2012 AUDI Q7 towing

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
•
•

4 Table of contents
Fuses and bulbs ....... .. .. ... .
Elect rical fuses . ....... ... .. .. ... .
Bulbs .. .. .. ... ... .... ... .. .. ... .
Emergency situations ... .. ... .
General .... ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Starting by push ing or tow ing . .. .. . .
Starting with jumper cables .. .. .. . .
Use of jumper cab les .. .. .. .. .. .. . .
Eme rgency towing with commercial
tow truck .. ................ ... . .
Lift ing vehicle . ........... .... ... .
Technical data ............. .. . .
General information .. .. .. .. . .
Explana tion of te chnical data . .. ... .
Vehicle iden tifica tion .... ...... .. . .
Weights ... ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Dimensions .... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Data .. .. .. .. .. .. .... ... .. .. .. . .
280 hp, 6 -cylinder engine, w ith all -
wheel drive .... . ...... ... .. .. ... .
333 hp, 6-cylinder engine, w ith all-
wheel drive . ............. .. .. .. . .
225 hp, 6-cylinder engine, w ith all-
wheel drive . ...... ........ ... .. . .
Consumer Information ... ... .
Warranty coverages ........... .. . .
Operating your vehicle outside the U.S .A . o r Canada .......... ... .. . .
Audi Service Repair Man uals and 303
303
306
308
308
308
308
309
310
3 12
3 14
3 14
3 14
3 14
3 14
315
3 16
3 16
317
318
319 319
3 19
L it erature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
M aintenance. .. ... .... ... .. .. .... 319
Additional accessories , modifications
and parts replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Declaration of Compliance,
Te lecommunications and E lectronic
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Index ... ............... .. .. .... 324

16 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
;;./~ Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
This warning/indicator light monitors the
Electronic Stability Control .
If the D] indicator lamp blinks while driving,
the ESC or ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation) is active­
ly regulating.
If the G] indicator lamp illuminates, the sys­
tem has switched the ESC off. In this case, you
can switch the ignition off and then on to
switch the ESC on again . The system is func­
tioning completely when the indicator lamp
switches off.
If the
I indicator lamp illuminates, the ESC
was switched off with the
I ~ OF F! button.
Stability program and ABS fault! See own­
er's manual
If the J;.j indicator lamp and the llJ ABS indi­
cator lamp illuminate and the driver message
appears, the ABS or electronic differential lock
is malfunctioning. This also interrupts the
ESC. The brakes still function with their nor­
mal power, but ABS is not active .
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
For more information about the ESC
¢page 219.
ii !.!r Safety systems
The I (USA models)/ . (Canada mode ls) in­
dicator light monitors the safety systems e.g.
a ir bags, pretensioners and illuminates for a
few seconds each time you switch the ignition
on .
If the
I (USA models)/ . (Canada models)
indicator light does not go out, or if it illumi­
nates while you are driv ing, or if it starts to
b link , then there is a malfunction somewhere
in the system. If the light does not illuminate
when you switch the ignition on, this also
means there is a malfunction.
A WARNING
If you have a ma lfunction in the safety sys­
tems, contact your authorized Audi dealer
imme diately. Otherwise the safety sys­
tems may not work properly in an acc i­
dent.
¢ Q Turn signals
The indicator light blinks when you use either
turn signal .
Whenever you use the left B or the right B
turn signal, the indicator light blinks. When
you use the emergency flashers, both indica­
tor lights flash.
If one of the turn signal light bulbs burn out,
the turn signal will blink twice as fast as nor­
mal.
This does not apply, however, in towing mode.
The indicator light does not flash if a turn sig­
nal is out on the trailer or the towing vehicle .
Additional information on the turn s ignals
¢ page 60 .
¢1¢ Trailer turn signal assembly
Applies to veh icles : w ith t owing h it c h
The indicator light also blinks if the turn sig ­
nal is operated when towing a trailer.
The indicator light . blinks when the turn
signal is used, if a trai ler has been proper ly
connected to the vehicle.
If one of the turn signal bulbs on the trailer is
burned out or defective, the indicator light
will not blink when you use the turn signals .
(D Tips
For vehicles with a factory installed towing
hitch or a trailer hitch that was installed
later according to factory spec ifications,
the trailer turn signal assembly is actuat­
ed.

48 Openin g and clo sing
- As soon as the electrical connec tion to
the trailer socket is completed on vehi­
cles with a factory installed towing h itch,
or a trailer hitch that was installed later
according to factory specifications, the
automat ic rear lid function can on ly be
operated via the handle in the rear lid.
Rear lid emergency unlocking
If the rear lid cannot be opened, an emergen­
cy release is provided .
1----------------- --,l~ N
Fig . 4 1 Section of the luggage compar tment : Access to
emerge ncy re lease
Fig . 42 Sect ion of the luggage compartment: Emer­
gency release
,.. Tilt the seatback forward .
,.. Move into the t runk.
,.. Take the sc rewd river from the veh icle tool
kit. As an alternat ive, you can a lso use the
vehicle key.
,.. Put the flat side of the screw driver into the
recess and pry the cover up
o fig. 41 -Arrow-.
,.. Press the lever in the direction of the arrow
ofig . 42 to unlock the rear lid .
Child safety lock
Power child safety lock for the rear
doors
The power child safety lock t prevents the
rear doors from being opened from the in ­
side .
Fig . 43 Sect ion fro m driver's door: controls
The rear doors are equipped with a power
child safety lock.
It is operated with the two
safety buttons
III in the dr iver's door o fig. 43.
,.. Press the left and/or right safety button to
disab le the rear power window(s) and pre­
vent the respective rear door from being
opened from the inside. The LED in the but­
ton will light up when the child safety lock is
turned
on .
,.. Press the illum inated button aga in to turn
the child safety featu res
off .
When the c hild safety lock is activated, the in­
te rior door opening lever is inoperative; the
doo r can only be opened from th e outside. In
addition, the window regu lator for that doo r
is also inoperative when the child safety lock
is activa ted.
If the child safety lock has been ac tivated on
one or both sides, the butto ns in the rear for
the Panoramic slid ing su nroof* are disabled .
If the child safety lock has been act ivated on
the left
and on the right side, the rear con­
tro ls are locked on veh icles with rear a ir-condi­
tion ing *. Dashes"··-" are show n in t he dis­
plays for the rear climate contro ls, and the
rear air-conditioning can on ly be operated
from the climate controls in the cabin
opage 97.

60 Clear vis ion
Emergency flasher
The emergency flasher makes other motorists
aware that you or your vehicle are in an emer­
gency situation .
. ..----.,
------------------
Fig. 57 Cen te r conso le : em ergenc y flas her switch
.. Press the switch ~ c:> fig. 57 to turn the
emergency flashers on or off.
When the emergency flasher is on, a ll four
turn signals b link a t the same time. The turn
signal indicator lights
liliN in the instrument
cluster, as we ll as the light in the emergency
f lasher switch ~ blink likewise .
The emergency f lashers will turn on automati­
cally if you are in an accident where the airbag
has dep loyed .
(D} Tips
You shou ld tu rn on the emergency flashers
when :
- you are the last vehicle st anding in a tr af­
fic jam so that any o ther veh icles coming
can see you , or when
- you r vehicle has broken down or yo u are
i n an emergency situation, or when
- you r vehicle is being towe d by a tow
truck or if yo u are towing a nothe r vehicle
behind you .
Turn signal and high beam lever
The lever on the left side of the steering col­
umn is used to operate the turn s ignals and
the high beam as well as the headlight flash­
er.
t
'
Fi g. 5 8 Turn signal and high b eam lever
The turn signal and high beam lever has the
following functions:
Turn signals ¢¢
.. Lift the lever up a ll the way c:> fig. 58 (!) to
use t he right turn s ignals, or push the lever
down a ll th e way @ to use the left turn sig ­
n a ls.
Auto-blink
"" Move the lever (up or down) just to the
point of res ista nce to use the turn signals
for as long as you need them, for ex ample
when changing lanes.
"" Move the lever (up or down) just to the
point of res istance and then release it right
away to make the turn s ignals b link
three
t imes.
You can use this feature for example
when changing lanes on highway s.
High beam [D
"" Push the lever forward ® to switch on the
high beam .
"" Pull the lever back towards you to switch off
the high beam.
Headlight fla sher [D
"" Pull the lever toward the steeri ng wheel @
to use the headlight flasher .
IJJ>

106 On the road
Starting and stopping
the engine
Starting the engine
The engine can only be started with your orig­
inal Audi key.
Fig. 120 I gni tion key positio ns
Vehicles with gasoline engine:
.. Step on the brake .
.. Move the selector lever into P or N
¢ A.
.. Tu rn the ignition key to position @
9 fig. 120 -do not depress the gas pedal
when starting the engine.
Vehicles with diesel engine:
.. Step on the brake.
.. Move the selector lever into P or N
¢ &.
.. Turn the ignition key to position ©- the
glow plug indicator light
m illuminates
when the glow plug system is act ive .
.,. When the indicator light
&J switches off,
turn the ignition key to pos it ion @ but do
not press the accelerator pedal.
.. Re lease the ignition key once the engine
sta rts. The starter must not continue run­
ning.
A cold engine may sound loud after it has
been started . This is due to the hydraulic
va lves building up oil pressure. This is normal
and is not a need for concern.
If the engine does not start immediately, stop
trying after 10 seconds and then try to restart
the engine about 30 seconds Later.
Glow plug system*
Diesel engines are equipped with a glow plug
system whose preheating t ime is controlled by the coo
lant and outs ide temperature . Start
the engine
immediately after the glow plug
indicator light
m switches off .
The glow plug indicator light will only illumi­
nate for approximate ly 1 second when the en­
gine is warm or the outside temperature is
higher than 46 °F (8 °C). That means you can
start the engine
immediately .
A WARNING
-Never start or let the engine run in a con-
fined or enclosed area. Exhaust fumes
from the engine contain carbon monoxide,
a colorless and odorless gas . Carbon mon­
oxide can be fatal if in haled.
- Never leave the engine idling unattend­
ed. An unattended veh icle w ith a runn ing
engine poses a danger of personal injury
or theft .
(D Note
- Avo id high engine speeds, fast accelera­
tion or heavy engine loads while the en­ gine is still cold. This could damage the
eng ine .
- Th e engine cannot be started by pushing
or towing the vehicle .
@ For the sake of the environment
To avoid unnecessary engine wear and to
reduce exhaust emissions, do not let your
vehicle stand and warm up. Be ready to
drive off immediately after starting your
vehicle. Maintain moderate speed until the
engine is completely warm . Remember,
the engine performs best at operating
temperature.
· Stopping the engine
.,. Turn the ignition key to position @
¢page 106, fig . 120 .
A WARNING
-
-Never turn off the engine until the vehi-
cle has come to a complete stop.

108 On the road
reached operating temperat ure -other ­
wise yo u risk engine damage.
- The eng ine cannot be sta rted by pushing
or towing the vehicle.
@ For the sake of the environment
Do not allow the engine to warm up with
t he vehicle stationary. Start driving righ t
away . In th is way you avoid unnecessa ry
emissio ns.
@ Tips
If you open the drive r's door when the ig ­
nition is switched o n, a buzze r sounds and
the message
Ignition is on appears i n the
instrument cluster disp lay. Please switch
the ignition off.
Switching engine off with the~
button
App lies to vehicles: with Convenience key
Fig. 122 Convenience key: ENGINE STOP butto n
.. Bring your vehicle to a complete stop.
.. Move the selector lever to the P or N posi-
t ion.
.. Pressthe !STOP !button
¢fig.122.
Press ing the I STOP I button once switches off
the engine and the ignition. If you press the
ISTOPI button again for more than 1 second,
the steering is locked, provided that the selec­
tor lever is in t he P pos it ion
¢ & .
Emergency OFF function
If necessary, the engine can be switched off
with the selector lever in the
R, Dor S posi­
tions . To do so, step on the brake peda l and press and ho
ld the !STOP ! b utton (vehicle
speed must be less than 6 mph/ 10 km/ h.
.&_ WARNING
-
-Never turn off the engine until the vehi-
cle has come to a complete stop.
- The brake booster and servotronic only
work when the engine is running. With
the ignition turned off, you have to apply mo re force when steeri ng or brak ing.
Since you cannot steer and stop normal­
ly, t his can lead to acc idents and se rious
. . . in Juries.
- For safety reasons, you sho uld a lways
pa rk your vehi cle wit h the selector lever
i n P. O therwise, the vehicle could inad­
ver ten tly roll aw ay.
- Afte r the eng ine has been switch ed off,
t he r adi at or f an can co ntinu e to run f or
up to 10 minu tes -even with the igni tion
switched off . It can also switch on again
after some t ime if the coolant tem pera ­
ture rises as the resu lt of a heat b uildup
or if the engine is hot and the engine
compa rtment is additionally heated by
the sun's rays.
(D Note
If the engine has been under heavy load
for an extended pe rio d, heat b uilds up in
the engine compartment after the engi ne
i s sw itched off -there is a r isk of damag ing
the e ng in e. A llow th e engi ne to run a t id le
fo r abo ut 2 minutes befor e switching it
off .
Driver messages in the instrument
cluster display
Applies to vehicles: with Co nvenience key
If a func tion is not present, a driver message
appears .
No key identified
This message appears when t he I STAR T I but-
ton is pr essed if there is no master key ins id e
the vehi cle or if t he system does not recogn ize
IJ,-

130 Audi side assist
-The radar sensor's vision can be reduced
or entirely blocked by rain, snow, and
heavy spray . This can result in side assist
not adequately detecting vehicles or, in
some cases, not detecting them at all.
Always keep an eye on the direction you
are traveling and the relevant area
around the vehicle.
- Please note that side assist indicates
there are approaching vehicles, or vehi­ cles in your blind spot, only after your ve­
hicle has reached a driving speed of at
least 19 mph (30 km/h).
- Side assist signal does not work around
tight corners (turning radius less than
328 feet, or 100 m).
- Side assist is no replacement for the driv­
er's full attention. The driver alone is re­
sponsible for lane changes and similar
driving maneuvers. Always keep an eye
on the direction you are traveling and the relevant area around the vehicle.
- To ensure that you do not adversely af­
fect side assist, do not block the area on
the rear bumper where the radar sensors
are located with foreign objects (such as
stickers or bicycle racks).
- Make sure that the signal light on the
outside mirror is not blocked by stickers
or other items.
(Di Tips
- Side assist automatically deactivates if it
detects that the radar sensors are
blocked ¢
page 135. The indicator light
on the button goes out .
- The area on the bumper where the radar
sensors are located must consistently re­
main free of snow, ice, and heavy soiling
so that side assist can function properly.
Follow the additional notes on
¢page 136.
-For vehicles with a factory installed tow­
ing hitch* or a trailer hitch* that was in­
stalled later according to factory specifi­
cations, side assist is automatically deac- tivated
as soon as the electrical connec­
tion to the trailer electrical socket is made
¢ page 135.
-For vehicles with a trailer hitch that was
not installed according to factory specifi­
cations, switch off the side assist when
towing a trailer .
- Additional tinting on the front side win­
dows can make it harder to see and cor­
rectly understand the signal light on the
outside mirror.
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions¢
page 322.
Sensor detection area
Applies to vehicles: with side assist
-----··· .... ·--·--
@ / ,
--­
ill b''T -
Fig. 150 Sc hematic illustration: Sensor detectio n area
The detection ¢ fig. 150 of the radar sensor
detection area is made up of:
-
- the approach area (light red area) (D, about
230 feet (70 m) behind the vehicle, and
- the "blind spot" (dark red area) @.
The radar sensors cover the adjacent left and
right lanes. Other lanes are
not covered by the
radar sensors.
(D Tips
Side assist does not measure actual lane
width. The system assumes a fixed lane
width . Detection in the left and right lanes
is based on this assumed lane width.
When driving on narrow roads or when
driving to the left or right of the center of
a travel lane, it is possible that vehicles
will be detected that are
not in the lane