2013 AUDI Q7 steering

198 Airbag system
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas­
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenger side will be turned off, and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi . Installing,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working p roperly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­
lute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploying when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or modify them
in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cu­
pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair , adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer. - The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified technician who has
the technical information, training and
special equipment necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace­
ment parts designed and approved espe­
cially for your Audi model version . Re­
placement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be per­
formed by qualified workshops only. Make sure that any airbag service action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD .
-For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separated
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech­
nic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inter­
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified dealer - risk of an accident!

206 Child Saf ety
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
ch ild safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptiona l circumstances and
the
PAS SENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating posit ion and have the air­
bag system inspec ted immediately by
yo ur Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forward -facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make su re the forward-fac ing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the man ufacturer's in­
struct ions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move t he passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible before installing
the ch ild restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always rep lace child rest raints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child rest raint that is not visible
could cause i t to fail i n another collisio n
si tua tion.
Advanced front airbag system and
children
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
A irbag System" in compliance w ith United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time you
r
vehicle was manufacture d.
T he Adv anced Airbag system in yo ur vehicle
has been certified to mee t the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3-and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and sma ll adults on the
drive r side. The low r is k dep loyment cr iteria
are intended to red uce the risk of in jury
through interact ion w it h the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the a irbag inflates . In addition, the syst em
has been ce rtified to comply wit h the "sup­
pression" re quirements o f th e Safety Sta nd­
ard, to t urn off the fron t airbag for infan ts up
to 12 months who are res trained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that a re list­
ed in the Standard.
E ven though your veh icle is eq uipped wit h an
Advanced Airbag system , a ll children, espe­
cia lly those 12 years and yo unger, should a l­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a ch ild to ride . The front
seat is not the safest p lace for a ch ild in a for­
ward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It can be a ve ry
dange rous place fo r an infan t or a large r child
i n a rea rward-f acing se at.
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
c h ild restra int on the front passenge r seat us­
i ng the weig ht-sens ing mat in the seat cush ­
ion and the sensor be low th e safe ty belt latch
o n the front passenge r seat that measures t he
tens ion on the s afety be lt.
T he we ight -sensi ng mat measures total
we ight of t he chi ld and the ch ild safety seat
and a c hild b la nk et on the front passenger
seat. The we igh t on the fron t pa sse nger se at
is re late d t o the desig n of the ch ild res trai nt
and its "f ootprint", the s ize and shape o f the
bottom of the chi ld restraint as it sits on the .,..

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 for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDRs are sometimes called "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDRs 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.
Although 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 example, engine function, emis­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l 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 period 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.
Intelligent technology 225
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
General information
The ESC improves the vehicle stability.
. ..---------..
------- -
Fig. 232 Center console with ESC sw itch
ESC is designed to help you maintain vehicle
control in situations where the car approaches
the limits of "grip", especially when accelerat­
ing and cornering. ESC reduces the risk of
skidding and improves stability under all road
condit ions .
The system operates across the entire speed range in combination with the ABS system. If
the Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) malfunc­
tions, the ESC will also shut down.
How the system works
The Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic
Differential Lock (EDL) and the Anti-Slip Regu­
lation System (ASR) are integrated in the Elec­
tronic Stabilization Control. In addition to the
data prov ided by these functions, the ESC con­
trol unit requires additional measurement da­
ta provided by high performance sensors. The
rotational speed of the vehicle about its verti­
cal axis, vehicle acceleration in the fore-and­
aft and lateral directions, the brake pressure and the steering angle are all measured.
T he direction in wh ich the driver wishes to
travel is determined with the aid of the steer­
ing angle and vehicle speed and is continually
compared with the actual behavior of the ve­
hicle. If the two do not match, for example,
when the vehicle starts hydroplaning on a wet
road, ESC will automatically brake the appro-
priate wheel to correct the problem. ..,_
•
•

226 Intellig ent technol ogy
The vehicle is then stabilized by the forces act­
ing on the whee l during braking. If the vehicle
is
oversteering (rear tends to sk id out of the
turn), the brakes are ma inly applied on the
wheel that is on the outside of the curve. In
the case of a vehicle that is
understeering
(tendency to slide out of the curve), the
brakes are applied as needed on the whee l
that is on the ins ide of the curve or addit ional­
l y on the o ther wheels. An acoustic s ignal indi­
cates when ESC b rake app lication cuts in
¢ A .
The system operates across the entire speed
range in combination with the ABS system
¢ page 229. If the Anti-Lock Brake System
(ABS) malfunctions, the ESC wi ll be out of ac­
tion as well .
Activating
When you turn on the engine, ESC w ill auto­
mat ica lly be act ivated and will perform a se lf­
test. As soon as the test is comp leted, the sys­
tem is in normal operating mode.
Offroad mod e
ESC should normally be ope rated in normal
mode because this ensures maximum vehicle
stability. If necessary, you can act ivate the
ESC offroad mode by pressing the but to n
¢ fig . 232 to obtain maximum traction and
braking ability when driving
off paved roads at
l ow speeds. In ESC offroad mode, the indica­
tor light
Ii) ill uminates and the message Sta ­
b ilization control (E S C): Offr oad . Wa rning !
R estric te d stabilit y
appears br iefly in the dis­
p lay .
The ESC offroad mode can be useful in the fo l­
low ing except ional situations when slip or a
h ighly effective differential locking function is
des irable . Examp les:
- when driving with tire chains,
- when driving in deep snow or on loose
ground,
- when driving on uneven surfaces with the
whee ls severe ly unloaded (articulation), and
- when rocking the vehicle loose after it has
become stuck . When the
unusual situation is past, you
sho uld shift back to the norma l ESC operating
mode by pushing the button again . The mes­
sage
S ta b ilizat ion cont rol (ES C): O n then ap­
pears briefly in the display.
H ill desc ent control
The hill descent control is switched on in ESC
offroad mode . When slowly descending steep
gradients on loose ground or when the axles
are articulated, hill descent control provides ass istance by automatically apply ing the
brakes to keep vehicle speed constant. The ve ­
hicle is also rendered easier to steer by selec­
t ive d istr ibut ion of braking force. Hill descent
control intervenes when:
- the acce lerator pedal is not pressed,
- the vehicle is travelling less than 12 mph
(20 km/h),
- a steep gradient is detected,
- wheel behavior indicates loose ground or
conditions with poor adhesion (e .g. also axle
art iculation).
Hill descent contro l operates both d riving for­
ward and in reverse. Active hill descent con­
tro l is deactivated by pressing the accelerator
pedal until the condit ions for activation al­
ready listed are met again .
A WARNING
--
- The Electronic Stabilization Contro l is
neverthe less s ubject to the laws of phys­
ics. It is part icularly important to pay at­
tention to this fact on wet and slippe ry
roads . It i s therefore important that you
always adapt your dr iving to the cond i­
tion of the road and traffic conditions . Do
not a llow the increased safety provided
by the E lectronic Stabilization Contro l
system to lull you into accepting addi­
tional safety risks .
- Please be aware that in ESC offroad
mode, particularly on a smooth and s lip­
pe ry road, the wheels may have an in­
creased tendency to sp in and the vehicle
may b reak away - dange r of skidding!
~

230 Intellig ent technol ogy
8_ WARNING
Although the ABS is very effective, always
remember that bra king capability is limit­
ed by t ire traction . Always adjust your dr iv­
ing spee d according to the road and t raffic
co nditions. Do no t let t he extra sa fety af­
forded by the ABS tempt you into ta king
extra risks. The ABS cannot overcome the
laws of physics.
@ Tips
- If ABS is not functioning prope rly, a
warning light will come on. See
¢page 18 .
-If a fault occurs in the ABS, the EDL is al­
so not functioning. This is indicated by
the ABS warning light .
Brake assistant
The brake assistant is designed to achieve the
optimum braking effect .
The brake assistant helps to increase the ef­
fective b rak ing power and thus to achieve a
shorter stopp ing distance. If the driver
presses the brake pedal very quickly, the brake
assistant automatica lly boosts the braking
force to the maximum level, up to the point where the anti-lock brake function (ABS) inter­
venes to stop the wheels from locking. You
should then keep the brake pedal pressed un­
til the veh icle has braked to the required
speed . The brake assistant sw itches itself off
as soo n as you re lease the brake pedal.
Automatic full braking a ssist
This funct ion allows full brak ing in spite of
h igh brake pedal forces (e .g . when the brakes
a re severely stressed because the vehicle is
fully loaded) . The driver notices th is function
throug h a reduction of pedal force and in­
creased pedal trave l. When the brake peda l is
r e leased, fu ll braking assis t switc hes off again
automatically.
I f the re is an ABS fa il ur e, the brake ass ista nt
and automatic full b rak ing ass ist are not avai l­
ab le . The brake assistant wi
ll not be operative if
there is a ma lfunction in the ABS .
8_ WARNING
-Please remember that the accident risk a l-
ways increases if you drive too fast, espe­
cially in corners or on a slippery road, or if
you follow the veh icle ahead of you too
closely. Increased r isk of an accident can­
not be compensated for even by the brake
assistant, so always maintain a safe speed.
Servotronic ® -
advanced power
steering system
The power steering systems uses the power of
the running engine to allow precise steering
with little effort.
The advanced Servotronic ® power steering
system senses the road speed and electron i­
cally adjusts power assistance to provide com­
fortab le and safe steering response exact ly
matched to the vehicle speed .
Power steer ing will not work if the engine is
off . As a result, the steering wheel will be hard
to turn .
The power steering fluid level is checked dur­
ing the scheduled maintenance services .
d) Note
If there is an electronic malfunction, ser­
votronic
will still function like a conven­
tiona l powe r steering system, providing a
constant steering support force that is no
l onger proportionate to the vehicle speed .
This is most not iceable when turning the
stee ring wheel at low speeds (fo r example
when pa rking), - more effort w ill be re­
q uired than us ua l.
- Be aware o f the different than usual
steering response and adjust your steer ­
ing force accordingly.
- Have the problem checked and set r ight
by an Audi dealer as soon as possible .

@ Tips
- When the engine is running, never hold
the steer ing whee l turned a ll the way to
the right or t o the left f or longer than 15
seconds. The power steering pump w ill
overheat the hydraulic f lu id if you keep
hol ding the steer ing wheel turned all the
way. This is likely to damage the power
steering system.
- If the power steer ing system should fail
ent irely, or if the engine is not running
(fo r example, while being towed), you
will still be ab le to steer the vehicle.
However,
considerably more effort will
be required to do so.
- If the power s teer ing system should
have a leak, or is not functioning proper­
l y, contact yo ur authorized Audi dealer
immediately.
- The power stee ring system requires a
spec ially formulated hydraulic fluid. The
power steering reservo ir is the one locat­
ed farthest to the rear on the left side of
the engine compartment
c> page 266.
The co rrect flu id level in the reservoir is
i mportant for proper functioning of the
power steer ing .
Driving with your
quattro ®
With all-wheel drive, oil four wheels ore driv ­
en.
Gener al information
W ith all -whee l dr ive , power is distributed to
a ll fo ur wheels. This happens automatica lly
depending on yo ur driving sty le and the road
conditions at the time . See also
¢ page 227,
Electronic differential lock (EDL) .
Winter tires
When driving in the w inter, your ve hicl e w it h
all -wheel drive has an advan tage, even with
regu lar tires . In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all -sea­
son t ires) for improved driveability and brak-
Int ellig ent technolog y 231
ing: these tires must be mounted on all four
wheel s. See also ¢
page 295, Winter tires .
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory o n certain
roads, this no rma lly also app lies to veh icles
with all-wheel drive¢
page 296, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheels /tires
Vehicles with all-wheel drive must always have ti res of t he same s ize. A lso avo id tires
with different t read depths. For det ails see
page
c!;> page 291, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels .
_& WARNING
A lways adj ust yo ur driv ing to road and traf­
f ic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
-Altho ugh the all-wheel drive is very ef­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is lim ited by tire traction. You
should therefore not drive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippe ry road surfaces .
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to drive too fast because the front wheels
could begin to slide o n top of the water
(aquaplaning). If th is should occur, yo u
will have no warning from a s udden in­
crease in engine speed as w ith a front ­
wheel drive vehicle. Always drive at
speeds which are suited to the road con­
ditions -risk of crash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the engine.
If a vehicle with a conventiona l energy system
is not driven for a long per iod of t ime, the bat­
te ry is discharged by idling cur rent consume rs
(e.g. immobi liz e r). In certa in circumstan ces it ..,_
•
•

chains, make sure they will not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The cha ins shou ld cross under the trai le r
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
(D Note
If you are going to tow a trailer, you must
activate the trailer operation mode
¢page 159, Towing a trailer.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
core and consideration.
To obtain the best poss ible handling of vehicle
and traile r, p lease note the following:
.,. Do not tow a loaded tra iler whe n your car it­
self is not loaded.
.,. Be especially careful when passing other
vehicles .
.. Observe speed limits.
.. Do not d rive at the maximum permissible
speed.
.. Always apply brakes early.
.. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
Tow ing a loaded trai ler with an empty ca r re­
sults in a high ly unstable distribution of
weight. If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
l ow speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control.
A "balanced" rig is easier to operate and con ­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and permiss i­
ble, while keeping the trailer as light as possi­
ble under the circumstances. Whenever possi­
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com­
partment of the tow vehicle wh ile observing
tongue load requirements and vehicle loading
considerations .
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficult it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig . Do not
drive at the maximum permissible speed. Re-
Trailer towing 243
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable - particularly
when going downhill.
Red uce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest sign of sway ing.
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds
f or vehicles towing trailers are lower than for
regular vehicles.
Always apply brakes early. When driving
downh ill, shift into a lowe r gear to use the en­
gine braking effect to slow the vehicle. Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge¢ page 10
must be observed carefully. If the need le
moves close to the upper end of the scale, re­
duce speed immediately and/or turn off the
air conditioner.
If the coolant temperature warning light in
the instrument cluster starts flashing ., pull
off the road, stop and let the engine
idle for
about two minutes to prevent heat build -up .
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident. Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not properly wearing the restraints
prov ided by Audi .
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
-
Your vehicle handles differently when towing
a trai ler because of the additional weight and
different weight distr ibution. Safety, perform­
ance and economy will great ly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actua lly tow your tra iler, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you
•
•

244 Trailer towing
have become comp lete ly familiar with the way
your vehicle-trailer combination behaves and responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice.
Backing up with a trai ler genera lly requires
steering action opposite to that when backing
up your veh icle without a trailer .
Maintain a greater distance be tween your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you will need a larger than normal
turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot ac­
celerate as fast as you normally would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass . After passing, allow
plenty of room for your trailer before chang­
ing lanes again .
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more freq uent maintenance due to
the extra load
c> page 325.
Parking on a slope
Do not pork on a slope with a trailer. If it can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol ­
lowing:
When parking:
.. Apply the foot brake .
.. Have someone place chocks under both the
vehicle and the trai ler wheels .
.. With chocks in p lace, slowly re lease the
brakes until the wheel chocks absorb the
load .
.. Turn the wheels towards the curb .
.. Apply the parking brake .
.. Move the selector lever to
P.
When restarting after parking:
.. Apply the foot brake. ..
Start the engine.
.. Move the se lector lever to
D.
.. Release the parking brake and s low ly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks.
.. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks .
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the auto­
matic transmission to
P before applying
the parking brake and before blocking the
wheels, you may have to use more fo rce
l ater to move the lever out of the
P posi­
tion.