail
ent irely, or if the engine is not running
(fo r example , while being towed), you
will still be able to steer the vehicle .
However ,
considerably more effort will
be required to do so.
- If the power s teer ing system should
have a leak, or is not f unct ioning proper ­
l y, contact yo ur authorized Audi deale r
immediately.
- The power stee ring system requires a
spec ially formulated hydraulic fl uid. The
power steer ing reservo ir is the one locat­
ed farthest to the rear on the left side of
the engine compartment
c> page 260.
The co rrect flu id leve l in the reservoi r is
i mportant for p roper functioning of the
power steer ing .
Driving with your
quattro ®
With all-whe el drive , oil four whe els ore driv ­
en.
General information
W ith all -whee l dr ive , power is dis tr ibuted to
a ll fo ur wheels. This happens automatica lly
dep ending on yo ur driving sty le and the road
conditions at th e time . See a lso
¢ pag e 221,
Electronic differential lock ( EDL) .
Winter tires
When driv ing in the w inter , your ve hicl e w it h
all -wheel drive has an advan tage, even with
regu lar tir es. In wint er road conditions it may
be adv isable to mount wint er tires (o r all -sea­
son t ires) for improved driveability and b rak-
Int ellig ent technolog y 225
ing: t h ese tires must be mounted on all four
wheels. See also ¢
page 289, Winter tires .
Tire chains
Where tire chains a re ma ndatory o n cer tain
roads, this no rma lly also app lies to veh icles
with all-wheel drive¢
page 290, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheels/tires
Vehicles with all-wheel drive must always have ti res of t he same s ize. A lso avo id tires
with different t read dep ths. For det ails see
page
c!;> pag e 285, New tir es and replacing
tires and wheels .
_& WARNING
A lways adj ust yo ur driv ing to road and traf­
f ic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks .
-Altho ugh the all-wheel drive is very ef ­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is lim ited by tire traction. You
should therefore not drive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippe ry road surfaces .
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to drive too fast because the front wheels
could begin to slide o n top of the water
(aquaplaning). If th is should occur, yo u
will have no w arning from a s udden in­
cre ase in engine speed as w ith a front ­
wheel drive veh icle. Always drive at
speeds which are su ited to the road con­
ditions -risk of crash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
E nergy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the engine.
If a vehicle with a conventiona l energy system
is not drive n for a long per iod of t im e, the bat­
te ry is discharged by idling cur rent consume rs
(e .g. immobi liz e r) . In cert ain circum stan ces it ..,_
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260 Checking and filling
Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check .
Fig. 229 Typical layout for containers, engine oil di pstick and engin e oil fille r cap
(D W indshield/head light washer
t . (
;R ) con ainer ,.... .............. .
@ Coolant expansion tank (-L) .. .
@ Engin e oi l filler cap ('t".:r.) . .. .. .
©
®
®
(j)
Eng ine oil dipstick (orange) . .. .
Brake fluid reservoir
((0)) ..... .
Power steering reservoir ... .. .
Jump start connector( +) under 273
266
264
263
268
224
a cover,( ·) with hex head screw 271,308
The pos ition of the engine o il fi lling hole and
the engine oil dipstick
r=;, fig. 229 (position ®
and @) can vary according to the type of en­
gine .
_&. WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢.&.
in Working in the engine
c omportment on page 258.
-
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used in your Audi needs the
right kind of oil.
The engine in your Audi is a sophist icated
powerplant that was built to exacting specifi­
cations. Th is engine needs the right kind of
engi ne oil that meets specifications regard ing
quality and v iscosity so that it can run
smooth ly and reliab ly. Choosing the right oil
and changing oil within the time and mileage
intervals printed in your vehicle's Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to­
day tha n it did years ago . Audi has developed
a spec ia l quality standard for eng ine oil that
will help assure that your vehicle's engine w ill
get the lubr ication it needs for proper opera­
t ion .
Modern engine lubr ication has taken a quan ­
tum leap in the last few years. Many synthetic "'

-Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the comb ined weight (in excess of
those standard items wh ich may be rep laced)
of automa tic tra nsmission, power steering,
power br akes, power w indows, power sea ts,
radio, and heater, to the ex tent that these
items are avai lab le as factory -installed equip ­
ment (whether installed or not).
Aspect ratio
means the rat io of the height to the w idt h of
the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower in ­
d icate a low sidewall fo r improved s teer ing re ­
sponse and better overall handling on dry
pavement.
Bead
means the pa rt of the t ire t hat is made o f
s teel wires, wrapped o r rein force d by ply cor ds
and that is shaped to fit the r im.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire.
Cold tire infl ation pressure
means t he tire pressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer for a t ire of a designated
size that has not been dr iven for more than a
couple of miles (kilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before the tire pressure
i s measu red or adjusted.
Tire s an d wheel s 275
-If you notice un usua l vibration or if the
veh icle pulls to one side when driv ing, a l­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so and check the wheels and tires for dam­
age.
Curb weight
mea ns the we ight of a motor ve hicle w it h
standard equipment in cl ud ing t he maximum
capa city of fuel, o il, and coolant, ai r cond i­
tion ing a nd addi tional weig ht o f optiona l
equipment .
Extra load tire
means a t ire design to operate at h igher loads
and at higher inflation pressures than the cor­
respondi ng s tanda rd tire. Extra load tires may
be identified as "X L", "xl", "EXTRA LOA D", or
"R F" on the sidewall .
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR ")
mea ns the load-carry ing capac ity of a s ingle
axle system, measured at the tire-ground in­
te rfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ( "GVWR ")
means the maximum total loaded we ight of
t h e ve hicle.
Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs.
Load rating (code )
means the maximum load tha t a t ire is rated
to carry for a given inflation pressure. Yo u
may not find this information on all tires be­
ca use it is not required by law.
Maximum load rating
me ans the loa d ra ti ng f or a t ire at the maxi­
mum pe rm issi ble inflat ion pressure for that
ti re .
•
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