2013 AUDI A7 brake light

At speeds above about 1 mph (2 km/h) the
Automatic Shift Lock is automatically deact i­
vated in the
N position .
A time de lay element prevents the se lector
l ever from locking when it is moved through
the N position (go ing from R to D/S). The lock­
ing e lement will lock the selecto r lever if the
l ever is left in N (Neutral) for more than ap ­
proximately 2 second, without the brake ped­
al being pressed .
Relea se butt on
The release button on the selector lever pre ­
vents the lever from being accidentally shifted
into certain positions . Depending on the direc­
tion of the shift, the se lector lever locks at d if­
ferent positions. The positions are h ighlighted
i n the illustration
¢ fig . 116 .
Driving the automatic transmission
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic/tiptronic
Fig . 1 17 Sh ift gate on the center conso le: se lector lev ­
er w it h relea se button
Startin g the engin e
• The selector lever must be in P or N.
Starting off
• Press and ho ld the brake pedal.
• Press and hold the release button in these­
lector lever handle, se lect the desired se lec­
tor lever pos ition such as D/S and release
the button .
• Wait briefly until the transmission has shift­
ed (you will feel a slight movement).
• Remove your foot from the brake pedal and
acce le rate .
Automatic Tra nsmi ssi on 11 1
Stopping t emporaril y
• Keep the veh icle stationa ry using the brak­
ing pedal , for example at traffic lights .
• Do not press the accelerator peda l when do ­
ing this .
• To prevent the vehicle from rolling when
you start driving, set the parking brake
when stopp ing on steep inclines¢,& .
• The parking brake will release automat ically
and the vehicle will start mov ing once you
press the acce lerator pedal.
Stopping /parking
If the selector lever is not in the P position
when you open the driver's door, the veh icle
could roll. The message
Tran smi ssion: Car
ma y roll! Shift to park!
appears .
• Press and hold the brake pedal until the ve­
hicle has come to a comp lete stop .
• Apply the parking brake
q page 79, Park-
ing.
• Select the P selector lever posit ion q ,& .
Stopping on an incline
• Always press the brake pedal to hold the ve­
hicle in place and prevent it from "rolling
back "
q ,&. Do no t try to prevent the veh i­
cle from "rolling back " when a gear is en­
gaged by increas ing the engine speed
¢ 0.
St arting on an incline
• Act ivate the park ing brake.
• With the driving gear selected, press the ac ­
celerator pedal carefully . The parking brake
w ill release automatically if your seat belt is
fastened.
Under certa in circumstances, such as driving
i n the mounta ins, it may be usefu l to sw itch
temporarily to the manual sh ift program in or­
der to ad just the gears to the driv ing cond i­
t ions by hand
q & .
On s lopes, activate the parking brake first and
then move the selecto r lever to the P position.
T his prevents too much stress from be ing
placed on the locking mechanism.
ll>

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>

196 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facturers fo r the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event . EDR's are sometimes ca lled "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
A lthough your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine function, em is­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic contro l modules also record
vehicle-re lated data during normal vehicle op­
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded over a very limited pe riod of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded with special equip­
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of vehicle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects certain difficult driving situat
ions, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steering assistance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
G) in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations.
It is important to remem­
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics. It wi ll not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of
dry road that is suddenly covered with water,
slush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it wou ld on the dry surface . If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con­
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered.
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult driving situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic; and weather condit ions. ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the available traction, or keep a vehicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
drive r inattention. Instead, ESC improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle under con­
trol and on the road during ex treme maneu­
vers by using the driver's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection . If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.

Manual mod e
-Manua l dep loyment: Tapping b riefly on the
switch
¢ fig. 182 dep loys the rear spoiler.
- Manua l retraction: A t speeds up to abo ut
10 mph (20 km/h) , ret ract the rear spoiler
by pressing and holding the switch
¢ fig. 182 . At speeds between 10 mph (20
km/h) and 80 mph (130 km/h), retract the
rear spoiler by tapping on the switch
¢ fig . 182.
In dicat or light s
rJ /. R ea r spoiler: system m alfun ct io n!
The rear spoiler may not have extended due to
a ma lf u nction. This could change the vehicle 's
driving characteristics at high speeds . Do not
exceed 85 mph (140 km/h). Drive to your au­
thorized Audi dealer immed iate ly to have the
malfunction corrected. The co lor of the indica­
tor light depends on the vehicle speed.
A WARNING
Dr iv ing at higher speeds w ithout the rear
spoiler dep loyed can impair handling char ­
acteristics, making the veh icle harde r to
cont ro l.
- Always make sure that the spoiler is de­
ployed when driving at speeds over
85 mph (140 km/h). If the rear spoiler
warning/ind icator light in the i nstr u­
ment cluster comes on, the rear spoiler
may not have dep loyed .
- Never drive at speeds higher than
85 mph (140 km/h) if the spoiler is not
deployed. Have the spoiler inspected as
soon as possible by an authorized A udi
dealer or qualif ied workshop.
- Always obey speed limits and other traf­
fic laws.
A WARNING
Improper operation of the rear spoiler can
cause crushing injuries.
- Always make sure that nobody, especially
children, is in the way when the rear
spoiler is deployed or retracted.
Int ellig ent technolog y 199
@ Note
-Never push the vehicle or apply force to
the rear spoiler -it could be damaged.
- Only operate the rear spoiler manua lly
when the rear lid is closed . Otherwise,
damage cou ld occur.
(D Tips
C lean the spoiler compa rtment every 2 to
3 months. The spoiler compartment must
a lways be free of ice, snow, leaves or other
debris .
Braking
General information
What affects braking efficiency?
Operating condition s and dri ving h abit s
The brakes on today's automobiles are still
subject to wear, depending largely on operat­
ing condit ions and driving habits ¢.&, . On
vehicles that are either driven mostly in stop­
and-go c ity traff ic or are dr iven hard, the
brake pads should be checked by your author­
ized Audi dea ler more often th an specified in
the
Warran ty & Maintenan ce boo kle t. Failure
to have you r brake pads inspected can result
in reduced brake performance .
On steep slopes, you sho uld use the braking
effect o f the engine . This way, you prevent un ­
necessary wear on the b rake system. If you
must use your brakes, do not hold the brakes
down cont inuous ly. Pump the brakes at inter­
vals.
Mo istur e or road salt
U nder certain conditions , for example, when
driving through water or very heavy rain , or
even after washing your vehicle, the braking
effect can be reduced due to moisture (or in
free zing cond itions ice) on the brake pads. A
few carefu l brake applications should dry off
the brake pads or remove any ice coatings .
When you are driving at higher speeds with
the windshield w ipers on, the brake pads will
Ill-
•
•

-If the brake booster is not working, for
example when towing your vehicle, or
because the brake booster has somehow
been damaged, the brake pedal must be
pressed considerably harder to make up
for the lack of booster assistance.
Electro-mechanical
power assist
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering.
Power steering adapts electronically based o n
the vehicle speed.
Ind icator light s and messages
• Steering d efecti ve ! Stop the vehicl e
If this ind icator lig ht turns on and stays on
and this message appears, the power steering
may have fa iled.
Do
not continue driving. See yo ur authorized
Aud i dealer or other qualified repa ir facility
for assistance .
'y. ij Steering: System mal function! You m ay
c ont in ue drivi ng
If the indicator lig ht turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steering may be more diffi­
cult to move or more sensitive than usual.
Drive s low ly to your author ized Audi dealer or
qua lified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected.
(D Tips
If the . or 'I aj indicato r light only stays
on for a sho rt time, you may contin ue driv­
ing .
Int ellig ent technolog y 201
Driving with your
quattro ®
Applies to vehicles : with all-wheel drive
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv­
en .
General info rmation
With all Wheel Drive, power is distributed to
all four wheels. This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
cond it ions at the time . See also ¢
page 196 .
With the sport different ia l*, power dist ribu­
tion to the rear wheels is variable and can be
adjus ted with A udi drive select*
¢ page 102.
Always read and follow safety precautions
¢ ,0. .
Winter tires
When dr iving in the winter, your vehicle with
all-wheel drive has an advantage, even w it h
regular tires. In winter ro ad conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all -sea ­
son tires) for improved driveability and brak­
ing: these tires must be mo unted on
all fou r
whee ls.
See also ¢ page 261, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this norma lly also applies to veh icles
with all-wheel drive¢
page 262, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheels /tires
Vehicles with al l-wheel d rive must always
have tires of the same s ize. A lso avoid tires
with different tread depths . For detai ls see
page ¢
page 2 5 7, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels .
Off-Road driving?
You r A ud i does not have enough gro und clea r­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle .
It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un ­
even terra in as much as possib le . Also refer to
¢ page 205. ll>
•
•

206 Driving and en vir onm ent
Driving through water
on roads
Note the following to avoid vehicle damage
when driving thro ugh water, for example on
flooded roads:
- The wate r must not be any higher than the
bottom of t he vehicle body.
- Do not drive faster than wa lking speed.
A WARNING
After driving through wate r, mud, slush,
etc., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because of wet brake rotors and pads. Dry
the brakes first by braking carefully to re­
sto re the full braking effect.
@) Note
- Vehicle components such as the eng ine,
transmission, suspension or electr ical
system can be severely damaged by driv­ i ng th rough water.
- Always switc h off the Start-Stop-System
when driving through water~
page 80 .
(1) Tips
-Check the depth of the water before dr iv­
i ng th rough it.
- Do not stop the ve hicle, dr ive in reverse
or switch the engine off whe n driving
t hr ough water .
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may create waves that raise the water
level and make it too deep fo r you r vehi­
cl e to drive th rough safely.
- Avoid dr iving through salt water because
i t can cause corrosion.
Operate your vehicle
economically and
minimize pollution
General
Your personal style of driving will determine
the economy of your vehicle, as well as ex­
haust and noise levels.
Fuel economy, environmenta l impact, and
wear on your engine, brakes and tires largely
depend on three factors:
- your personal driving style
- oper ating conditions
- technical limitat ions
If you ant ic ipate what you need to do next and
drive economica lly, you can easily cut your
fuel consumpt ion by 10-15 percent . This sec­
t ion w ill give you some tips on how you can
help the env ironment and your pocketbook.
@ Tips
The consumption estimates as published
by ENVIRON MEN TAL PROTEC TION AG ENCY
( EP A) and Transpo rt Canada may no t corre­
spond to your actual consump tion on the
r oad, which will va ry depending upon vehi ­
cle load and speed, road and weather con ­
ditions, trip length, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout
ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac­
celerating.
.,. Avoid unnecessary accelerating and braking.
Vehicles use the mos t fu el when they are ac­
ce le rat ing. If yo u ant icipate what is going to
happen next, you will need to brake less and,
t hu s, acce le rate less . Let the vehicle coast
whenever possible -for examp le when you see
t h at the next traff ic light is red.

Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durab ility,
economy and performance .
Trailer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
F or this reason, a lways fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
(D Note
If you are going to tow a trai ler, you must
ac tivate the trailer operation mode
c::> page 209, Operating instructions.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weig ht-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer we ight. The hitch must be suita­
b le for your veh icle and trailer and must be
mounted securely on t he ve hicle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a trail er
hi tch w ith a removab le ball moun t. A lways
check wi th t he tra ile r hi tch man ufa ctur er to
make sure that you are using the cor rect
h itch.
Do not us e a bumper hitch .
The hitch m ust be installed in such a way that
i t does not interfe re with the impac t-absorb­
i ng bumper syst em. No mod ificat ions should
b e made to the vehi cle e xhaus t and br ake sys­
tems . From t ime to time, check th at a ll hitc h
mo unt ing bo lts rem ain securely fas tened.
When you are not towing a trail er, remove the
tra ile r hi tch ball moun t. T h is prevents the
hi tch from causing damage sho uld your ve hi­
cle be str uck from behind~ .&.
Trailer towin g 209
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is equippe d wi th a bra king sys­
tem, check to be s ure that i t conforms to all
regulations .
T he trailer hyd ra u lic bra ke sys tem mus t not be
d irec tly connec ted to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system .
Safety chains
Always use safety chains be tween your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Trai ler lights must meet all reg ulations. Be
su re to c heck with your Audi dea ler for correct
wir ing, switches and relays .
Mirrors
If you a re unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regula r outside mirrors, then you
must insta ll extended mir rors. It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rear.
_&. WARNING
-
Afte r removi ng the trailer hitch , do no t
s tor e i t in yo ur v ehicl e. In case of sudden
b raki ng, the hi tch co uld fly forwar d and in­
j ur e you o r yo ur pass enge rs.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
A tra ile r fo r you r vehi cle is l imited to a typi cal
cla ss 1 o r class 2 tr ailer.
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the load in the tra ile r is held secure ly
in place to p revent it from shift ing fo rward,
ba ckward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
c::> .& in Driving instructions on page 211 .
Engine cooling sy stem
Towing a t railer ma kes the engine wor k hard­
er . It is impo rtant that the cooling system's
performance is up to the additional load.
•
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