2013 AUDI A7 open hood

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 11
Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster and controls
The instrument cluster is your central source of information.
Fig. 3 Overv iew of the instrument cluster
CD Coolant temperature gauge .. .
@ Tachometer (eng ine rev counter)
@ Turn signals ............... .
11
12
45
@ Display with
®
®
-Driver information system .. .
- Wa rning/ind icator lights
Tachometer Fuel gauge
@ Tips
23
12
12
The instrument illumination (for dials and
needles) turns on when the ignition is on
and the vehicle lights are turned off. As
the daylight fades, the illumination of the
dials likewise dims automatically and wil l
go out completely when the outside light
is very low. This feature is meant to rem ind
you to switch on the headlights when out­
side light conditions become poor.
Engine coolant temperature gauge
The engine coolant gauge CD¢ fig. 3 only
works when the ignition is on . To prevent
damage to your eng ine, please note the fol­
l owing important points:
Engine cold
If only the LEDs at the bottom of the gauge
turn on, the eng ine has not reached operating
temperature yet . Avoid high engine speeds,
heavy engine loads and heavy throttle applica­
tions.
Normal temperature
The engine has reached its operating temper­
ature once the LEDs up to the center of the
gauge turn on under normal driving cond i­
t ions. The LEDs higher up may turn on when
the engine is under heavy load or the exterior
temperature is high. This is no need to worry
as long as the. warning light in the instru­
ment cluster does not illuminate. If the LEDs
in the upper area of the disp lay and the indica­
tor light . in the instrument cluster display
turn on, the coolant temperature is too high
¢page 16.
A WARNING
-Always observe the warn ing in
¢ page 224, Engine compartment, be­
fore opening the hood and checking the
engine coolant level.

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 ..,.

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 17
If the indicator light turns on and the mes ­
sage appears , the coo lant temperature is too
high or the coo lant level is too low.
.,. Pull
off the road.
.,. Stop the vehicle .
.,. Turn
off the engine.
.,. Check coo lant level
¢ page 23 7.
.,. Add coolant if necessary¢
page 238 .
.,. Continue driving only after the engine cool­
ant warning/indicator light goes out .
.,. Contact your authorized Aud i dealer for as-
s istance if necessary .
If the engine coolant level is correct, then the radiator fan may be the cause of the malfunc ­
tion .
• Coolant temperature too high! Please let
engine run with vehicle stationary
If the indicator light turns on and the mes ­
sage appears in trailer mode*, let the engine
run at idle for a few m inutes to cool down.
A WARNING
- If your veh icle should break down for
mechanical or other reasons, park at a
safe distance from moving traffic, turn
off the engine and turn on the hazard
warning lights ¢
page 44, Emergency
flasher.
-
- Never open the hood if you see or hear
steam or coolant escaping from the en­
gine compartment - you risk being scald­
ed. Wait until you can no longe r see or
hear steam or coo lant escaping .
- The engine compartment of any vehicle
is a dangerous area. Before you perform
any work in the engine compartment,
turn of the engine and allow it to cool.
Follow the warning stickers¢
page 224,
Engine compartment.
Do not continue driving if the . symbol
illuminates. There is a ma lfunct ion in the
eng ine cooling system -you cou ld damage
your eng ine .
0 Battery
This warning/indicator light detects a mal­
function in the generator or in the vehicle's
electrical system .
The .warning/ indicator light illuminates
when you switch on the ignition and must go
out after the engine has started .
• Alternator fault: Battery is not being
charged
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the generator or veh icle electrical system.
Drive to your authorized A udi dealer or quali­
fied workshop immediate ly . Because the vehi­
cle battery is discharg ing, turn
off all unnec ­
essary electrical equipment such as the rad io.
Seek professional assistance if the battery
charge level is too low.
t•i low battery: battery will be charged
while driving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there may be limited starting
ability.
If this message turns
off after a little while,
the battery charged enough while driving.
If the message does not turn off, have your
a uthor ized Aud i dealer or qualified workshop
correct the malfunction.
~-Safety belts
This warning/indicator light reminds you to
put on your safety belt.
The . warn ing/ indicato r light illum inates
when the ignition is switched on to remind
the driver and any front passenger to put on
the safety be lt. Additiona lly, an acoustic warn­
ing (gong) wi ll also sound.
For more Info rmation ¢
page 140, ~ Safety
belt warning light.

34 Openin g and clo sing
for another vehicle or a transponder is
located on the key ring.
- For Declaration of Compliance to United States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions
~ page 292.
Power locking system
General description
The power locking system locks or unlocks all
doors and the rear lid simultaneously.
You can lock and unlock the vehicle centrally.
You have the following choices:
- Remote master key~
page 35,
-Door handles with convenience key*
~ page 36,
-Lock cy linder at the dr iver's door
¢ page 37, or
- Power lock ing switch inside
¢ page 37.
Select ive unlocking
When you lock the vehicle, the power locking
system w ill lock the doors and the rear lid .
When unlocking, you can set in the MMI
whether only the driver 's door o r the entire
vehicle should be unlocked ¢
page 35.
Automatic locking
The automat ic locking feature locks all the ve­
h icle doors and the rear l id when you drive
faster tha n 9 mph (15 km/h).
The car is unlocked again, when the opening
function in the power locking system sw itch
or at one of the door levers is actuated . The
Auto Lock function can be turned on and off in
the MMI
¢ page 35.
Anti-theft alarm warning sy stem
If the anti -theft alarm warning system de­
tects a break- in into the vehicle, acoust ic and
visua l warning signals are triggered.
The anti-theft warning system is activated au­
tomatically when you lock the vehicle . It is de ­
activated when unlocking using the remote key, with the mechanical key, and when you
sw itch the ignition on. T
he alarm also turns off when the a larm cycle
has expired .
Turn signals
When you unlock the veh icle, the turn s ignals
flash twice. When you lock the vehicle the
turn s ignals flash once. If they do not flash,
one of the doors, the rear lid or the hood is
not locked.
Unint entionally locking your self out
In the follow ing cases there safeguards to
prevent yo u lock ing yo ur remo te master key i n
the vehicle :
- The vehicle does not lock w ith the central
loc king switch ¢
page 3 7 if the drive r's
door is open.
- On veh icles with co nvenience key*, if the
most recently used master key is in the lug­
gage compartment, the rear lid is a utomat i­
cally un locked again after it is closed.
Do not lock your veh icle w ith the
remot e ma s­
t e r ke y or co nv eni enc e ke y*
until all doors
and the rear lid are closed . In this way you
avoid lock ing you rsel f out accidentally .
Power side door clo ser *
The veh icle doors are equipped with a power
s ide door closer. When closing a door, you on­
ly h ave to let it fall light ly into the latch. The
door will then automatically close by itself
¢ & .
A WARNING
-When you lock yo ur vehicle from o utside,
nobody -especially children -shou ld re­
main inside the vehicle. Remember,
when you lock the vehicle from the out­ side the windows cannot be opened from
the inside.
- When you leave the veh icle, always take
the ignition key w ith you . Th is w ill pre­
vent passenge rs (children, for example)
from accidenta lly being locked in the ve­
h icle should they accidentally press the
power locking sw itch in the doors.
~

36 Openin g and clo sing
• Press b utton ('f] (@ ) to lock the vehicle q A
in General description on page 3 4.
• Press button c:s (@ ) briefly to un lock the
rear lid.
• Push the red
!PANIC I button( @) to activate
the panic function . The horn sounds and the
turn s ignals flash. Push the red
I PANIC I but­
ton aga in to deact ivate the panic function.
If the vehicle is unlocked and no door, the rear lid or the hood is opened w ith in 60 seconds,
the vehicle locks itself again automatically .
This feature prevents the ve hicle from be ing
accidenta lly left unlocked ove r a long period
of time.
It depends on the sett ings in the MMI wheth­
e r the enti re veh icle is un locked or on ly cer­
tain doors
q page 35.
.&_ WARNING
Read and follow a ll WARNINGS¢ &. in
General description on page 34.
{!) Tips
- In order to make sure the locking func­
tion is working, you shou ld always keep
you r eye on the vehicle to make sure i t is
properly locked.
-
- Do not use the remo te control if you are
i nside the car, otherwise you may unin­
tentiona lly lock the vehicle, and then you
would set off the anti-theft ala rm when
you try to start the engine or open a
door. In case this happens anyhow, push
the un lock button @.
- The vehicle can on ly be locked when the
se lector lever is in the P posit ion.
- Use the panic funct ion only i f you are in
an emergency situation.
Locking and unlocking with convenience
key
Appl ies to vehicles : wi th convenience key
The doors and the rear lid can b e unlocked
and locked without operating the master key.
Fi g. 2 1 Convenience key: Lock ing the vehicle
Unlocking vehicle
• Take ho ld of the door handle. The door is
un locked automatically.
• Pull the hand le to open the door.
Locking vehicle
• Sele ct the P se lecto r lever po sit ion. Othe r­
w ise the vehicle cannot be loc ked.
• To lock the ve hicle, close the door and touch
the sensor in the door handle
once c:!;> fig . 21.
Do not reach inside the door handle.
T he vehicle can be locked and un locked at any
door . The master key must be within a range
of about 1.5 m from the appropriate door or
the rear lid. It makes no difference whether
the master key is in your jacket pocket or in
your brief case.
It is not possib le to re-open the door for a
brief period directly after closing it. This a l­
l ows you to ensure that the doors are properly
l ocked.
It depends on the settings in the MMI wheth ­
er the ent ire vehicle is unlocked or one of the
doors
c:!;> page 35 .
.&_ WARNING ~ -
Read and follow all WARNINGS q .&. in
General description on page 34 .

112 Automatic Tran sm iss ion
_& WARNING
-The veh icle can also roll when the engine
is stopped .
- Unintended vehicle movement can cause
serious injury.
- Never leave your vehicle with the eng ine
running wh ile in gear. If you must leave
yo ur vehicle when the engine is running,
act ivate the parking brake and move the
selector lever to P.
- Power is sti ll transmitted to the whee ls
when the engine is running at idle. To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake when
the engine is runn ing and the selector
lever is in D/S or R or "tiptron ic" mode is
selected.
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
chang ing the selector lever pos ition
wh ile the vehicle is stat ionary and the
eng ine is running.
- Never shift into
R or P wh ile driving.
- Before driv ing down a steep slope, re-
duce your speed and shift into a lower
gear with "tiptronic".
- Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
peda l too often or too long when dr iving
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to ove rheat and s ubstant ially re­
duces braking per formance, increases
braking distance or causes comp lete fail ­
ure of the brake system.
- To prevent the veh icle from rolling back
when stopping on inclines, a lways hold it
in place with the bra ke peda l or parking
brake.
- Never hold the ve hicle on an inc line with
a slipping clutch . The clutch opens auto­
matically when it becomes too hot from
the overload. An indicator lamp
[O] illu­
mi nates and a dr iver message appears
¢ page 114 when the clutch is overload­
ed.
- If the eng ine must remain running, never
have any driv ing pos ition engaged when
c heck ing under the hood. Make sure the
selector lever has securely engaged and is locked in P w
it h the park ing brake set
¢ page 224, Engine compartment. Oth­
erwise, any increase in engine speed may
set the veh icle in motion, even with the
parking brake applied.
(D Note
- When stopping on an incl ine, do not try
to hold t he vehicle in place by pressing
the acce lerator pedal while a driving gear
is se lected. This ca n cause the transmis­
sion to ove rheat and can damage it . Acti­
vate the pa rking brake or press the bra ke
peda l to preven t the vehicle from roll ing.
- Allowing th e vehicle to ro ll when the en­
gine is stopped and the selecto r lever is
in N will d amage the tr ansmission be­
cause it is not l ubricated unde r those cir ­
cumstances .
(D Tips
Fo r saf ety reaso ns, the pa rking br ake is re­
l eased automatically on ly when the d riv­
er's safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Hill descent control
Appl ies to vehicles: wit h S t ronic/tiptro nic
The hill descent control system assists the
driver when driving down declines.
Hill des cent con trol is activated when these­
lector lever is in D/S and yo u press the brake
peda l. The transmission automatica lly selects
a gear that is suitable for the incline . Hi ll de ­
scent contro l tries to maintain the speed ach ­
ieved at the time of braking, within phys ica l
and technical lim itations. If may st ill be nec­
essary to adjust the speed with the brakes .
Hill descent cont ro l switches off once the de­
cline leve ls out or you press the acce lerator
pedal.
On vehicles with the cruise contro l system*
¢ page 83, hill descent control is also activat-
ed when the speed is set. .,..

17 2 Airbag syst em
larger, unclosed openings in the door
panel.
- Never drive w ith inter ior door trim pan­
e ls removed.
- Never drive when parts have been re­ moved from the ins ide doo r panel and
the openings they leave have not been p roperly closed.
- Never d rive when loudspeakers in the
doors have bee n removed unless the
spea ker holes have been properly
closed.
-Always ma ke certa in that openings are
covered or fi lled if additional speakers
or other equ ipment is installed in the
inside door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop .
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag system can provide
supplemental protection to properly restrain ­
ed occupants.
Fi g. 1 68 Side curtain a irbags, d river 's side: s ide curta in
a ir bag location
The s ide curtain airbags are located o n both
sides of the interior above the front and rea r
side windows
c:.> fig. 168. They are ident ified
by the word "AIRBAG" on the windshield
frame and the center roof p illar.
The s ide curtain airbag system supp lements
the safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of injury for occupants' heads and upper
torso o n the side of the vehicle tha t is struc k in a side collision
. The side curtain airbag in­
flates in side impacts and only when the vehi­ cle acceleration registered by the control un it
is h igh enough . If this rate is below the refer­
ence value programmed into the control unit,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
t h ough the car may be bad ly damaged as a re­
su lt of the co llision .
It is not possib le to de­
fine an airbag triggering range that will cover every possib le ang le of impact, s ince the cir­
cumstances will vary cons iderably between
one collision and another. Important factors
include, for example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc .
c:,, page 173, How side cur­
tain airbags work .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to help keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a colli­
sion so that the side curtain airbags can pro­
vide protection .
The airbag system is not a substit ute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. Al­
ways remember that the a irbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wear ing
you r saf ety belt and wearing it properly . This
is anothe r reason why yo u should always wear
yo ur safe ty belts, no t just because the law re ­
quires yo u to do soc:.>
page 140, General
notes .
It is important to remember that w hile the
s ide cur tain airbag system is designed to help
reduce the likelihood of ser ious injur ies, other
injuries, for example, swelling, bruising, fric­
tion burns and minor abrasions can also be as­
sociated w ith these airbags upon dep loyment.
Remember too, these airbags will deploy only
once and only in certain kinds of accidents -
your safety belts are always there to offer pro ­
tection.
The side curtain airbag sy stem basic ally
cons ists of:
- The electronic control module and external
side impact sensors ..,..