2013 AUDI A7 tow

256 Tires and wheels
6. If your vehicle will be towing
a trailer, load from your trail­
er will be transferred to your
vehi cle. Consult thi s manual
to determine how this re­
duces the available car go
and luggage lo ad capacity of
yo ur vehicle .
.,. Check the tire sidewall
(9 fig . 200 ) to de termine the
de signated load rating for a
s pe cifi c tir e.
Tire service life
The s ervi ce life of tires dep ends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correc t tire pressu re and driv­
ing style.
Fig. 198 Tire tread: tread wea r ind icators ( TWI)
Fi g. 1 99 Rotat ing t ires fo r m ore eve n wear
Tread W ear Indicator (TWI)
The o rigi na l t ires on your ve hicle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators" ¢
fig. 198 r
u nning across the tread. Depend­
ing on the make, t here will be six to eight of
them even ly placed aro und the tire. Marks on
the tire sidewall (for examp le "TWI" or other
symbols) ind icate the positions of the tread
wear indicato rs . Wor n tires must be rep laced.
D iffere nt f igures may apply in othe r countr ies
Q ,&. .
Tire pressure
Incorrect t ire pressure ca uses premature wear
and can cause sudde n tire blow-out. For this
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
o nce a month ¢
page 2 52.
Driving style
Driving fast around c urves, heavy acce lerat ion
and hard braking increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for more even wear
Fo r all four tires on your ve hicle to have the
same service life, we recommend that the
front and rear t ires a re rotated according to
the tire manu fact urer's suggested tire rota­
tion intervals. Please remember the follow­
ing :
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from t he
veh icle service interva ls outlined in your
Warranty
& M aintenance booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
o n t he vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points; theref ore, we recommend t hat y ou
follow the tire manufacturer's suggested
tire rotation int ervals .
- Veh icles w ith front-wheel dr ive experience
more tread wear on the fro nt wheels com­
pa red to a ll-wheel drive ( quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown¢
fig. 199.
- Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires ¢
page 274.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new ve hicles are balance d.
Howeve r, various s ituations during everyday
dr iv ing can cause them to become unba l­
anced, resulti ng in vibrations you can usually
feel th rough the steer ing wheel.
liJJ,-

What do I do now? Emergency warning
triangle
App lies to vehicles: with emerge ncy warning triangle
The warning triangle is located on the inside
of the trunk lid .
"' M ~
D -~ .. m
!I l
Fig. 203 Trun k lid: Warn ing triang le
.,. To open the cover, turn the locking mecha­
nism and pull the cover downward .
.,. Remove the warning triangle from its hold­
er.
The rear lid is only designed to ho ld the warn­
ing triangle offered by the original accessories
program. If you would like to retrofit your ve­
hicle with a warning triangle, p lease contact
your authorized Audi dealer.
Vehicle tool kit
Vehicle tool kit and jack
The vehicle tool kit is located in the luggage
compartment under the cargo floor cover.
F ig . 204 Luggage compa rtment: cargo floo r cover
folded upward/spa re tire
What do I d o now ? 267
Fig. 20 5 Trunk lid: Veh icle too l kit
.,. Fold the floor to the seatback with the help
of the handle .
.,. Turn the handwheel counter- clockwise
q fig. 204 and remove the spare t ire to
reach the vehicle tool kit.
T he onboard tool k it includes:
- Hooks to remove the whee l covers*
- Plastic hook to remove wheel bolt covers*
- Wheel bolt wrench
-Alignment pin for changing wheels
- Screwdriver with reversib le blade
- Tow ing loop
-Jack
Before storing the jack, make sure it is wound
back down as far as it will go.
A WARNING
Im proper use of the vehicle jack can cause
serious personal injuries.
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten w heel bolts, since the bolts can­
not attain the necessary tighten ing tor­
que if you use the hex head, potentially
causing an ac cident.
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on­
ly for yo ur vehicle model. Under no c ir­
cumstances sho uld it be used to lift
heavy ve hicles o r other loads; yo u risk in­
juring yo urself.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, wh ich co uld cause an acc ident.
- Support the vehicle secu rely with appro­
pria te stands if wor k is to be per formed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there
is a potentia l risk for injury.

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.
•
•

Emergency situations
General
This chapter i s intended for trained emer­
gency crews and working personnel who have the necessary tools and equipment to
perform these operations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
CD Note
Ve hicles w ith an au tomatic tra nsmission
cannot be started by pus hing o r tow ing.
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary, the engine can be started by
connecting it to the battery of another vehi­
cle.
If the engine shou ld fail to start because of a
discha rged o r wea k battery, the battery can be
connected to the battery o f
another vehicle,
using a
pair of jumper cables to start the en­
g ine.
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently la rge
c ross section to carry the starter c urrent safe­
l y. Refer to the man ufacturer's specifications.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated te rm i­
na l clamps wh ic h are d istinctly marked:
plus(+) cable i n mos t cases co lore d red
minu s(-) cable
in most cases colored black .
A WARNING
Batterie s contain e lec tricity, ac id, an d gas.
A ny of these can cause ve ry ser io us or fatal
inju ry. Follow the instructions below f or
safe han dling of your veh icle's b attery .
- Alway s shield you r eyes and avoid lean­
ing over the bat te ry whenever possib le.
- A dis ch arged battery c an free ze at tem­
peratures ju st be low 3 2 °F ( 0 °C ). Befo re
Emergency situations 2 79
connecting a jumpe r cab le, you must
thaw the fr ozen battery c omp lete ly, ot h­
erwise it could explode.
- Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes
or skin. Fl ush any contacted area with
wate r immediately.
- Improper use of a booster battery to start a vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batter ies genera te exp losive gas­
es. Keep spar ks, flame and lighted c iga ­
rettes away from batte ries.
- Do not try to jump start any ve hicle w ith
a low ac id leve l in the battery.
- The vo ltage of the booste r batte ry m ust
a lso have a 12-volt rating. The capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery sho uld not be
lowe r tha n that of the discharged bat­
tery . U se of batte rie s of d iffe ren t voltage
or substantially diffe rent "Ah" rat ing
may c au se an exp losion and persona l in­
JU ry.
- N ever cha rge a fro zen batte ry. Gas tr ap­
pe d in t he ice may c ause an explosion.
- Never cha rge or use a batte ry tha t h as
been fr ozen. T he battery case may have
be weakened.
- Us e of b atter ies of differe nt voltage or
sub stant ia lly diff eren t ca pa city (Ah) ra t­
i ng may c ause an ex plosion an d injury .
Th e capac ity (Ah) of the booster bat tery
should not be l ower than that of the dis ­
charged batte ry .
- Before you chec k any thing in the engine
compa rtment, always read an d hee d all
WARNINGS¢
page 224, Engine com­
partment.
CD Note
- App lying a higher voltage booster ba t­
tery will cause expens ive damage to se n­
sit ive e lectronic components, such as
cont rol units, relays, rad io , etc.
- The re must be no electrical contact be­
tween the vehicles as otherwise current
cou ld already start to f low as soon as the
posit ive(+) te rm inals a re c onnected. ..,. •
•

-When connecting jumper cables, make
sure that they cannot get caught in any
moving parts in the eng ine compart­
ment .
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢
page 224, Engine com­
partment.
(D Note
Improper hook-up of jumper cables can r u­
in the generator.
- Always connect POSITIVE(+) to POSI ­
TIVE(+), and NEGA TIVE( -) to NEGATIVE
( - ) ground post of the battery manager
control u nit .
- Check that all sc rew plugs on the battery
cells are screwed in firmly. If not, tighten
pl ugs p rior to connecting clamp on nega­
tive batt ery terminal.
- P lease note that the procedure for con­
nect ing a jump er cable as describe d
above applies spec ifically to the case of
your vehi cle be ing j ump s tarted. When
you are giving a jump star t to anothe r ve­
hicle, do
not connec t the negative( -) ca ­
b le to the negat ive (-) term inal on the
discharged battery@¢
fig. 219. In­
stead, securely connect the negative(-)
cable to e ither a solid metal component
that is firmly bolted to the engine block
or to the engine block itself.
If the bat­
te ry tha t is being charged does not vent
to the ou tside, es ca ping b attery gas
could ignite and ex plode!
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow­
ing .
The fo llow ing informa tion is to be used by
commercia l tow tr uck operators who know
how to ope rate thei r equipmen t sa fe ly.
Emergenc y situ ation s 281
-Ne ver tow your Audi. Towing will cau se
damage to the engine and tran smission.
- Never wrap the safety chain s or w inch ca­
ble s around the brake lines.
- To prevent unnece ssary damage , your Audi
must be transported with a flat bed tru ck.
- To load the vehicle on to the fl at bed , use
the towing loop found in the vehicle tools
a nd attach to the front or rear anchora ge
¢page 281 and ¢page 282 .
_& WARNING
A vehicle being towed is not safe for pas ­
sengers. Never allow anyo ne to ride in a
vehicle be ing towed, for any reason.
Front towing loop
Only install the front towing loop when it is
needed.
Fig. 22 0 Front bumpe r: cove r
Fig. 22 1 Front bu mpe r: in stall ing t he tow ing loop
-
The towing loop fits into the threaded hole lo ­
cated on the right s ide of the front bumpe r
and cove red by a sma ll cover when not in use.
.. Remove the tow ing loop from the vehicle
too l kit .

282 Emergency situations
• Press inward strongly on the left side of the
cap to remove it from the bumper
¢ fig . 220 .
• Screw the towing loop in the threaded
opening and tighten it until it s tops
¢ fig . 221.
Remove the towing loop when you are done
using it and place it back in the vehicle tool
kit . Install the cover in the bumper. Always
keep the towing loop in the vehicle.
A WARNING
If you do not screw the tow ing loop com­
pletely, it could come out of the threaded
hole while the vehicle is being towed caus­
ing damage to the vehicle and possible se­
rious personal injury.
Rear towing loop
Only install the rear towing loop when it is
needed.
Fig . 222 Rear bum per: cover
Fig. 223 R ear bum per: scr ew in g in tow ing loop
There are threads located behind the right
side of the rear bumper where a towing loop
can be installed . The threads are located be ­
hind a cover.
-
• Remove the towing loop from the vehicle
tool kit.
• Press inward strong ly to the button side of
the cap to remove it from the bumper
¢fig. 222.
.,. Screw the tow ing loop in the threaded
open ing and t ighten it until it stops. The in­
dicator marking must be flush with the
bumper
c::> fig. 223 .
Remove the towing loop when you are done
using it and place it back in the veh icle tool
kit. Always keep the towing loop in the vehi­
cl e.
A WARNING
If you do not screw the towing loop com­
pletely, it could come out of the threaded
hole while the vehicle is being towed caus­
ing damage to the vehicle and possible se­
rious personal injury.
Loading the vehicle onto a flat bed truck
Fig. 224 Vehicle on flat bed tr uck
Front hook up
.,. Align the vehicle with the centerline of the
car carrier ramp .
.,. Attach the winch hook to the front tow line
eye previously installed.
Rear hook up
.,. Align the vehicle with the centerline of the
car earner ramp.
• Attach the winch hook to the rear towline
eye previous ly installed .
-

@ Tips
Check carefully to make sure the hook-up
is secure before moving the car up the flat­
bed truck ramp .
Vehicle transport
Whenever you hov e your vehicle transported,
be sure to note the following :
(D Note
Mount the tie-down chains/cables over the
running surface (circumference) of the
tires. Never secure the vehicle by the axle,
the suspension struts or the front or rear
towline eye . For technical reasons, the
pressure in the suspension struts may
change du ring the transport and this will
adve rsely affect vehicle handling.
Lifting vehicle
Lifting with workshop hoist and with
floor jack
The vehicle may onl y be li~ed at the lif ting
points illu stra ted.
Fi g. 2 25 Front l ift ing po int
Fig. 226 Rea r lifti ng poin t
.. Read and heed WARNING c::> ,& .
:;:; N 0 6 ., a,
Emergenc y situ ation s 283
.. Activate the vehicle jack mode * in the MMI:
!CAR I function button > (C ar)* s ystem s con­
trol button>
Se rvic ing & check s> Air su sp. :
jack m ode > On .
.. Loca te lifting poin ts c::> fig. 225 and
c::> fig . 226 .
.. Adjust lifting arms of workshop hoist o r
floor jack to match veh icle lifting points.
.. Insert a rubbe r pad between the floor jack/
workshop hoist and the lift ing po in ts.
The vehicle jack mode* must be activated so
that the automat ic adjustment of the Adap­
tive Air Suspens ion* does not make it more
di fficu lt to raise the vehicle with the floor
jack.
If yo u must lift your v ehi cle with a floor jack
t o wo rk und ern eath , be sure th e vehicle i s
s af ely s upported on stand s intended for thi s
purpo se.
Front lifting point
The lifting po int is located on the floor pan re­
inforcement abo ut at the same level as the
ja ck mounting point
c::> fig. 225 . Do n ot lift
t h e ve hicle at th e verti cal sill reinforc em ent .
Re ar lifting point
The lifting point is located on the vertical rein­
fo rcement of the lower sill for the on-boa rd
ja ck
c::> fig. 226 .
Lifting with vehicle j ack
Re fer to c::> page 2 71 .
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of ser ious injury and
veh icle damage .
- Always lift the veh icle only at the spe ­
cia l workshop hoist and floor jack lift
po ints illust rated
c::> fig . 225 and
c::> fig . 226.
- Failu re to lift the vehicle at these
po ints could cause the vehicle to tilt or
fall from a lift if there is a change in ve­
hicle weight distribution and balance .
This might happen, for example, when
-

Consumer Information
Warranty coverages
Your Audi is covered by the following war­
ranties :
- New Vehicle Limited Warranty
- Limited Warranty Against Corrosion Perfo-
ration
- Emissions Control System Warranty
- Emissions Performance Warranty
- California Emissions Con trol Warranty (USA
vehicles only)
- California Emissions Performance Warranty
(USA vehicles only)
Detailed information regarding your warran ­
ties can be found in your
Warranty & Mainte­
nance booklet .
Operating your vehicle
outside the U.S.A. or
Canada
Government regulations in the United States
and Canada require that automobiles meet
specific emission regulations and safety
standards. Therefore, veh icles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada differ from vehicles sold in
other countries .
If you p lan to take your vehicle outside the
continental limits of the United States or Can­
ada, there is the possibility that:
- unleaded fuels for vehicles with cata lytic
converter may not be available;
- fuel may have a considerably lower octane
rating . Improper fuel may cause engine
damage ;
- service may be inadequate due to lack of
proper service facilities, tools or testing
equipment ;
- replacement parts may not be readily availa­
ble.
- Navigation systems for vehicles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada will not necessari ly work
in Europe, and may not work in other coun­
tries outside North America .
Consumer Information 289
@ Note
Audi cannot be responsible for mechanical
damage that could result from inadequate
fuel, service or parts availab ility.
Audi Service Repair
Manuals and Literature
Audi Offic ial Factory Service Manuals and Lit ­
erature are published as soon as possible after
model introduction. Service manuals and lit­
erat ure are available to order from the Audi
T echnical Literature Ordering Center at:
www.audi.techliterature.com
Maintenance
' General
Your vehicle has been designed to help keep
maintenance requirements to a minimum.
However, a certain amount of regular mainte­
nance is still necessary to assure your vehicle's
safety, economy and reliability . For detailed
vehicle maintenance consult your Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet.
Under difficult operating conditions , for ex­
ample at extremely low outside temperatures ,
in very dusty regions, when towing a tra iler
very frequently, etc., some serv ice work
shou ld be pe rformed between the intervals
specified. This applies particularly to:
- oil changes, and
- cleaning or replacing the air filter .
® For the sake of the environment
By regularly maintaining your vehicle, you
help make sure that emission standards
are maintained, thus min imizi ng adverse
effects on the environment .
Important considerations for you and
your vehicle
The increasing use of electronics , sophisticat­
ed fuel injection and emission contro l sys-
tems, and the genera lly increasing technica l ..,_
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