2013 AUDI Q7 coolant level

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 11
too high, or the coolant level is too low
¢ page 32.
If the needle is well in the upper area of the
ga uge , the coolant temperature is too high.
Stop the vehicle , switch the eng ine off and
allow the engine to cool.
If the warning light
comes on again after driving a short distance,
contact an authorized dealer.
A WARNING
-Always observe the warning in
¢ page 255, Engine compartment, be ­
fore opening the hood and checking the
engine coolant level.
- 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 yo urself. Let the engine
cool off first un til you can no longer see
or hear steam or coo lant escaping .
(D Note
- Mounting additional lights or accessories
i n front of the air inlets reduces the cool­
in g effect of the rad iato r. At high outside
temperatures or high engine load, the
engine could overheat.
- The front spoi ler has been designed to
properly distribute the cooling air when
the vehicle is moving. If the spoiler is
damaged, this cou ld red uce the cooling
effect and the engine could then over­
heat. Ask your authorized Aud i dealer for
assistance .
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes) .
The tachometer @¢ page 10, fig. 3 is the left
of the two large clock-type displays.
The engine turns at a speed
1,000 times the
single digit in the display, e.g . if the needle is
pointing at the "2" the engine is turning at
2,000 RPM. If
eng ine RPM drops below 1,500, you should
downshift to the next lower gear. The red area
at the end of the scale indicates maximum
permissible engine RPM after the break -in pe­
riod. Before reaching this area, move these­
lector lever to position "D (Drive)" or ease
your foot off the accelerator pedal.
Q) Note
The tachometer needle should not move
i nto the red range. If it does, then only for
a very short per iod of t i me. You could
damage your engine by driving at high
RPM .
@ For the sake of the environment
Upsh ifting early saves fuel and reduces en­
gine noise .
Digital clock with date display
Fig. 4 In st rum en t cluster : time and date
The date, time of day, and time and date for­
mat can be set in the MMI. You can learn more
about this in the MMI manual.
{!) Tips
- When open the driver door, the time,
date and odometer are displayed for an
add itional 30 seconds.
- You can also call up the display with the
!CHECK I button c:> page 12 while the ig­
nition is sw itched off.

For example, the symbol II appears in the
display, indicating low windsh ield washer flu­
id level. The follow ing message also appears:
Pl eas e refill w asher fl uid
The driver message disappears after a few
seconds. The driver message can be displayed
again by briefly pressi ng the
!CH ECK I button.
Red symbols
A red symbol means DANGER.
Fig . 25 Disp lay: engin e coola nt l eve l wa rnin g ( pri ority
1)
• Pull off the road .
• Stop the veh icle.
• Turn off the engine .
• Check the ma lfunctioning system. Contact
your authorized Aud i dea ler or a qualified
workshop for assistance.
Red symbols indicate a priority 1 ma lfunction
- Danger!
W ith a pr iority 1 malfunction, a large symbol
appears in the center area of the display
¢ fig. 25. When the symbol appears , three
warning tones sound in succession . T he sym­
bol co nti nues to bli nk until the ma lf u nct ion
has been repaired.
I f there are
more than one priority 1 ma lfunc­
tions, the symbols appear one after the other
for about 2 seconds.
An addit ional driver message can also be d is­
p layed by briefly pressing the
I C HECK ! button.
T he red symbols mean :
Driver inform ation di spl ay 31
Alternato r malfunction
¢ page 31
USA model s: Brake system
malfunction
¢page32
Canad a mo dels: Brake sys­
tem malfunction
¢ page 32
Engine coolant level too
low/engine coolant temper­
ature too high
¢ page32
Engine o il pressu re too low
¢ page33
Refill Ad Blue*
¢page 261
AdBlue malfunction*
¢page261
------------~
(D Tips
Faulty steering
¢page33
Fa ulty ignition swi tch
¢ page34
- If the warning/indicator light 1111 (USA
models)/ . (Canada models) in the in­
strument cluster flashes, there is a brake
system malfunction . By pressing the
!CHECK I button, you can bring up a dr iver
message which exp lains the malfunction
in more detail. Please note
¢ page 32 .
-Speed warnings threshold 1. (USA
mode ls)/ . (Canada mode ls) and
t hreshold 2. (USA models)/ . (Cana­
da mode ls) a re a lso shown as red sym­
bols. The warning is a lways shown as a
small symbol in the upper area of the
display ¢
page 28.
0 Alternator malfunction
If the . symbol in the instrument panel dis­
play flashes, then there is a malfunction in the
alternato r or the veh icle elect ron ics . A war n-
ing to the drive r will appear, too . The driver .,.

32 Driver in formation d isplay
warning goes out after about 5 seconds, but it
can be brought up at any time by pressing the
I CHECK ! button again .
Usually , you can still drive to the next dealer ­
ship. Turn off all b ut the most necessary elec­
trica l cons umers, sinc e these drain the vehi­
cle's battery.
(D Note
If the . warning symbol (coolant system
malfunction) also lights up on the instru­
ment panel during the trip ¢
page 32,
then you have to stop immediately and
turn off the eng ine . The coolant pump is
not working anymore -danger of damage
to the eng ine!
BRAKE/( ©) Brake system malfunction
A malfunc tion in the brake system mus t be
repaired as soon as possible .
If the warn ing /indicator light~ (USA
models)/ . (Canada mode ls) in the instru­
ment cluster flashes, there is a brake system
malfunction . By pressing the
I CH ECK ! button,
you can bring up a dr iver message which ex­
p la ins the ma lfu nction in more detail.
Stop vehicle and check brake fluid level
> Pul l off the road .
> Stop the vehicle .
> Turn off the engine.
> Check the brake flu id level ¢ page 274 .
> Contact you r neares t authorized Audi dea le r
o r qualified workshop if necessa ry.
Warning! Fault in brake system. Contact
workshop
> Drive carefully to the neares t authorized
Audi de aler or qua lified workshop and h ave
the mal function cor rected ¢
&_.
If the A BS system malfunctions, the ABS
war ning/ indica to r li ght illum inates toge ther
with the bra ke sys tem mal func tion warning/
indicator light¢&. .
A WARNING
-Always observe the war nings in
¢ page 255, Engine compartment, be ­
fore open ing the hood and check ing the
b ra ke fluid .
- Driving with low brake f lu id is a safety
hazard . Stop the car a nd get professiona l
assistance .
-USA models: If the ~ warning light
a nd the
m:11 warning light come on to­
ge the r, the rea r whee ls cou ld lo ck up
fi rs t un der hard br aking. Rear wheel lock­
up can ca use loss of vehicle co ntrol and
an accident . Have your vehicle repaired
immed iate ly by yo ur authorized Au di
dea le r or a qua lified workshop. Drive
slowly and avo id sudden, hard brake ap­
plications.
- Canada models: If the brake warning
light . and the ABS warning light
[I]
come on together, the rear wheels could
lock up first unde r hard braking . Rear
wheel lock-up can cause loss of vehicle
cont ro l and a n ac cident . Have yo ur vehi­
cle repaired immed iately by yo ur au tho r­
i z ed A udi d ealer or a qualified wor ksh op .
D rive s low ly and avoid s udden, hard
brake applications .
-L Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engine cooling sys tem
must be repaired as soon as possible.
When the. symbo l in t he d isplay b lin ks ,
then either the e ngine coo lant
temperature is
too high, o r th e coo lan t
level is too low. An
additional drive r message can also be dis ­
played by p ressing the
I CHECK ! button:
Switch off engine and ch eck coolant level
> Pull off the road.
> Stop the vehicle .
> Tu rn off the engine.
> Check coolant leve l ¢page 272.
> Add coo lant if necessary ¢ page 2 7 3.
> Continue driv ing on ly after t he engine cool-
ant warning/indicator light goes out .
1J>

~ Contact your authorized Audi dea ler fo r as -
sistance if necessary.
If the engine coolant level is co rrect, then the
radiato r fan may be the cause of the malfunc­
tion.
If the . warning symbol (alternator ma l­
f u nction) a lso l ights up on the instr ument
panel ¢
page 31, then the fan belt may be
damaged .
A WARNING
- If your vehicle should break down for
mechanica l or other reasons, park at a
safe distance from moving traffic, turn off the engine and turn on the hazard
warning lights¢
page 60, Emergency
flasher.
-
- Never open the hood if you see or hear
steam o r coolant escap ing 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 e ngine compartment of any veh icle
is a da ngerous a rea. Before you perfo rm
any wor k in the engine compar tment,
t ur n o f the eng ine and allow it to cool.
Follow the warning stickers¢
page 255,
Engine compartment .
(D Note
Do not cont in ue d riving if the . symbol
illuminates. There is a ma lf u nct ion in the
engine cooling system -you co uld damage
your eng ine.
9=:7-Engine oil pressure malfunction
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol
requires immediate service or repair. Driving
with a low-oil -pressure indication is likely to
inflict severe damage to the engine.
If the . symbol appears in the display and
b links, the oil press ure is too low . An addition ­
a l dr iver message can also be disp layed by
press ing the
I CH ECKi button:
Switch off engine! Oil p ressure too low
Dri ver information di spla y 33
Immediate act ions
~ Pull off the road.
~ Stop the vehicle.
~ T ur n off the engine .
~ Check the engine oil level with the dipstick
¢ page
269 .
Dipstick readings check s too low
~ Top off oil to the prope r level ¢ page 2 70 .
~ Make sure that the oil pressure wa rning
symbo l. appears no longer in the d isp lay
before you sta rt driving again.
Dipstick read ing checks OK
~ If the oil p ress ure warning symbol.
s t arts flashing aga in even though the en­
gine oil level checks OK on t he dipstick,
do
not continue d riving and do not let the en­
gine run in idle .
Instead, contact your au­
thorized A udi dealer for assistance.
(D Tips
- The engine oil pressure symbol. is
not an indi cator for a low eng ine o il lev­
el. Do not rely on it . Instead, check the
oil level in your engine at regula r inter­
vals, preferably each time you refuel,
and always before going on a long trip .
- The yellow oil lev el warn ing indication
II requires oil r efill or work shop serv­
i ce without delay . Do not wait until th e
red oil pressure warning. start s to
flash bef ore you re spond to th e low oil
le vel warning
l!I . By then , your engine
ma y already have suffe red serious dam­
age.
i Steering malfunction
If there is a malfunction in the electronic
steering column lock, the steering cannot be
unlocked .
If the . symbo l in the display b links, there is
a malfunction in the electro nic steering col­
u mn lock. An additional driver message can
also be displayed by pressing the
ICHECK I but-
ton:
~

-The brake booster and servotronic only
work when the engine is running. With
the ignition turned off, you have to apply
more force when steering or braking .
S ince you cannot steer and stop normal­
ly, this can lead to accidents and ser ious
injuries.
- The rad iator fan can continue to run for
up to 10 min utes even after you have
turned off the engine and removed the ign ition key. The radiator fan can also
turn on again if the engine coolant heats
up because of intense sunlight or heat
build -up in the engine compartment.
«I) Note
Do not stop the engine immed iate ly after
hard or extended dr iving. Keep the engine
running for approximately two minutes to
prevent excessive heat build-up .
Starting and stopping
the engine with
Convenience key
Starting the engine with the~
button
App lies to vehicles: with Convenie nce key
This bu tton swi tches on the ign ition and
starts the engine .
Fig. 121 Co nvenie nce k ey: ENG INE START b utton
The I S TAR T! button is provided w ith two -sta ge
o p era tion
¢ fig. 121.
Switching the ignition on
.. Press the !START I button once to the fir st
stage to switch on only the ign ition .
On th e road 107
Gasoline eng in e: St arting th e engine
.. Step on the brake.
.. Move the se lector lever to the P or N posi ­
tion ¢,&. .
.. Press the
r::1s=Tc:- A=RT =I button to th e seco nd
stage to start the engine .
Diesel en gine : Starting the engine
.. Step on the brake.
.. Mov e the selector lever to the P or N posi­
tion ¢,&. .
.. Press the
r::1s=TAc:-=R T=I button down to the fi rst
level to begin the preheating process . The
glow plug indica tor light
II illumina tes
when t he glow plug system is active .
.. When the indicator light
II switches off,
press the
I ST ART ! button down to the se c­
ond
level to star t the eng ine .
After a cold engine is started, there may be a br ief period of increased no ise because oil
pressure must first build up in the hydraulic
valve adjuste rs. This is norma l and not a cause
for concern .
If the engine does not start immediately, stop
trying after 10 seconds and then try to restart
the engine abou t 30 seconds later .
Glow plug system *
Di ese l engine s
are equ ipped with a glow plug
system whose preheating time is controlled
by the coolant and outs ide temperature . Start
the engine
immediately afte r the glow plug
indicator light
II sw itches off .
The glow plug indicator light will only illumi ­
nate fo r approximate ly 1 second when the en­
gine is warm or the outs ide temperature is
highe r than 46 °F (8 °C) . That means yo u can
start the eng ine
immediately .
WARNING
Never allow the engine to run in confined
spaces -danger of asphyxiation .
(D Note
-Avo id h igh engine rpm, full thrott le and
heavy engine loads until the eng ine has

238 Driving off road
Driving off road
Driving in difficult road
conditions and offroad
General information
The operation of the E lectronic Stabilization
Control (ESC) is expanded for operation away
from paved roads. In situations where slip or a
differential locking function is required, the ESC offroad mode can be activated
c::> page 225 . Hill descent control is also availa­
ble in the ESC offroad mode, which automati­
cally brakes the vehicle and thereby keeps
speed constant when diffe rent wheel speeds
a re detected when descending a hill
c::> page 226. Your Audi also has permanent
a ll-wheel drive in addition.
H owever, your Aud i is not a pure off road vehi­
cle .
It was not built for d riving unde r extreme
conditions, e.g. fo r trips that are in the nature
of an expedition.
Dri ve only on road s and offroad section s
which mat ch the de sig n of your vehi cle and
y our a biliti es as a driver. Ne ver t ake ris k s!
Before driving offroad
- Check the eng ine oil level, tire pressure,
coolant level , and the fluid level in the w ind­
shield washe r reservo ir.
- Stow luggage items and other objects in the
luggage compartment, and secure them
against s lid ing aro und .
After driving offro ad
- After trips offroad, remove any twigs and
other foreign objects from the grill, the un­derbody and the wheels. Pay spec ia l atten­
t ion to fore ign objects (stones) which have
become lodged in the tire tread.
- Clean the body and the veh icle unders ide,
and inspec t the veh icle for poss ible damage.
- Clean dirty w indows , headlamp lenses , rear
l ights, and license plates .
- Perform a brake check (part icularly after
t ravel ling through water) .
A WARNING
-Drive especially attentively and plan
ahead in d iff icu lt road conditions and
when offroad. Excessive speed o r inco r­
rect maneuvers can cause injuries and
damage to the vehicle.
-
- Always adapt your speed and driving
style to road, offroad, t raff ic, and weath­
er cond itions. Drive especially slowly off­
road when you r view is res tricted.
- Please be awa re that in ESC off road
mode, particularly on a smoo th and s lip­
pery road, the wheels may have an in­
creased tendency to spin and the vehicle may break away -danger of skidding!
- Stability is limited in the ESC off road
mode .
@) For the sake of the environment
Avoid damage to the environment and re­
spect nature .
(D Tips
Only drive w here it is permitted and stay
on marked roads and paths.
Explanation of some technical terms
T he following data refe r to ideal cond itions.
Depend ing on veh icle load and ground condi ­
tions and the environment, the numbers may
vary. It is the driver's responsibility to decide
whether a vehicle can overcome a specific s it­
uat ion
c::> ,&. .
Gradient angle
The number of meters in alt itude gained over
a distance of 109.4 yards or 100 meters
(grade) are given as a percentage or degrees.
Information about the gradient the vehicle
can climb under its own power (depends in
part on the road surface and engine power) .
Max imum perm itted grade : 3 1
°
Late ral angle (slope of vehicle )
Indicates the angle up to which the vehicle
can be driven diagonally or across the fall line ..,.

272 Che cking and filling
For year-round driving, antifreeze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
- -31° F(-35°C)USA
- - 40 °F ( - 40 °C) Canada.
_& WARNING
-
Before yo u check anything in the e ngine
compar tment, alw ays read and heed all
WARN INGS
¢.&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 264 .
(D Note
- Befo re win ter se ts in, have the coolan t
che cked to see if t he coolant ad dit ive in
you r vehicle is s ufficien t to mee t the cli ­
mate conditions. T his is especially impor­
tant if yo u live in a region where the w in­
ter is extremely co ld. If necessary, in­
crease the proport io n of coolant additive
to 60%.
- When adding coolant addit ive to your
cooling system, remember:
- We recommend using only coolant ad­
ditive G1 2++ o r G13 fo r your vehicle.
Thi s coo lant add itive is available at au­
thorized A ud i dealers. Other types of
antifreeze can significantly reduce cor­
rosion protection. The res ulting corro ­
sion can cause a loss of coo lant and se­
r ious eng ine damage.
- Do not add any type of radiator leak sea l­
ant to your ve hicle's engine coo lant.
Adding rad iator repair fluid may adve rse­
ly affec t the function and perfo rmance of
you r cooling system and could result in
damage not cove red by your New Vehicle
Limited Wa rranty.
Checking the engine coolant level
T he engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance .
Fig . 2 4 7 Engin e compa rtm en t: Coo lant expansio n ta nk
Befo re you check anyth ing in the en gine com­
partment,
alway s read and h eed all WARN­
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 264.
.,. Park yo ur vehicle on a level surf ace .
.,. Tur n off the ignition.
.,. Let the engine cool down.
.,. Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
tank ¢
fig. 24 7, ¢ page 266, fig . 243 and
carefull y twist the cap counter-clockwise
¢,&. .
.,. Read the engine coolant level in the open
coo lant expansion ta nk. W ith a cold eng ine,
the coolant level should be between the "min " and "max " mar kings. When t he en­
g ine is wa rm, the level may be slightly above
the "max" mark ing.
T he locat ion of the coo lant expansion tan k
c an be see n in the engine compartmen t illu s­
t ration
¢ page 266.
T o obtain an accu rate reading, the engine
must be switched off.
The expansion tank in your veh icle is equipped
with an electr ic coo lant level senso r.
When the coolant leve l is too low, the warning
light in the Auto-Check System¢
page 32 will
blink unti l you add coolant and the level has
been resto red to normal. Even though there is
an electric coo lant level senso r, we still rec­
ommend you check the coolant level from
time to t ime .

274 Che cking and filling
-If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
tainer clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant pollutes the environment and
could cause an engine fire . Excess coo l-
ant will be forced out through the pres­
sure relief valve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze
c:;, page 271 must be re­
stored as soon as possible .
@ For the sake of the environment
Dra ined coolant should not be reused. Al­
ways dispose of used coolant while observ­ ing all environmental regulations.
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself
The radiator fan is driven by the engine via the
V-belt . The viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan accord ing to t he temperature of the
coolant.
An auxiliary electric radiator fan* switches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and other vehicle operating conditions.
After you switch the engine off, the auxiliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes - even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself
c:;, &. , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
_&. WARNING
- To reduce the risk of personal injury nev­
er touch the radiator fan . -
The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on au­
tomatically when the engine coolant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper­
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a
quick glance.
Fig. 248 Eng ine compart men t: cover on the brake fluid
reservoir
Before you check anyth ing in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS c:;, _&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 264.
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir
c::> fig. 248, c:;, page 266,
fig. 243.
The brake fluid level m ust be be­
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The brake fluid reservoir is located at the rear
part ition of the engine compartment on the
left side
c:;, page 266.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the brake pads. This is not cause for alarm .
If the brake flu id level falls
considerably be­
low the
"MIN" mark, the brake warn ing/indi­
cator light ( U.S. models:
1111 , Canadian
models :. will come on
c::> page 19 and
c::>page 32. Do not continue to operate the ve-
hicle. The complete brake system should be ..,.