2013 AUDI A7 ECO mode

Modern eng ine lubrication has taken a quan ­
tum leap in the last few years . Many synt hetic
oils ava ilable today provide better engine lu­
brication that can outlast traditional petrole­
um-based o ils, making them a smart choice
for use throughout the life of your Audi .
Whether you use synthetic or petroleum­ based engine oil, the oil that you use must
conform to Audi's oil quality standard
VW 502 00 to help keep your vehicle's engine running smoothly and help prevent the for­
mat ion of harmfu l deposits, sometimes called
"s ludge," that ove r time can lead to expensive
r epairs .
At the t ime of pri nting, engine o ils available in
the U .S . and Canada that meet the exacting
specifications of Audi oi l standard VW 502 00
are synthetic engine oils. This does not mean, h owever, that every synthetic engine oil w ill
meet Audi oil standard VW 502 00. So always
be sure that you use an approved oi l.
To help preve nt the format ion of harmful de­
posits use only oi l with the fo llowing spec ifi­
cations printed on the oil container:
Audi oil standard VW 502 00
O il conta iner labels may carry the specif ica­
tion s ingly or in comb inat ion w ith other des ig­
nations and oil qua lity standards .
Viscosity
Engine oi ls are graded according to their vis­
cosity. The proper v iscosity grade oi l for your
engine depends on cl imactic or seasonal con­
d itions where you dr ive. You can use oil with a
viscosity grade of SAE SW40 across all tem ­
pe rature ranges for normal d riving conditions .
However, if eng ine oi l viscosity grade
SAE SW40 is not ava ilable, you can a lso use
viscosity grade SAE SW-30 or SAE OW-40 as
long as it meets Audi o il quality standard
VW 502 00 specifications.
Because engine oil that meets the Audi oil
standard may not be available everywhere
when you need it, we st rongly recomme nd
that you always carry with you a n ext ra quart
Checkin g and fillin g 233
(li ter) of oil that exp ress ly con forms to the
VW 502 00 specificatio n, in case you have to
top
off the o il while on the road.
Only if the level of the o il is at or be low the
minimum mark -and no oi l that expressly
confo rms to Audi oil standard VW 502 00
spec ifications is available -may you top
off
with a h igh quality engine o il, preferab ly syn ­
thet ic-based, that meets ACEA A3 or API SM
spec ifications, but even then, only in v iscosity
grades SAE SW-40, SA E SW-30, or
SA E OW-40 . However, during the ent ire time
betwee n oil change in tervals, never top
off
wi th more than a total of 0.5 q t/ li ter engine
o il t hat does no t conform to A udi o il specifica­
tion VW 502 00.
Fo r more information abo ut eng ine oi l tha t
has been approved for your veh icle, ple ase
contac t eit h er yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r or
Audi C ustomer Re lations at 1 (800) 822 -2834
or visit our web site at www .a u diusa.com or
www.aud icanada .ca. Here you w ill also find a
current list of oils (manufacturers, brand
names etc.) that conform to Audi oil standard
vw 502 00.
Changing the engine oil
T he eng ine oi l and o il f ilter m ust be changed
according to the mileage (kilometers) and
time intervals specified i n your ve hicle's War ­
ranty
& Maintenance booklet. Do not exceed
these interva ls - harmful deposits from old
engine oil can reduce engine performance and
can lead to expensive engine repairs.
Changi ng the oil at the recommended inter­
vals is so very important beca use the lubricat­
ing propert ies of oil decrease gradually during
norma l veh icle use . If you a re not sure when
yo u have your o il cha nged, ask your author­
i zed Audi Se rv ice Adv isor.
Under some circumstances the engine oil
shou ld eve n be changed more frequent ly.
Change oil more often if you dr ive most ly
sho rt distances, operate the ve hicle in dusty
areas o r most ly under stop-and -go traff ic con-
di tions, o r when you use your vehi cle where .,..
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Engine cooling system
Coolant
The engine coolant performs two functions: it
keeps the engine from overheating and it pro ­
te cts the engine from freezing in the winter .
The cooling system is sealed and generally re­
qu ires little attention .
The cooling system has been filled at the fac­
tory with a permanent coolant which does not need to be changed. The coolant consists of a
mixture of water and the manufacturer's gly ­
col-based coolant additive G13 ant ifreeze
w ith anticorrosion add itives (50% fo r USA
models; 60% for Canad ian models). This mix­
ture bot h assu res the ne cessary frost protec­
tion and protects metal components in the
engine's coo ling system from corrosion and
scaling. It also raises the boili ng po int of t he
coolant.
D o not red uce the concentration o f the coo l­
ant in the summer by adding plain water .
The
proportion of coolant addit ive must be at
least 50% but not mo re than 60 %
to main­
tain antifree ze protection and cooling efficien­
cy. If the coolant frost protection is too low,
the coolant cou ld freeze and damage the veh i­
cle heating and eng ine cooling system .
For year-round driving, antifree ze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
- -3 1°F (-35°C)USA
- -40 ° F ( - 4 0 °C) Canada.
A WARNING
Before yo u check anything in the engine
compartment , always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS
¢ & in Working in the engine
compartment on page 230.
(D Note
- Befo re winter sets i n, have the coolant
chec ked to see i f th e coo lant ad dit ive i n
you r vehicle is suffic ient to meet the cli­
mate cond itions . T hi s is especially impor­
ta nt if yo u live in a regi on whe re the w in-
-
Checkin g and fillin g 237
ter is ex treme ly co ld. If necessary, i n­
crease t he p ro po rtion of coo lant additive
to 60%.
- W hen a dding coolant additive to yo ur
cooling system , remembe r:
- We recommend us ing on ly coo la nt ad­
di tive G 12++ or G 13 (check the labe l)
fo r you r ve hicl e. This coolant additive is
a v ailabl e at author ized Aud i de alers.
Ot he r ty pes of antifree ze can signifi­
cantly reduce corros ion p rotec tion. The
r es ulting co rrosion can cause a loss of
coolant and serio us engine damage .
- Do not add any ty pe of rad iator leak seal ­
ant to you r vehicle's engine coo lant .
Add ing radiator repair flu id may adverse ­
ly affect t he fu nction and performance of
your cooling system and cou ld result in
damage not covered by yo ur New Ve hicle
L imited Warranty .
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance.
Fig. 19 2 Engine co mpart ment: cover on t he coo la nt
expansio n ta nk
Before you check a nyth ing in the eng ine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS <=>&.
in Working in the engine compart ­
ment on page 230 .
.,. Park yo ur vehicle on a level surface .
.,. Switch off the ignition .
.,. Read the e ngine coolant level from the
coo la nt expansion tan k<=>
fig . 192,
¢ fig. 189 . With a cold engine, the coolant
level s hou ld be be tween the "m in" and
" max" mar kings. Whe n the engi ne is w arm,
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24 0 Ch eck ing and filling
The location of the brake fluid reservo ir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
¢ page 232.
The fl uid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads. This is not cause for alarm.
I f the brake fluid level falls
considerably be­
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/ind i­
cator light
1111 (U .S . models)/ . (Canadian
models) will come on¢
page 15. Do not con­
tinue to operate the vehicle. The comp lete
brake system shou ld be thoroughly checked
by an au thorized Audi dealer or other quali­
fied facility and the cause corrected . If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warn ing/
indicator light w ill illuminate . Contact an au­
thor ized Audi dealer
imm ediatel y.
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
h igh , corros ion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime . The bo iling po int of the
brake fluid w ill also decrease considerably and
dec rease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
ev ery two year s. Always use new b rake fluid
which conforms to Fede ral Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS
116 DO T 4".
The brake flu id reservoir can be difficult to
r each, therefo re , we recommend that you
have the brake fl uid changed by yo ur author­
ized
Audi d ealer. Your dea ler has the correct
too ls, the right brake fluid and the know -how
to do this for you .
A WARNING
-Brake fluid is poisonous . It must be stor ­
ed only in the closed orig inal container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake fa ilure can result from old or inap­
propriate brake fluid. Observe these pre­
caut ions: -
Use only brake fluid that meets SAE
specification
J 1703 and conforms to
Federa l Motor Vehicle Standard
116.
Always check with your authorized Audi
dealer to make sure you are using the
correct brake fluid . The correct type of
brake f lu id is also ind icated on the
brake flu id reservoir.
- T he brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the bra kes ca n cause a vapo r lock if
the b rake fluid is left in the system too
l ong . This can seriously affect the effi ­
c iency of the brakes as well as your
safety. This co uld resu lt in an accident.
(D Note
Bra ke fluid will damage the paint of you r
vehicle .
(® For the sake of the environment
Because of the p rob lem of p roper disposal
of b ra ke fluid as well as the spec ial too ls
r equired and the necessary expertise, we
re commend that you have the brake fluid
changed by yo ur authorized Aud i dea ler.
Battery
General information
U nder normal ope rat ing cond itions , the bat­
tery in yo ur Audi does not need any ma inte­
nance. With
high o utside tempe ra tu res or
l ong daily drives we recommend that you have
the e lectrolyte level checked by a service fa­
cility. The electrolyte leve l should a lso be
checked each t ime the battery is charged
<=> page 243.
Have th e battery checked when yo u take your
veh icle in for service. You are well advised to
replace a battery that is o lder than S years .
With certain types of airbag deployment, the battery is disconnected from the veh icle elec­
trical system for safety reasons<=>.&
in Re­
pair , care and dispo sal of the airbags on
page
165.

Tires and wheels 251
Bear in mind that the tire pressure monitoring
system* can only monitor the tire pressures
you have stored. The system does not recog­
ni ze the load cond it ion of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressure monitor ­
ing system* will be impaired if you store nor­
mal load pressures but then operate the vehi ­
cle at its maximum load
c;, & .
See the illustration c;, fig. 196 for the location
of the label on driver's side B-pillar (co lor of
the actua l labe l and exact location on the ve­
hicle will vary slightly).
Tire designation
Note that the following table is accurate at
the time of going to press and is subject to change. In the event of d iscrepancies, the t ire
pressure label is located on the driver's side B­
pillar always takes precedence.
The table below lists the recommended cold
tire inflat ion pressures for the Audi mode l
covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehi­
cle's capacity weight and the t ire sizes instal­
led on the respective models as orig inal
equipment, or as a factory option.
Tire pressure
Model/
Engine normal load condition full load condition
fronta> reara>
front rear
PSI kPA PSI
A7: 235/55 Rl 7 99Y
3.0 liter High Performance
6-cylinder
S7:
4.0 liter a-cylinder 255/45 R18 99H
All Season
255/45 R18
99Y
High Performance
255/40 R19 l00H XL
All Season
255/40 R19100YXL
High Performance
265/35 R20 99H XL
All Season
265/35 R20 99Y XL
High Performance
255/40 R19
l00Y XL
High Performance
265/35 R20 99Y XL
High Performance
32 220
32 220
32 220
35 240
36 250
240
36 250
39 270
41 280 29 200
35 240 38 260
29 200 35 240 38 260
29 200 35 240 38 260
32 220 38 260 41 280
32 220 38 260 41 280
32 220 38 260 4
1
280
32 220 38 260 41 280
33 230
42 290
42 290
35 240
44 300 44
300
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
al no rmal load condition c:;,page 250.
The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
located on a label on the driver's side B-pillar.
Because technical changes may be made to
vehicle equ ipment dur ing the model year, al­
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure label on your vehicle w ith the tires on your vehicle.
Make sure that the tir e
s ize informat ion on the vehicle label is the
same as the size of the tires on the vehicle .
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@ Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer­
tain roads, this normally also applies to
veh icles with all-wheel dr ive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of whee l bolts is matched to the
factory insta lled rims . If different rims are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are f itted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same model
<=> page 291.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can becom e loose caus ing loss of
cont ro l, a co llision and serious persona l in­
Jury .
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clea n so the
w heel bolts can t urn easily and be prop ­
erly t ightened .
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose while d riving if greased or
oi led, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque.
- Only use whee l bolts that belong to the
rim being installed .
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Always maintain the co rrect tighten ing
torq ue for the wheel bo lts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss . If the tightening tor­
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi­
cle is moving. If the tightening torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads
Tire s an d wheel s 263
can be damaged and the whee l can be­
come loose.
(D Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a tolerance of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm) . Torq ue whee l bolts diago­
nally. After changing a whee l, the torq ue
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque wrench -preferably by an author­
i zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
Low aspect ratio tires
You r Aud i is facto ry-equ ipped w it h low aspect
ra tio tires. These tires have been tho ro ughly
tested and been se lec ted spe cifically for you r
model for their superb perfo rmance, road fee l
and handling under a variety of driving condi­
tions. Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more details .
T he low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numera l of
55 or le ss in the tire's s ize
designation. The numera l represents the ratio
of the t ire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage. Conven­
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth rat io of 60 or
more .
The performance of low-aspect -ra tio tire s is
particularly sens it iv e to improper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
aspect ratio t ires are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pressur e is
regularly che cked and maintain ed. Tire pre s­
s ures should be checked at least on ce a
m onth and alwa ys before a long trip
¢ page 2 52, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damage d mo re
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, g ull ies
or ridges on t he road, partic ularly if the tire is
u nderinflated.
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•

268 What do I do no w?
-Never use the jack s upplied with your
Audi on another vehicle, particularly on a
heavier one. The jack is only suitable for
use on the vehicle it came w ith.
- Some of the on board items listed above
are provided on certain mode ls only or
are optiona l extras.
- Before you can raise your vehicle using
the jack, you must activate the jack ing
mode
Q page 271.
Space-saving spare tire (compact spare
tire)
The spare tire/wheel is located in the luggage
compartment under the cargo floor cover. It
is intended for short-term use only.
Taking out the sp are tire
,. Fold the floor to the seatback with the help
of the handle.
,. Turn the large screw~
fig. 204 counter ­
clockwise.
,. Take out the spare tire .
,. Always store the vehicle too l kit, the jack*
and the replaced t ire in the l uggage com­
partment
Q page 136.
Using the spare tire (compact spare tir e)
The compact spare tire is only intended for
emergenc ies until you can reach a repair shop.
Replace it as quick ly as poss ible with a s tand­
a rd whee l and tire.
There are some restrictions on the use of the
compact spare t ire. The compact spare t ire
has been des igned specifically fo r yo ur type of
ve hicle . It must not be swapped with a com­
pact spare ti re from another type of ve hicle .
Snow chains
For technica l reasons, the use of snow chains
on the compa ct spare tire is
not p ermitt ed .
If you do have to dr ive with snow cha in s and a
front tire fails , mo unt the spare wheel w ith
tire instead of a rea r tir e . I nstall the snow chains on the rear tire and use it to rep
lace
the defective front tire.
A WARNING
-- Never use the spare t ire if it is damaged
or if it is worn down to the tread wear in­
d icat ors.
- I f the spare tire is more than 6 years old,
use it only in an emergency and with ex­
treme caution and careful driv ing.
- The spare tire is intended only for tem­ porary and sh ort-term use . It s hou ld be
replaced as soo n as poss ible with the
normal wheel and tire.
- After mount ing t he compact spare t ire,
the t ire pressure must be checked as
soon as possible . The tire pressure of the
compact spa re t ire must be
4. 2 ba r; oth­
erwi se, you risk having an a cc iden t.
- Do not dr ive faste r th an
50 mph (80 km/
h). Yo u ris k havi ng a n accident.
- Avoid full-throttle acceleration, heavy
b rak ing, and fast corne ring . You risk hav­
ing ('In accide nt.
- N ever d rive using more than one s pare
wheel and ti re. You r is k having an acci­
den t.
- Normal summer or winter t ires must not
be mounted on the compa ct spare wheel
r im .
- F or technica l reasons, the use of tire
ch ain s on t he sp are tire is not permitted.
If it is ne cessary to drive with tir e c hains,
the spare wheel must be mounted on the
f ront ax le in the event of a flat in a rear
tire. The new ly available front whee l
m ust then be insta lled in place of the
rear whee l w ith the flat tire. Installing
the t ire chain before mounting the whee l
a nd tire is recommended .
- Loose items in the passenger compart­
ment can cause se rious personal injury
du ring hard b rak ing or in an accident.
Never store t he i nflatable spa re tire or
jack and tool s in the passenge r compart­
men t.

Changing a wheel
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang­
ing a wheel .
.,. After you experience a tire fai lure, pull the
car well away from moving traffic and try to
reach
le vel gro und before you stop¢.&_ .
.. All passengers shou ld
leav e the car and
move to a safe location (fo r instan ce, be hind
the guardra il)¢ .&_.
.. Engage the
parking br ake to prevent your
vehicle from ro lling unintentionally¢ .&_.
.. Move
selecto r leve r to posi tion P ¢ .&_ .
.. If you are tow ing a trai ler, unh itch the trai l­
er from your veh icle.
.,. Take the
jack and the spare tire out of the
luggage compartment ¢
page 267,
¢page 268.
.8, WARNING
You or your passengers cou ld be injured
w hile changing a whee l if yo u do not fol­
low t hese safety precautions:
- If you have a flat t ire, move a safe dis ­
t a nce off the ro ad. Tur n off the eng ine,
turn the emergency f lashers on an d use
other warning dev ices to alert other mo­
torists.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a safe
place away from the ve hicle and well
away from the road and traff ic.
- To help p revent the vehicle from moving
sudden ly and possibly slipping off the
jack, always fu lly set the parking brake
and block the wheel diagonally opposite
the wheel being changed. Whe n one
front wheel is lifted off the ground, plac­ ing the A utomat ic Transm iss ion in P
(Park) will
not p revent the vehicle from
moving.
- Before you change a wheel, be su re the
ground is level and fi rm. If necessa ry,
use a sturdy board under the jack.
-
What do I do now? 269
- Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack
and the replaced tire in the luggage com­ partment
¢page 136.
(D Tips
Before changing the whee l, you must acti­
vate the jacking mode, so that the auto­ matic controls for the Adaptive Air Sus­
pension* do not make it more d iff icult to
lift the vehicle with the jack
¢ page 271 .
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel , follow these­
quence described below step-by-step and in
exactly that order .
l. Activate the vehicle jack mode*
¢page 271 .
2. Remove the decorativ e whee l cover* . For
more details see also¢
page 2 70, Deco­
rative wheel covers
or ¢ page 2 70,
Wheels with wheel bolt caps .
3. Loosen the wh eel bolt s ¢page 271.
4. Loca te the p roper moun ting poin t for the
jack and align the jack be low that point
¢ page 271 .
5. Rais e the car with the jack ¢ page 271.
6. Remove the wheel with the flat tire and
then install
the spare ¢page 273.
7. Tighten all whee l bolts lightly .
8.
Lo wer the vehicle with the jack .
9 . Use the wheel bolt w rench and
firmly
t ighten al l wheel bolts¢ page 2 71.
10. Rep lace the deco ra ti ve whe el c ove r*.
11. Deactivate the vehicle jack mode* in the
MMI:
ICARI f u nction button > (Car )* sy s­
tems
contro l button > S ervici ng & check s
> Air s usp.: jack mod e > Off.
The vehicle jack mode * switches off automati­
ca lly at speeds above 6 mph (10 km/h) .
.8, WARNING
-Always read and fo llow all WARNINGS and
i nformat ion¢
A in Raising the vehicle on
page
272 and ¢ page 274.
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•

280 Emergency situations
@ Tips
The discharged battery must be properly
connected to the vehicle's electrical sys­
tem. When jump starting or charging the
battery, never connect the negative
ground cable to the battery negative post
because the batte ry manager system must
be able to detect the battery 's state of
charge. Always connect the negative
ground cab le to the negative ground post
of the battery manager control unit.
Use of jumper cables
Make sure to connect the jumper cable
clamps in exactly the order described below!
Fig. 218 Engine compartment: connecto rs for jump
start cables and charger
Fig. 219 Jump start ing with the battery of another ve·
hide: @-booster battery, @-discharged ve hicle bat­
tery
The procedure described below fo r connecting
jumper cables is intended to provide a jump
start for your vehicle.
Vehicle with discharged battery:
.,. Turn off lights and accessories, move lever
of automatic transmission to N (Neutral) or
P (Park) and set parking brake.
Connect POSITIVE(+) to POSITIVE(+)
(red)
.,. Open the red cover on the positive terminal
¢fig. 218.
1. Connect one end of the red positive cable
on the
jump start bolt c::;, fig. 219 @ (bolt
under the red cover = "positive") of the ve­
hicle to be started @.
2. Connect the other end to the positive ter-
mina l@ of the booster battery@.
Connect NEGATIVE (-) to NEGATIVE (-)
(black)
3. Connect one end of the black negative ca­
ble to the negat ive terminal @ of the
booster battery @.
4. Connect the other end to the
jump start
pin © (bolts with hex head bolt= "nega­
tive") of the vehicle to be started @.
Starting the engine
.,. Start the engine of the veh icle with the
booster battery@. Run the engine at a
moderate speed .
.,. Start engine with d ischarged vehicle battery
@ in the usual manner.
.,. If the engine fails to start, do not keep the
starter cranking for longer than 10 seconds.
Wait for about 30 seconds and then try aga in .
.,. With eng ine running,
remove jumper cables
from both vehicles in the exact
reverse o r­
de r .
.,. Close the red cover on the positive term inal.
T he battery is vented to the outside to prevent
gases from entering the veh icle inter ior. Make
sure that the jumper clamps are well connect­
ed with their metal parts in full contact with
the battery terminals.
_& WARNING
To avoid serious personal injury and dam­
age to the vehicle, heed all warnings and
instructions of the jumper cable manufac­
turer. If in doubt, call for road service .
- Jumper cables must be long enough so
that the veh icles do not touch.
-