2013 AUDI A7 engine overheat

12 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
-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 yourself . Let the engine
cool off first until you can no longer see
o r hear steam or coo lant escaping.
@ Note
- Mounting 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 iler has been designed to
proper ly distribute the cooling air when
t h e ve hicle is moving.
If the spoiler is
dam aged, th is co uld red uce the cooling
effect and the engine co uld then over­
heat . Ask your authorized Audi dea ler for
assistance .
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
If engine RP M drops be low 1,500, yo u should
downshift to the next lower gear. The red a rea
at the end of the sca le indicates maximum
perm iss ib le engine RPM after the break-in pe­
riod. Before reaching this area, move these­
lector lever to position D/S (Drive) or ease
your foot off the accelerator pedal.
(D Note
The tachometer needle should on ly br iefly
be in the red zone: you could damage your
engine! The beginn ing of the red zone var­
ies depending on the engine .
@ For the sake of the environment
Upshifting early saves fuel and reduces en­
gine noise.
Fuel gauge
The fuel gauge only works when the ignition is
on .
If the fuel level d rops below 2 . 6 ga llons (10 liters), the bottom LED turns red and the
indicator light
Em turns on
¢ page 22. The
bottom LED blinks red when the fuel level is
very low.
T he possible range based on the current fuel
level is shown in tab@<=>
fig. 4.
(D Note
Never run the tank completely dry. An ir ­
r egular supply of f uel can cause engine
misfiring and fuel could enter the ex haust
system . The catalytic 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
malfunc tions <=>,& .
Messages may appear with some indicato r
lights. A warning signal will sound at the
same t ime. 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
i ng the multifunction steering wheel
Q page 23. If t here are several malfunc­
t ions, you can display them one at a time us­
ing the thumbwheel.
Some indicato rs lights in the d isplay can tu rn
o n in severa l co lors.
A WARNING
- F ailure to heed w arning l igh ts and other
important vehicle in forma tion may res ult
in ser io us personal inj ury or vehicle dam­
age .
- Whenever stalled or stopped for repair, move the vehicle a safe d istance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the
emergency flasher<=>
page 44.
-The engine compartment of any motor
veh icle is a potentially hazardous area.
Before you chec k anything in the engine

16 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
&_ WARNING
-Always observe the warnings in
i=> page 224, Engine compartment, be­
fore opening the hood and checking the brake flu id.
- Driv ing with low brake fluid is a safety
hazard. Stop the car and get professional
assistance.
- USA models: If the 1111 warn ing light,
the
G1 warning light and the m:11 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 authorized Aud i dea ler or a quali­
fied workshop. Drive slowly and avoid
sudden, hard brake applications.
- Canada models: If the brake warn ing
light ., the
DJ warn ing light and the
ABS warning light
ii] come on together,
the rear wheels could lock up first unde r
hard bra king. Rear wheel lock-up can
cause loss of vehicle co ntrol and an acci­
dent. Have yo ur vehicle repaired immed i­
a tely by your authori zed A udi dealer or a
qualified workshop . Dr ive slowly and
avoid sudden, hard brake applicat ions.
- If the brake warning/indicator ligh t does
not go out afte r a few secon ds an d the
parking brake is released, or lights up
whi le you are driving, the fluid level in
the brake fluid reservoir is too low. If you believe that it is safe to do so, proceed
immediately at low speed to the nearest
authorized Audi dealer o r qualified repair
facility and have the brake system in­
s pected.
- Always kee p in m ind that afte r several
brake applicat ions, yo u will need g reater
pressure on the b rake peda l to s top your
vehicle. Do no t re ly on stra ined brakes to
respond with maxim um stopping power
in critical situations . You must allow for
increased brak ing distances. The extra
distance used up by fad ing brakes could
lead to an acc ident.
PARK/( ®) Electromechanical parking
brake
The warning/indicator light monitors the
electromechanical parking brake .
If the indicato r light - (USA models)/ .
(Canada mode ls) turns on, the pa rking brake
was set. If the pa rking brake is set when the
igni tion is off, the indicator light turns off a f­
te r abo ut 20 seconds .
The wa rning/i nd icator lig ht wi ll go out when
the pa rking bra ke is re leased.
- (USA models ) /. (Canada mod els)
Caution: Vehicle park ed too steep
If the indicator light b links and the message
appea rs, there is not enough braki ng power to
keep the vehicle from roll ing . The brakes have
overheated . The veh icle cou ld roll away eve n
on a sma ll incline .
Press brake pedal to release parking brake
To release the parking b rake, press the brake
peda l and press the button~ or start driving
with starting assist at the same time
i=> page 79.
Plea se relea se parking brake
T o re lease the p arki ng brake manually, p re ss
t h e brake peda l and press the button ~ at the
same time. The parki ng b rake only releases
automatica lly if the driver's safety belt is fas ­
tened .
Iii Parking brake!
If the Iii indicator lig ht tur ns on and th is
message appears, the re is a parki ng b rake
m alfunction . D rive to your au thori zed A udi
dealer or qualified workshop immediately to
have t he malfunction corrected .
-L Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engine cooling system
must be repaired as soon as possible.
• Switch off engin e and check coolant level ..,.

84 On th e road
The stored speed and the ind icator light
A;(l)~i~ (US mo dels) 1,'I (Canadian mode ls) a p­
pea r in the instrument cluster d isp lay
c::> fig. 85. The display may vary, depending on
the type of d isplay in your vehicle .
This informat ion is also shown briefly in t he
Head -up Display*.
The speed is kept constant v ia an engine o ut­
put adjustment or active b rake intervention.
A WARNING
- Always pay attention to traffic even when
the cruise control is switched on. You are
always responsible for your speed and
the distance between your vehicle and
other vehicles .
- For safety reasons, the cruise control
should not be used in the city, in stop­
and-go traff ic, on twist ing roads and
when road conditions are poor (such as ice , fog, gravel, heavy ra in and hydro­
planing) -risk of accident.
- Turn
off the cruise control temporar ily
when entering turn lanes, highway exit lanes or in construc tion zones.
- Please note that inadvertently "rest ing"
yo ur foot on the accelerator peda l causes
the cruise control not to brake . T his is
because the cr uise control is overridden
by the d river's acce leration .
- If a brake system malfunction such as
overheating occurs when the cruise con­
tro l system is switched on, the braking
function in the system may be switched
off. The other cruise control functions re­
ma in active as long as the indicator light
[~;rn~i~ (US models) !Ill (Canad ian mod ­
els) is on .
(j) Tips
The brake lights illuminate as soon as the
brakes decelerate automat ica lly.
Changing speed
Applies to veh icles: w ith cru ise control
., To increase/decrease the speed in inc re­
ments, tap the lever in the
0 10 direction
c::> fig . 84
., To increase/decrease the speed quick ly,
hold t he lever in the
0 10 direction until
the desired speed is displayed.
You can also press the accelerator pedal down
to increase your speed, e.g . if you want to
pass someone . The speed you saved earlier
will res ume as soon as you release the acceler­
ator pedal.
If, however, you exceed your saved speed by
6 mph (10 km/h) for longer than 5 m inutes,
the cr uise control wi ll turn
off temporari ly.
The green symbol
A;(l)~i~ (US mode ls) 1,'I
(Canadian mode ls) in the display will go out
but the saved speed rema ins the same .
Presetting your speed
Applies to veh icles : w ith cru ise control
You can preset your desired speed while the
vehicle is not moving.
., Switch on the ignition.
., Pull lever into position
(D c::> fig . 84.
., Press the lever in the 0 or 0 direction to
increase or decrease your speed .
., Release the lever to save that speed .
This function makes it possible, for examp le,
to save the speed you want before dr iving on
the h ighway. Once on the h ighway, act ivate
the cru ise control by pulling the lever toward
(D .
Switching the system off
Applies to veh icles: w ith cruise control
Temporary deactivation
., Press the b rake pedal, or
., Press the leve r into posi tion @(n ot clicked
into place)
c::> fig. 84, or
... Drive for longer t han 5 min utes at more
than 5 mph (10 km/h) above the stored
speed.

114 Automatic Transmission
Launch Control Program
Applies to vehicles: with S tro nic
The Launch Control Program provides the
best acceleration possible when starting from
a stop .
Requirement: The engine must be at operat­
ing temperature and the steering wheel must
not be turned .
.. Press the
I~ O FFI button <=> page 198 while
the engine is running. The
II indicator light
illuminates in the instrument cluster and
Stabilization control (ESC): Off Warning!
Reduced stability
appears in the driver in­
formation system display.
.. Move the selector lever to position D/S to
select sport mode (5) or select
Dynamic
mode in Audi drive select<=> page 103.
.. Press the brake pedal strongly with your left
foot and hold it down for at least
1 second.
.. At the same time, press the accelerator
pedal down completely with your right foot
until the engine reaches and maintains a
high RPM.
.. Remove your foot from the brake pedal
within S seconds ¢
Li)..
.&_ WARNING
-Always adapt your driving to the traffic
flow .
- Only use the Launch Control Program
when road and traffic conditions allow it
and other drivers will not be endangered
or annoyed by yo ur driving and the vehi­
cle's acce lerat ion.
- Please note that the driving wheels can
spin and the vehicle can break away
when ESC is sw itched off, espec ially
when the road is slippery.
- Once the vehicle has started moving,
press the
I~ OF F! button br iefly to turn
the ESC on.
- The transmission temperat ure may in­
crease significantly after using the
launch control program. If that happens, the program
may not be available for a
few minutes . It wi ll be available again af­
ter a cool-down period.
- When accelerating using the la unch con­
tro l program, all vehicle parts are subject
to heavy loads. This can resu lt in in­
creased wear .
Transmission malfunction
Applies to vehicles: wit h S tronic/tiptro nic
[O] Transmission: Press brake pedal and se­
lect gear again
Press the brake pedal and select the desired
selector lever position again. You can then continue driving .
[O] Transmission overheating: Please drive
conservatively
The transmission temperature has increased
s ignificantly due to the sporty driving manner .
Drive in a less sporty manner until the tem­
perature returns to the normal range and the
indicator light switches of.
[O] Transmission malfunction: You can con­
tinue driving
T he re is a system mal function in the transmis­
sion . You may continue driving. Drive to your
authorized Audi dea ler or qualified repair fa­
cility soon to have the malfunction corrected.
[O] [O] Transmission malfunction: You can
continue driving with limited functionality
There is a system malfunction in the transmis­
s ion. The transmission is switching to emer­
gency mode. This mode on ly shifts into cer­
tain gears or will no longer shift at all. The en­
gine may sta ll. Drive to your authorized Audi
dealer or qualified repair facility immediately
to have the malfunction corrected.
[O] Iii Transmission malfunction: No reverse
gear. You can continue driving
S tronic® transmission: There is a system mal­
f unct ion in the transmission. The transmis­
sion is switching to emergency mode . This
mode only shifts into certain gears or will no
l onger shift at a ll. The engine may stall. You .,..

128 Homelink®
Homelink®
Universal remote
control
General information
Applies to vehicles: with Homelink® unive rsal remote
co ntrol
The Homelink universal remote control can
be programmed with hand-held transmitters
from existing equipment.
With Homelink, you can control devices such
as the garage door, security systems, house lights, etc. comfortably from the inside of you
vehicle.
H omelink makes it possible for you to rep lace
three different remote controls from devices in your home with one universal remote . Th is
feature works for most garage door and exte­ rior door moto r signals. Programming the in­
d iv idual remo te control fo r you r remote con ­
trol takes p lace near the center of the radiator
grille. There is a control module attached at
this location .
A one-t ime programm ing of the sensor mus t
be performed before you are able to use sys­
tems w ith Homelink.
A WARNING
- Never use the Homelink ® transmitter
with any garage door opener that does have not the safety stop and reverse fea­
ture as required by federa l safety stand­
ards. This includes any garage door open­
er mode l manufact ured before April 1,
1982.
- A garage door opener which cannot de­
tect an object, signaling the door to stop
and reverse does not meet cur rent feder­
al safety s tandar ds. Us ing a garage doo r
o pener witho ut these fea tures in creases
risk of serious inj ury or death.
- F or safe ty reasons never release t he
parking brake or s tart the engine while
anyone is standing in front of the vehicle .
- A garage door or an est ate gate may
sometimes be set in motion when the Homelink
® remote control is being pro­
grammed. If the device is repeatedly ac ­
tivated, this can overstrain motor and
damage its electrica l components - an
overheated motor is a fire hazard!
- To avo id possible injuries or property
damage, please always make absolutely
certa in that no persons or objects are lo­
cated in the rang e of motion of any
equ ipme nt bei ng ope rated.
(0 Tips
- If you would like add itional information
on the Home Link® Unive rsal Transce iver,
Homelink compatib le p roducts, or to
purc hase other accessories s uch as the
HomeL ink® Light ing Package, please
contact Homelink at 1-800 -355 -3515 o r
on the Internet at www.homelink .com.
- For Declaration of Comp liance to Unite d
States FCC and Ind ustry Canada reg ula ­
tions
¢ page 292.
- For security reasons, we recommend that
you clear the programmed b uttons be­
fore selling the vehicle .
Operation
Applies to vehicles: wit h Ho meli nk
Fig . 14 5 Headliner: controls
M 0
9 (!)
~
Requi rement: The bu tto ns must be program­
med
¢ page 129 .
"' To open the garage doo r, press the pro­
grammed b utton. The LED @ will light up o r
flash.
"' To close the ga rage doo r, press the button
aga in .
Ill>

ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock brake system (ABS) , brake assist sys ­
tem, anti -slip regulation (ASR) , electronic dif­
ferential lock (E DL) and e lectronic interaxle
d ifferential lock*. ESC is swi tched on all the
time. In certain situat ions when you need less
traction , you can switch off ASR by pressing
the button
[ru ~ fig . 181 . Be sure to switch
ASR on again when you no longer need less
traction.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braking. The vehicle can still be steered even during hard braking . Apply steady pres­
sure to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped­
al. A puls ing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is he lping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease brak ing
d istance.
It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake pedal quickly in emer­
gency situations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal until the situation is over . In
vehicles with adaptive cruise control* , the
brake assist system is more sensitive if the
d istance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
small.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ier to
s tart, accelerate and drive up hills.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
all-whee l drive*. This function is available up
to about 75 mph (120 km/h).
I n extreme cases , EDL automatically switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked wheel
from overheating. EDL wi ll switch on again au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to
normal.
Intelligent technology 197
Electronic interaxle differential lock*/
selective wheel torque control*
The electronic interaxle differential lock (front
whee l drive) or the se lective wheel torque
cont rol (all-wheel dr ive) operates when dr iv­
ing through curves . The front wheel on the in­
s ide of the curve or both wheels on the inside
of the curve are braked selectively as needed .
T his min imizes sliding in the front wheels and
allows for more precise driving through
curves . Th e applicable system may no t acti­
vate when driv ing in wet or snowy conditions.
A WARNING
-
-ESC, ABS, ASR, EDL and the electronic in­
teraxle differential lock function* cannot
overcome the laws of physics. This is es­
pecially important on slippery or wet
roads . If the systems begin acting to sta­
bilize your vehicle, you should immedi­
ately change your speed to match the
road and traffic conditions. Do not let
the increased safety provided by these
systems tempt you to t.;1ke risks. Doing
so will increase the risk o f a loss of vehi­
cle control, collision and serious personal
injuries.
-Always adapt your speed to road, traffic
and weather conditions . The risk of los­
ing control of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, espec ially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when dr iving too close to vehicles up
ahead . ESC, ABS, the brake assist sys­
tem, EDL, ASR and the elec tronic inter­
axle differential lock function* cannot
prevent collisions .
- Always accelerate with special care on
even, smooth surfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even with
these assistance systems that cannot al­
ways he lp to red uce the risk of loss of ve -
hicle control. .,.
•
•

200 Intellig ent technol ogy
briefly touch the brake d iscs in regular inter ­
va ls so as to improve reaction time when brak­
ing on wet surfaces. You the driver wi ll not no­
tice anything.
The effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is driven on a salt-covered road and the brakes are not used . Here too,
you should clean off accumu lated salt coating
from brake discs and pads with a few careful
applicat ions of the brake¢,& .
Co rrosion
There may be a tendency for dirt to bui ld up
on the brake pads and corrosion to form on
the discs if the car is not dr iven regularly or
only for short trips with little use of the
brakes .
If the brakes are not used frequently, or if cor­ rosion has formed on the discs, it is advisable
to clean off the pads and discs by braking
firmly a few times from a moderately high
speed <=>,& .
Fa ul ts in th e brak e sys te m
If you should notice a sudden increase in
brake pedal travel, then one of the two brake
circu its may have failed¢,& .
Low b rak e flu id l evel
Malfunctions can occur in the brake system if
the brake fl uid level is too low. The brake fluid
level is monitored electronically .
Brake booster
The brake booster wor ks w ith vacuum pres ­
sure which is created only when the engine is running
c> ,& .
Brake lining wear st atu s
Brake lining wea r may be checked by visual in­
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the openings in the whee l. If neces­
sary, the wheel may be removed for this in ­
spection ¢ page 269, Changing a wheel .
_& WARNING
-You should perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system only if road conditions permit .
Other road users must not be put at risk -
you may ca use an accident!
- Before descend ing a steep grade, reduce
speed and sh ift transmission into a lower
gear o r lower dr iving range. Do not ride
the br akes or ho ld the pedal down too
long o r too often . T his could cause the
brakes to get hot and diminish braking
efficiency .
- Do not "ride the brakes" by resting your foot on the pedal when you do not intend
to brake. This may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopping distance.
- Under certain climatic and operat ing
conditions such as passing through wa­
ter, dr iving in heavy rain or after washing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced . In winte r, ice can
accumu late on the bra ke pads, lin ings,
d iscs and drums. Carefully app ly bra kes
for a test. Brakes will dry and ice coa t­
ings wi ll be cleaned off after a few care­
fu l brake applicat ions.
- Driving for an extended period of t ime on
salt -covered roads without using your
brakes can a lso affect braking efficiency .
Clean off accum ulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few careful
brake applications.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler, be sure the a ir
f low to the front brakes is not obstruct­
ed. Otherwise the brake system could
overheat reducing the effective ness of
the entire brake system.
- Failure of one brake circuit will impa ir
the braking capab ility result ing in an in­
creased stopping distance . Avoid driving
the vehicle and have it towed to the near­
est A udi dealer or qualified workshop .
- Never let the vehi cle roll to a s top with
the eng ine shut off.

Catalytic converter
It is very important that your emission con­trol system (catalytic converter) is function­
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run­
ning in an environmentally sound manner .
.. Always use lead-free gasoline¢ page 225,
Fuel supply.
.,. Never run the tank down all the way to
empty.
.,. Never put too much motor oil in your en-
gine
¢ page 235, Adding engine oil~-
.,. Never try to push- or tow-start your veh icle.
The catalytic converter is an eff icient "clean­
up" device built into the exhaust system of
the vehicle . The catalytic converter burns
many of the pollutants in the exhaust gas be ­
fore they are released into the atmosphere.
The exclusive use of unleaded fuel is critically
importa nt for the life of the cata lytic convert­
e r and proper functioning of the engine.
A WARNING
-
- Do not park or operate the vehicle in
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in contact with dry grass, brush,
fuel spill or other material which can cause a fire.
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustproofing on or near the exhaust
man ifold, exhaust pipes, catalytic con­
verter or heat shields. During driving, the
substance used for undercoating cou ld
overheat and cause a fire.
0 Note
- Be aware that just one tank filling with
leaded fuel will already seriously de­
grade the performance of the catalytic
converter.
- Do not exceed the correct engine oil level
¢ page 235.
-Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
completely empty. The eng ine could mis­
fire . U nburned fuel could a lso get i nto
Dri vin g and en vironm ent 205
the exhaust system and this cou ld cause
the catalytic converter to overheat .
- Do not switch off the ignit ion while the
vehicle is mov ing.
- Do not continue to ope rate your veh icle
unde r these conditions, as othe rwise fuel
can reach the catalytic converter. This
co uld result in overheating of the con­
verter, requir ing its replacement .
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis ­
sion Control System:
- H ave your vehicle maintained prope rly
and in accordance w ith the se rv ice rec­
ommendat ions in you r Warranty &
M aintenance boo klet.
- L ack of prope r maintenance as we ll as
improper use of the vehi cle w il l impair
the function of the em ission contro l
system and could lead to damage .
@ For the sake of the environment
Even when the Emiss ion Control System is
operat ing properly, the exha ust gas can
have a sul fur -li ke exhaust gas smell under
some operating states . This depends on
the sulfur content of the fuel being used .
Using a different brand of fue l may help,
or filling the tank with lead-free super
grade gasoline .
Avoid damaging the
vehicle
When you are drivi ng on poo r roads, or over
c ur bs, s teep ramps, etc., ma ke certai n that
low -lying parts s uch as spoilers and exhaust
system pa rts do not bottom o ut and get dam­
aged.
T h is is espec ially true for veh icles w ith low­
s lung chassis (spor ts chassis)* and fully load­
ed vehicles. •
•