
Driver and passenger side footwell . . . 123
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Stowing luggage . ..... ... .. .. .. .. 124
Report ing Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Safety belts ... ..... ... .. .. .. . .
General notes ............ .... .. . .
Why safety belts? ........ .... .. . .
Safety belts ............ .... ... . .
Safety belt pretens ioners ...... .. . . 128
128
129
131
135
Airbag system ................. 137
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . 137
F ront airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Mo nitoring the Advanced Airbag
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Knee airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Side curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Child Safety .. .. .... ... .. .. ... .
Important things to know . ... .. .. . .
C hild safety seats . ..... ... .. .. .. . .
Instal ling a child safety seat .. .. .. . .
LATCH Lower anchorages and tethers
for chi ldren . ............. .... .. . .
Addit ional Information 163
163
169
174
177
181
Audi pre sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Preventat ive passenger protection 182
Vehicle operat ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Intelligent technology . . . . . . . . 184
Not ice about data recorded by veh icle
control modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
E lect ron ic stabilization program ( ESP) 184
Rear spoiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Braki ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 7
E lect ro-mechanical power assist . . . . . 189
Driving with your quattro ® . . . . . . . . . 189
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Driving and environment . . . . . 19 2
The first 1,000 miles (1 ,500 km) and
afterwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Avoid damaging the vehicle. . . . . . . . . 193
Table of contents 3
Driving through wate r on roads . . . . . 194
Operate yo ur vehicle economically and
min imize poll ution. .. .. ... .... ... . 194
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Driving with a trailer . .. ..... ... .. .
Trai ler tow ing tips
Vehicle care ...... .. .. ..... ... .
Cleaning and protection ..... .
197
198
200
200
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Care of exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Care of interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank .............. .........
211
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Fuel tank .. .. .. .. .. . .. .... ...... . 212
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . 216
En gine hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
E ngine compartment........... ... 218
E ngine o il . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
E ngine cooling sys tem . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Windsh ie ld/headlight washer
container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Tire pressure monitoring system 249
Do-it-yourself service . . . . . . . . . 252
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 2S2
Emergency warn ing triangle . . . . . . . . 252
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Chang ing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Fuses and bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Fuses ........ ... .. .............. 260
Bul bs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Emergency situations . . . . . . . . . 264
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Star ting by pushing or towing . . . . . . . 264
Starting with jumpe r cable s . . . . . . . . 264
U se o f ju mpe r cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
•
•

10 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Instruments and warning/indicator Lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster and controls
The instrument cluster is your central source of information.
Fig. 3 Overv iew of the inst rument cluster
CD Coolant temperature gauge ...
@ Tachometer (engine rev counter)
@ Turn signals ........... .. .. .
© Display with
- Driver information system .. .
- Warning/ind icator lights
® Tachometer 10
11
43
22
11
@ Fuel
gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
@ Tips
The instrument illumination (for dials and
needles) turns on when the ignition is on
and the vehicle lights are turned off . As
the daylight fades, the illumination of the
dia ls likewise dims automatically and will
go out completely when the outside light
is very low. This feature is meant to rem ind
you to switch on the headlights when out
side light conditions become poor.
Engine coolant temperature gauge
The engine coolant gauge CD c:> page 10, fig. 3
only works when the ignition is on . To prevent
damage to your engine, please note the fol
l owing important points:
Engine cold
If only the LEDs at the bottom of the gauge
turn on, the engine has not reached operating
temperature yet. Avoid high engine speeds, heavy engine loads and heavy th rottle applica
t ions.
Normal temperature
The engine has reached its operating temper
ature once the LEDs up to the center of the
gauge turn on unde r normal driv ing cond i
t ions . Th e LEDs higher up may turn on when
the engine is under heavy load or the exterior
temperature is high. This is no need to worry
as long as the . warning light in the instru
ment cluster does not illuminate . If the LEDs
in the upper area of the disp lay and the indica
tor light . in the instr ument cluster display
turn on, the coolant temperature is too high
c:> page 15.
A WARNING
-Always observe the warn ing in
c:> page 210, Engine compartment, be
fore open ing the hood and checking the
engine coolant level.

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 11
- Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dr ipping from the engine compartment.
You could burn yourself . Let the engine
cool off first so that you cannot hear or
see any steam or engine coolant.
Q) Note
- Mount ing additional lights or accessories
i n front of the a ir inlets reduces the cool
i ng effect of the rad iator . At h igh outside
temperatures or high eng ine load, the
engine could overheat.
- The front spo ile r has been designed to
proper ly distrib ute the cooling air wh en
t h e veh icle i s moving.
If the spoiler is
damaged, this cou ld red uce the cooling
effect and the engine co uld then over
heat . Ask yo ur authorized Audi dea ler fo r
ass istance.
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
If engine R PM drops be low 1 ,500, you should
downshift to the next lower gea r. T he red area
at the end of the sca le indicates maximum
pe rmissib le engine RPM after the break- in pe
riod. Before reach ing this area, move these
lector lever to position "D/S (Drive)" or ease
your foot off the accelerator peda l.
(D Note
The tachometer needle should only br iefly
be in the red zone: you cou ld damage your
eng ine! The beginn ing of the red zone var
ies depending on the e ng ine.
@ For the sake of the environment
Upshift ing early saves fuel and reduces en
g ine noise.
Fuel gauge
The fuel gauge only wo rks when the ignition is
on .
If the fuel level drops below 2.6 gallons (10 liters), the bottom LED turns red and the
indicator
light~ turns on ¢
page 20. The
bottom LED blinks red when the fue l level is
very low.
T he possible range based on the current f uel
level is shown in tab@¢
page 22, fig . 4 .
(D Note
Neve r run the tan k comp letely dry. An ir
r egular supp ly o f fu el can cause engine
misfiring and fuel could enter the exha ust
system . The cata lytic converter could then
overheat and be damaged.
Warning/indicator Lights
Description
The ind icator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or turn on. They indicate funct ions or
malfunctions
q ,& .
Messages may appear with some indicato r
lights. A warning signal will sound at the
same time. The indicator lights and messages
in the center of the displays may be rep laced
by other d isplays . To show them again, select
the tab for ind icator lights and messages us
ing the multifunction steering whee l
¢
page 22. I f there are several malfunc
tions, you can display them one at a time us
ing the thumbwheel.
Some indicators lights in the d isplay can tu rn
o n in seve ra l c olors.
&_ WARNING
- F ailure to heed warning l igh ts an d other
important vehicle in formation may resu lt
in serious personal inj ury or vehicle dam
age .
- Whenever stalled or stoppe d for repair,
move the vehicle a safe d istance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the
emergency flasher
q page 42.
- The engine compartment of any motor
veh icle is a potentially hazardous area.
Before you check anything in the engine

16 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
-The engine compartment of any vehicle
is a dangerous area. Before you perform
any work in the engine compartment,
turn of the eng ine and allow it to cool.
Follow the warning stickers¢
page 210,
Engine compartment.
@ Note
Do not continue driving if the. symbol
illuminates. There is a malfunct ion in the
eng ine cooling system -you could damage
your eng ine .
0 Battery
This warning/indicator light detects a mal
function in the generator or in the vehicle's
electrical system.
The .warning/indicator light illuminates
when you sw itc h on the ignit ion and must go
out after the engine has started .
• Alte rnator fault: Batte ry is not being
c ha rged
I f the indicator light t urns on and the mes
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
generator or vehicle electr ica l system.
Drive to yo ur authorized Audi dea ler or quali
fied workshop immediately. Because the vehi
cle battery is discharging, turn off a ll unnec
essary electrical equ ipment such as the radio.
Seek professional ass istance if the battery
charge level is too low .
(•i Low battery charge: b atte ry will be
cha rged while dri ving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes
sage appears, there may be limited starting
ab ility.
If th is message turns off after a litt le while,
the battery charged enough whi le driving.
I f the message does not turn off, have you r
author ized Audi dealer or qua lified workshop
correct the mal function.
,(,. Safety belts
This warning/indicator light reminds you to
put on your safety belt.
The . warning/indicator light illuminates
when the ignition is switched on to remind
the driver and any front passenger to put on
the safety belt. Addit ionally, an acoustic warn
ing (gong) wi ll also sound .
For more Information¢
page 128, ~ Safety
belt warning light .
"l!::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 .
• Swit ch off engine and check oil le vel
If the indicator light turns on the message ap
pears, the oil pressure is too low .
"" Pull off the road .
... Stop the vehicle.
... Tu rn off the engine .
... Check the engine oil level ¢ page 221.
"" If the eng ine oil level is too low, add eng ine
oil
¢ page 221. Make sure that the oil pres
sure warning symbol. appears no longer
in the display befo re you start dr iv ing again .
"" If the eng ine o il level is co rrect and the i ndi
cato r ligh t still turns on, tu rn the engine off
and do not cont inue dr iv ing. Seek professio
na l assistance .
@ Tips
- The engin e oil pressure symbol. is
not an indicator for a low engine oil lev
el. Do not rel y on it. In ste ad, check the
oil level in your engine at regula r inter
vals, p referably each time you refuel ,
and always be fore going on a long tr ip.
- The yellow oil level warning indication
II requires oil refill or workshop se rv
i ce without delay. Do not wait until the
red oil pressure warning. sta rts to
![AUDI S7 2012 Owners Manual Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 19
malfunction in the EDL system¢ page 18 4.
See your authorize d Audi dealer as soon as
possible.
A WARNING
- If
the m (USA mode ls)l li] AUDI S7 2012 Owners Manual Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 19
malfunction in the EDL system¢ page 18 4.
See your authorize d Audi dealer as soon as
possible.
A WARNING
- If
the m (USA mode ls)l li]](/manual-img/6/57604/w960_57604-20.png)
Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 19
malfunction in the EDL system¢ page 18 4.
See your authorize d Audi dealer as soon as
possible.
A WARNING
- If
the m (USA mode ls)l li] (Canada
mode ls) warn ing light does n ot go out,
or if it comes on while driving, the ABS
system is not working properly . The vehi
cle can then be stopped only with the
standard bra kes (without ABS). You will
not have the protection ABS provides.
Contact you r Audi dealer as soon as pos
sible.
- USA models: If the - warning l ight,
the
Ii] warning light and the m warn
ing light come on together, the rea r
wheels co uld lock up first unde r hard
braking. Rear wheel lock-up can cause
loss of vehicle control and an accident .
Have your vehicle repaired immediately
by your autho rized Aud i dea ler or a quali
fied workshop . Drive slowly and avoid
sudden, hard bra ke applications.
- Canada models: If the b rake warn ing
light ., the
DJ warning light and the
ABS wa rning light
rl] come on together ,
the rear w heels could lo ck up fi rst under
h ard bra king . Rear wheel lock-up can
cause loss of vehicle control and an acci
dent. Have yo ur vehicle repaired immed i
ately by your authorized A udi dealer or a
qualified workshop. Dr ive slowly and
avo id sudden, hard brake applicat ions .
(0) Worn brake pads
£1 Bra ke pad s!
If the warn ing light illum inates, immediately
contact your authori zed A udi dealer or quali
fied workshop to have all brake pads inspect
ed. O n USA models the warning light
£1
comes on together with t he war ning light
- · Both sets of brake pads on an axle
mus t always be replaced a t the same time.
1) - : USA m odels on ly
A WARNING
Driving w ith bad brakes can cause a colli
sion and ser ious personal in ju ry .
- If the warn ing light
£1 and the warning
light
11111> with the message Brake
pads!
comes on in the instrument cluster
disp lay, imm ediately contact your au
thori zed A udi dealer or qualified work
shop to have all b rake pads checked or
replace d if necess ary.
EPC Electronic power control
This warning/indicator light monitors the
electronic power control.
The ~ warning/ind icator light (E lectronic
Power Cont rol) illuminates when you switch
the ignit io n on as a fu nction chec k.
(D Tips
If this war ning/ indicator l ight illum inates
while yo u are d riving, then there is a mal
funct io n in the engine electronics. Have
the malf unct ion corrected as soon as pos
si bl e by your au thori zed A udi dealer or
q ualified repa ir facility .
Ci Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL)
The Malfunction Indicator Lamp ( MIL) is pa rt
of the On -Board Diagnostic (OBD II) system.
The symbol
fllllijj lights up when the ign ition is
switched on and will tur n off after the engine
has started and has settled at a consta nt idle
speed . This indicates that the MIL is work ing
properly.
The warning lig ht illuminates w hen there is a
malfu nction in the e ng ine electron ic system .
Contact your aut horized Audi dealer and have
the malfunction cor rected.
An improperly closed fuel filler cap may a lso
cause the MI L light to illuminate ¢
page 213.
For more information ¢page 27.

20 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
!?' Engine speed limitation
Ap plies to vehicles: wit h eng ine spee d limi tation
(ii Engine speed maximum XXXX RPM
The engine speed is automatically limited to
the speed displayed in the driver information
system. This protects the engine from over
heating.
The engine speed limitation deactivates once
the engine is no longer in the critical tempera
ture range and you have released the accelera
tor pedal once.
If the engine speed limitation was activated by an engine control malfunction, the indica
tor light~ also turns on. Make sure that the
speed does not go above the speed displayed .
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
~ . Engine oil level
II! Add oil, max. x qt (l) . You may continue
driving
When the symbol II and driver message ap
pear, add the amount of oil appearing in the
display at the next opportunity
c:> page 221.
~ .... Engine oil sensor
• Oil level! Sensor defective
If the symbol illuminates, contact your au
thorized Audi dealer and have the oil sensor inspected. Until you have this done, check the
oil level each time you refuel just to be on the
safe side<=>
page 221.
Bil Fuel level indicator
Ji Please refuel
If the indicator light turns on for the first
time and the message appears, there are
about 2.6 gallons (10 liters) of fuel left in the
tank . Time to refuel
<=> page 212.
Ji Tank system malfunction! Contact dealer
If the indicator light turns on and this mes
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
tank system.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
o Windshield washer fluid level
B Please refill washer fluid
If the symbol illuminates, add windshield
washer fluid to the washer system/headlight
washer system*
c:> page 230.
~ Windshield wipers
,,., Windshield wiper defective
There is a malfunction with the windshield
wipers.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi
ately to have the malfunction corrected .
~/0$ Defective light bulb warning
fa-If the indicator light turns on, a bulb has
failed. The message indicates the location of
the bulb.
[I-if a rear fog lamp has failed, the indicator
light turns on to indicate the location on the
vehicle .
Vehicle lights: malfunction
If the message appears, there is a malfunc
tion in the headlights or light switch .
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi
ately to have the malfunction corrected .
A WARNING
-
-Light bulbs are pressurized and could ex-
plode while they are being changed caus
ing serious personal injury.
- Work with due care when handling the
high-voltage section of gas discharge
(xenon) lights. Failure to do so could re
sult in death or serious injury.

24 Instruments and warning /indicator lights
on until it is switched off. If you con tinue dr iv
ing within two hours after switch ing the igni
tion off, the new values a re included when
calculat ing the current tr ip i nformat ion.
Unlike the short -term memory, the long -term
memory is not erased automatica lly. You can
select the time period for evaluat ing trip in
formati on yo urself.
F or some veh icle functions, you can access the
tri p information from the tempora ry memory
in the line
(D ~ page 22, fig . 5.
Efficiency program
The effi ciency program can hel p yo u t o use
less fuel. It eval uates driving information in
reference to fue l co nsu mption and shows oth
er equipment i nfl uencing consumption as we ll
as shift recommendations.
c:> page 24. Fue l
economy messages
c:> page 24 prov ide tips
for eff icient driving. The eff ic iency prog ram
uses dis tance and consumption data from tr ip
comp ute r
1.
To display the efficiency program , call up Ve
h icle functions and select the menu option
Efficiency program . If the data are deleted in
the efficiency program, those values are also
reset in t rip compu ter .
@ Tips
-All sto red va lues w ill be lost if the veh i
cle bat tery is disconnected .
- Fuel consumpt io ns (average and cur
r en t), range and speed are display ed in
m etr ic units on Cana dian models.
Other equipment
Fig. 8 Tri p co mpute r: ot her eq uipme nt
Req uirement: The efficiency program m ust be
displayed
c:> page 24.
,. Tur n the thu mbw heel u ntil t he o ther e quip-
ment appe ars in the disp lay.
Oth er equ ipment t hat is cu rrently affecti ng
f uel con su mp tio n is liste d in t he e fficiency
progr am. The disp lay shows up to t hree o ther
items of e quip ment @. The eq uipme nt using
t h e most fuel is listed first. If more than three
items using fuel are switched on, the equip
ment that is c urrently using the most fuel is
displayed .
A scale @also s hows the current tota l co n
s u mption of all other equipment.
Fuel economy messages
Fig. 9 Disp lay: exa mple of a fuel eco nomy m essage
Fuel eco no m y me ssages are disp layed whe n
f uel consum ption is increased by cert ain con
di tions. If you fo llow these fue l eco nomy mes
sages, you ca n red uce your ve hicle's consum p
tion o f fuel. The messages appear a utomati
ca lly and are only d isplayed in the efficiency
program. The fue l economy messages turn off
automat ica lly afte r a certain per iod of t ime .
,. To turn an economy message off immedi -
ately after it appears, press any button on
the mult ifunction steering whee l.
(D Tips
- Once you have turned a f uel economy
message off, it will o nly appear agai n af
ter you turn the ign ition on again.
- The fuel economy messa ges are not dis
played in every instance, but rather in in
tervals over a period of time .

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 2 7
Display content
In the MMI, you ca n specify which information
should be displayed :
- Cru ise cont ro l system*
- Nav igat io n info rmation *
- Audi adaptive cruise control*
- N ight vision assistant* (pedestr ian warn ing)
The speed display and some of the red indica
tor lights cannot be hidden in the MMI.
Display brightness
You can adj ust t he display b rightness in the
M MI. The display brightness decreases auto
ma tica lly as the amount o f light dec reases.
The basic leve l o f brightness is adjusted wi th
the instrument illumination ¢
page 44.
(D Note
To prevent s cratc h es on t he g lass co vering
t he Head -up Disp lay , do not place any ob
jects in the projection opening.
@ Tips
- Sun glasses w ith polar izat ion fi lters and
u nfav orable ligh ting condit ions can af
fect the disp lay.
- Vehicles wi th seat memory *: yo ur Head
up D isplay sett ings a re stored automati
ca lly and assigne d to the remote contro l
k ey that you are us ing.
- A specia l windshield is needed for the
Head-up Display functio n.
On-Board Diagnostic
system (OBD)
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL)
The Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) ISi in
the instrument cluster is part of the On-Board
Diagnostic (OBD II) system.
The warning/indicator light illumina tes when
the ignition is switched on and goes o ut after
the engine starts and the idle has stabi lized.
This indicates that the MIL is work ing proper
ly.
If the light does not go out after t he engine
is started, or illuminates while you are driv
i ng, a mal function may e xist in the eng ine sys
tem.
If the light illumi nates, the catalytic con
verter could be damaged .
Contin ue d riving
with reduced power (avoid
i ng s usta ined h igh speeds and/or rapid accel
erations) and have the cond ition corrected .
Contact your a uthorized Audi dea ler.
If the light illuminates, the e lectronic speed
li miter may also be malfunct ion ing. For more
i nformation ¢
page 2 8, Electronic speed
limiter.
An improperl y closed fuel filler cap may also
cause the MIL light to illuminate
<=> page 213.
On-Board Diagnostics
Fig. 15 Location of Data Li nk Co nnector (D LC)
On-Boa rd Diagnost ics monitors the compo
nents of your em issio n cont ro l system . Eac h
monitored component in your engine system
has been assigned a code. In case of a mal
functio n, the component will be identified
and t he fault stored as a code in the control
module memo ry .
The MIL light may also illuminate if there is a leak in the on-board f uel vapor recovery sys
tem. If the lig ht illum inates afte r a refuelling,
stop the vehicle a nd make sure the fuel fille r
cap is properly closed
¢ page 213.
In order to make an accurate diagnosis , the
stored data can o nly be disp layed using spe
c ial diagnostic equipment (generic scan tool
fo r OBD). .,.