2014 AUDI A7 ECU

192 Child Safe ty
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 180 Tether ancho rs: attachment hook locations
behind the rear seatbacks
The tether anchors for the two/three* rear
seating positions are located o n the backside
of the rear seatbacks ¢
fig. 180. Vehicles with
two rear seating positions are equipped with
two tether anchors.
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that attaches the top part o f a child restraint to
specia l anchorage points in the veh icle.
The purpose of t he tether is to reduce the for­
ward movemen t of the ch ild restra int in a
crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head
injury that could be caused by striking the ve ­
hicle interior.
F orward facing child rest ra ints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements .
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child safety
seats.
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of inju ry and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions prov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re­
st rain t you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of ch ild restra int anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a co llision. The anchors are de­
signed to w ithstand on ly those loads im ­
posed by corre ctly fitted ch ild restraints. -
Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compa rtment .
- Never use child restraint tether ancho ­
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds o f occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho­
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan­
ces and t he
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come o n and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system i nspe cted by your
Aud i deale r.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig. 181 Tether strap: proper routing and mou nting
Installing the tether st rap
• Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to the child re­
s traint manufacture r's instructions.
• Guide the upper te ther s trap
und er the rear
head restraint¢
fig. 181 (raise the head re ­
straint if necessary) .
• Attach the tether strap ancho rage hook into
the tether anchorage.
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages.
• Tighten the tether strap firmly follow ing the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions. ..,

Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durab ility,
economy and performance .
Trailer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
F or this reason, a lways fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
(D Note
If you are going to tow a trai ler, you must
ac tivate the trailer operation mode
c::> page 209, Operating instructions.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weig ht-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer we ight. The hitch must be suita­
b le for your veh icle and trailer and must be
mounted securely on t he ve hicle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a trail er
hi tch w ith a removab le ball moun t. A lways
check wi th t he tra ile r hi tch man ufa ctur er to
make sure that you are using the cor rect
h itch.
Do not us e a bumper hitch .
The hitch m ust be installed in such a way that
i t does not interfe re with the impac t-absorb­
i ng bumper syst em. No mod ificat ions should
b e made to the vehi cle e xhaus t and br ake sys­
tems . From t ime to time, check th at a ll hitc h
mo unt ing bo lts rem ain securely fas tened.
When you are not towing a trail er, remove the
tra ile r hi tch ball moun t. T h is prevents the
hi tch from causing damage sho uld your ve hi­
cle be str uck from behind~ .&.
Trailer towin g 209
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is equippe d wi th a bra king sys­
tem, check to be s ure that i t conforms to all
regulations .
T he trailer hyd ra u lic bra ke sys tem mus t not be
d irec tly connec ted to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system .
Safety chains
Always use safety chains be tween your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Trai ler lights must meet all reg ulations. Be
su re to c heck with your Audi dea ler for correct
wir ing, switches and relays .
Mirrors
If you a re unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regula r outside mirrors, then you
must insta ll extended mir rors. It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rear.
_&. WARNING
-
Afte r removi ng the trailer hitch , do no t
s tor e i t in yo ur v ehicl e. In case of sudden
b raki ng, the hi tch co uld fly forwar d and in­
j ur e you o r yo ur pass enge rs.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
A tra ile r fo r you r vehi cle is l imited to a typi cal
cla ss 1 o r class 2 tr ailer.
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the load in the tra ile r is held secure ly
in place to p revent it from shift ing fo rward,
ba ckward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
c::> .& in Driving instructions on page 211 .
Engine cooling sy stem
Towing a t railer ma kes the engine wor k hard­
er . It is impo rtant that the cooling system's
performance is up to the additional load.
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228 Check ing and filling
- Always disconnect the battery.
- Never smoke or wor k near heaters or
open flames . Fluids in the engine com­
partment could start a fire.
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher im­
mediately available.
- To avoid electrical shock and persona l in ­
jury while the engine is running or being started, never touch:
- Ignition cables
- Other components of the high voltage
electronic ignition system.
- If you must perform a check or repa ir
with the engine running:
- Fi rst, fully apply the parking brake,
move se lec tor lever to P (Pa rk) .
- Always use extreme caution to prevent
clot hing, jewe lry, or long ha ir from ge t­
ting caught in the radiator fan, V -belts
or other moving parts, or from contact­ ing hot parts . Tie back hair before
start ing, and do not wear cloth ing that
will hang or droop into the eng ine .
- Minimize exposure to emission and chemica l ha zards¢ ,&..
A WARNING
California Propos ition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certa in veh icle components conta in
or emit chemicals known to the State of
Califor nia to cause cancer and b irth de­
fects a nd reproduct ive ha rm. In addition ,
certain fluids conta ined in vehicles and
certa in prod ucts of co mponent wear co n­
ta in or emi t chemicals known to the
State o f Ca lifornia to cause can cer and
birth defects or other reproductive harm . -
Battery posts, terminals and re lated ac­
cessories conta in lead and lead com­
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc­
tive harms. Wash hands after handling .
(D Note
When adding flu ids, always make sure that
they are poured into the proper conta iner
or f iller opening, otherwise serious dam­
age to vehicle systems w ill occur.
® For the sake of the environment
To detect leaks in time, inspect the vehicle
floor pan from underneath regularly. If
you see spots from oil or other ve hicle flu­
i ds, have yo ur vehicle inspected by a n au­
thori zed Audi dea le r.
Closing the engine hood
.,. Pull the hood down un til the pressure from
the struts is reduced.
.,. Let the hood
drop down and latch in p lace .
Do not try to push it shut; it may fail to en­
gage ¢&_ .
A WARNING
-
A hood that is not completely latched
could fly up and b lock your view while dr iv ­
ing .
-When you close the engine hood, check it
to make sure the safety catch has p roper ­
ly engaged. The hood sho uld be flush
with the surrou nding vehicle body pa rts.
- If you notice while driv ing that the hood
is not s ecured prope rly, stop at onc e and
close it.

-The use of incorrect tire pressure values
can lead to accidents or other damage.
Therefore it is essential that the driver observe the specified tire pressure values
for the tires and the correct pressu res for
the funct ion of the tire pressure mon itor­
ing system*.
- Always inflate t ires to the recommended
and correct tire pressure before driving
off.
- Driv ing with under inflated tires bend
more, letting them get too hot resu lting
in tread separation, sudden t ire fa il u re
and loss o f control.
- Excessive speed and/ove rloading can
cause heat bui ld-up, sudden tire fail ure
and loss o f control.
- If the t ire pressure is too low or too high,
the tires w ill wear prematurely and the
vehicle will not hand le we ll.
- If the t ire is no t flat and you do not have
to change a wheel immediate ly, drive at
reduced speed to the nearest service sta­
tio n to check the tire pressure and add
air as required.
(D Note
Dr iving without va lve stem caps ca n cause
damage to the tire va lves. To prevent this,
always make sure that factory installed
valve stem caps on all wheels are secure ly
mounted on the va lve.
@ For the sake of the environment
Underinflated tires will a lso increase the
fue l consumption .
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of load or
weight that any veh icle and any t ire can carry .
A vehicle that is overloaded w ill not handle
well and is more difficult to stop . Overload ing
can not on ly lead to loss of vehicle con trol,
b ut can a lso damage important par ts of the
vehicle and can lead to sudden tire failure, in­
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation that
can cause the vehicle to crash.
Tire s an d wheel s 251
Your safety and that of your passengers also
depends on making sure that load limits are
not exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody
and everything in and on the veh icle. These
load lim its are technically referred to as the
vehicle's
Gro ss Ve hicle Wei ght R ating
("GVWR") .
The "GVWR" includes the weight of the basic
vehicle, all factory installed accessories, a full
tank of fuel, o il, coolant and other fluids plus
maximum load. The max imum load includes
the number of passengers that the vehicle is
in tended to carry ("seat ing capac ity") with an
assumed we ight of 150 lbs (68 kg) for each
passenger at a designated seating posit ion
and the total weight of any luggage in the ve­ hicle . If you tow a trai ler, the weight of the
trailer hitch and the tongue weight of the
loaded tra iler must be included as part of the
vehicle load.
The
Gr oss Ax le We ight R ating ("GAWR") is
the maximum load that can be applied at each
of the vehicle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety comp liance sticker label located on the
driver's side B-pillar. Your Audi has 4 seat ing
pos itions, 2 in the front and 2 in the rear for
total seating capacity of 4 . In some vehicles
there are 5 seating pos it ions, 2 in the front
and 3 in the rear for tota l seating capacity of
5. Each seat ing position has a safety belt
~ page 140, Safety belts .
The fact that there is a n upper limit to you r
vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating means
that the total weig ht of whatever is being car­
ried in the vehicle ( includ ing the weight of a
trailer hitch and the tongue weight of the
loaded trai ler) is limited . The more passen­
gers in the vehicle or passengers who are
heavier than the standard we ights assumed
mean that less we ight can be carried as lug­
gage .
The tire pressure label on your Audi also lists
the maximum combined weight of a ll of the
occupants and luggage or other cargo that ..,.
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260 Tire s and wheel s
chains because the vehicle will be ex­
tremely low. If you do drive with snow
chains on while the vehicle is at this lev­
el, the snow chains might severe ly dam­
age the wheelhouse and other parts of
the veh icle.
(D} 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 installed r ims. 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 fitted
secure ly 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 mode l
¢page 287.
_& WARNING
Imprope rly tig htened o r maintained whee l
bolts can be come loose ca using loss of
contro l, a co llision and serious persona l in­
jury.
- Always keep the wheel bol ts an d the
threads in the wheel hubs clea n so the
wheel bolts can tu rn easily and be prop­
er ly tightened .
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel h ubs. They can
become loose w hile driving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Always maintain the correct tighten ing
torq ue for the wheel bo lts to reduce the risk of a whee
l loss. If the tightening tor­
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi­
cle is mov ing. If the tighte ning torque is
too high, the wheel bolts a nd threads
can be damaged and the whee l can be­
come loose.
([) 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). Torque whee l bolts diago­
nally. Afte r changing a whee l, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible wi th a
torque wrench -pre ferably by an au thor­
ized Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipped with low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoro ughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb performance, road fee l
and hand ling u nder a var iety of d riv ing condi ­
t ions . As k your author ized Audi dealer for
more details.
The low aspect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation . The numeral rep resents the ratio
of the t ire's s idewa ll height in relation to its
t read width ex pressed in percentage. Conven­
t iona l tires have a he igh t/w idth rat io of 60 or
more.
The performanc e of low -a sp ec t-ratio tires i s
pa rticularly sensitive to improper inflation
pre ssure . It is therefore important that low
a spect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pressure i s
regularly checked and maintained. Tire pre s­
sures should be checked at least once a month and always befo re a long trip
¢ page 249, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, gull ies .,..

264 What do I do now?
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 ~ 0 6
~ ~
Fig. 207 Tr unk lid: Warning triang le
.,. To open the cover , turn the locking mecha­
nism and pull the cover downward .
" m
.,. Remov e the warning triang le from its hold­
er.
The rear lid is only designed to hold 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.
Fig. 208 Lu ggage compartme nt: cargo floor cover
folded upward/spa re t ire
Fig. 209 Trunk lid: Veh icle tool kit
.,. Fold the floor to the seatback with the help
of the handle .
.,. Turn the handwheel counter-clockwise
~ fig. 208 and remove the spare t ire to
reach the vehicle tool kit.
The onboard tool k it includes:
- Hooks to remove the wheel covers*
- Plastic hook to remove wheel bolt covers*
- Wheel bolt wrench
-Alignment pin for changing wheels
- Screwdriver with reversible blade
- Towing loop
-Jack
Before storing the jack, make sure it is wound
back down as far as it will go.
A WARNING
Improper use of the vehicle jack can cause
serious pe rsonal injuries.
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten wheel bolts, since the bolts can­
not attain the necessary tighten ing tor­
que if you use the hex head, potentially
causing an accident .
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on­
ly for your vehicle model. Under no cir­
cumstances sho uld it be used to
lift
heavy veh icles or other loads; you risk in­
juring yo urself.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, which could cause an accident.
- Support the vehicle securely with appro­
p riate stands if work is to be performed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there
is a potential risk for injury. .,.

flat on the ground. The base @ must be ver­
tical under the lifting point @.
.. Wind the jack up further until the flat tire
comes off the ground
c:> ,&. .
Position the vehicle jack onl y under the desig ­
nated lifting points on the sill
c:> fig . 213.
The re is exactly one location for each wheel.
The jack must not be positioned at any other location
c:> & c:>(D.
An unstable surf ace under the jack can cause
the vehicle to slip off the jack . Always provide
a firm base for the jack on the ground. If nec­
essary place a sturdy board o r similar support
u nder the jack . On
hard, slippery surface s
(such as tiles) use a rubber mat or sim ilar to
p revent the jack from s lipping
c:> & -
& WARNING
-You or your passengers could be injured
wh ile chang ing a whee l if you do not fol­
low these safety precautions:
- Position the vehicle jack only at the
designated lifting points and align the
jack. Otherwise, the vehicle jack could slip and cause an injury if it does not
have sufficient ho ld on t he vehicle.
-A soft or unstab le surface under the
jack may ca use the vehicle to slip off
the jack. Always provide a fi rm base for
the jack on the gro und.
If necessary,
use a sturdy board under the jack.
- On hard, slippery surface (such a s tiles)
use a rubber mat or similar to prevent
the jack from slipping.
- T o help p revent injury to you rself and
yo ur passengers:
- Do not raise the vehicle until you are
sure the jack is securely engaged.
- Passengers must not remain i n the ve­
h icle when it is jacked up.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a
safe place away from the vehicle and
well away from the road and traffic.
- Make sure jack position is correct, ad­
just as necessary and then continue to ra ise the jack.
What do I d o now ? 269
-Changes in temperature or load can af­
fect the he ight of the vehicle .
(D Note
Do not lift the vehicle by the sill . Position
the vehicle jack only at the designated lift­ ing points on the sill. Otherwise, your vehi­
cle will be damaged.
(I} Tips
The vehicle jack mode * switches off auto­
matically at speeds above 6 mph (10 km/
h).
Removing and installing the sill cover
App lies to vehicles: wit h sill
Fig . 215 Sill : re moving th e co ver
.. Pull the cover down to remove it c:> fig. 215.
.. To insta ll the cover again, insert it into the
retainers and then swing it upward until it
clicks into p lace . The cover must be flush
with the sill.
(D Tips
Some models may also have a cover for the rear vehicle lift po int.

Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed in
the right direction.
Using a spare tire with a tread pattern
intended for use in a specific direction
When using a spare tire w ith a tread pattern
in tended for use in a specific direction, please
note the following:
- The direction of rotation is marked by an ar­
row on the side of the tire.
- If the spare t ire has to be installed in the in­
correct direction, use the spare tire only
temporarily since the tire will not be able to
achieve its optimum performance character­
istic s with rega rd to aquaplaning, noise and
wear.
- We recommend that you pay particular at­
tention to this fact during wet weather and
that you adjust your speed to match road
conditions.
- Replace the flat tire with a new one and
have it installed on your veh icle as soon as
possib le to restore the handling advantages
of a unid irectiona l tire .
Notes on wheel changing
Please read the information c:> page 254, New
tires and replacing tires and wheels
if you are
going to use a spare t ire which is different
from the tires on your veh icle.
After you change a tire :
-Check the tire pressure on the spare imme­
diately after installation .
- Have the wheel bolt tightening torque
checked with a torque wrench as soon as
possible by your authorized Audi dealer or
a qualified service station.
- With steel and alloy wheel rims, the wheel
bolts are correctly tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (120 Nm).
- If you notice that the wheel bolts are cor­
roded and difficult to turn while changing
a tire, they should be replaced before you
check the tightening torque. What do I do now? 271
- Replace the flat tire with a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
possible. Remount the wheel cover.
Until then , drive with extra care and at re­
duced speeds.
A WARNING
-
- If you are going to equ ip your vehicle
with tires or rims which differ from those
which were factory installed, then be
sure to read the information<=>
page 254,
New tires and replacing tires and
wheels.
- Always make sure the damaged wheel or
even a flat tire and the jack and tool kit
are properly secured in the luggage com­
pa rtment and are not loose in the pas­
senger compartment .
- In an accident or sudden maneuver they
could fly forward, in juring anyone in the
veh icle.
- Always store damaged wheel, jack and
too ls securely in the luggage compa rt­
ment. Otherwise , in an accident or su d­
den maneuver they could fly forward,
causing injury to passengers in the vehi­
cle.
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