2014 AUDI A7 tow

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.
•
•

210 Trailer towing
Make sure that the cooling system has eno ugh
fluid .
Tire p res sure
When tow ing a trai le r, inflate the t ires of your
vehi cle to the co ld tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open) .
Inflate trailer t ires to trai ler and tire manufac­
turers' specifications.
Lights
Chec k to make s ure both veh icle and trailer
lights are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure tra iler safety cha ins are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
h icle. Leave enough slack in the chains to per ­
mit turn ing corners . When you install safety
cha ins, make su re they wi ll not drag on the
road when yo u are driving.
The chains shou ld cross under the tra iler
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Adjusting the Audi drive select
Make sure the vehicle is on a level su rface be­
for e
hitching up the tra ile r and b efor e adjust­
ing the tongue weight. The vehicle must be in
auto or comfort dr iving mode and no t raised
qpage 102, q(D _
Make sure that the vehicle is lowered. In Info­
tainment , se lect:
ICARI f u nction button> Low­
e r
control b utton .
I f you m ust dr ive under poor road co ndit ions,
you can raise the veh icle
aft er coup ling the
tra iler or
after adjusting the tong ue weig ht
q page 104.
-Changes in tempe ratu re or load can af­
fect the heig ht of the veh icle.
- Always se lect
auto or comfort mode.
Otherwise, the tongue load spec ified for
your vehicle will no longer be applicable.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration .
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle
and trailer, please note the fo llow ing:
.,. Do not tow a loaded t railer when yo ur car it­
self is not loaded.
.,. Be especially careful when passing other
veh icles.
.,. Observe speed limits .
.,. Do not dr ive at the max imum permissib le
speed.
.,. Always app ly brakes early .
.,. Mon itor the tempe ratu re ga uge.
Weight distribut ion
T owing a loaded trailer with an empty car re­
su lts in a highly unstable distribution of
we ight. If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
low speeds on ly to avoid t he risk of losing
steering con tro l.
A "ba lanced " rig is easier to ope rate and con­
t ro l. This means that the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and permissi­
ble , while keep ing the trai ler as light as possi ­
ble under the c ircumstances . Whenever poss i­
ble , transfer some cargo to the luggage com ­
partment of the tow veh icle while observing
tong ue load requirements and vehicle load ing
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficu lt it be ­
comes for the driver to control the rig . Do not
drive at the maximum permissib le speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -particularly
whe n going downhill.
Red uce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing .
Do not
try to stop the s way ing b y accele rating .
Observe speed limits . In some a reas, speeds
for vehicles tow ing tra ilers are lower than for
regular veh icles . .,.

Always apply brakes early. When driving
downhill, shift into a lower gear to use the en­
g ine braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of
the brakes a lone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge ¢ page 11
must be observed carefully. The coo lant tem­
perature can increase if you drive on long in­
clines in a low gear at high engine speeds. Re­
duce your speed immediately if the LEDs in
the top part of the display turn on .
For more information about indicator lights,
refer to.
c> page 17 .
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident . Never let anyone r ide in your car
who is not properly wearing the restra ints
provided by Aud i.
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle hand les different ly when towing
-
a trailer because of the additional weight and
d ifferent weight distribution . Safety, perform­
ance and economy w ill greatly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig .
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopp ing and backing up in an area
away from traffic . Keep practicing until you
have become completely familiar with the way
your veh icle-trailer comb ination behaves and
responds .
Backing up is diff icult and requires practice .
Backing up with a tra iler genera lly requires
steer ing action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
Trailer towing 211
trailer, you wi ll need a larger than normal
turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot ac­
ce lerate as fast as you norma lly 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.
(0 Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load¢
page 285.
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:
"' App ly the foot brake .
.,. Have someone place chocks under both the
veh icle and the trailer wheels.
"' With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes until the wheel chocks absorb the
load .
.,. Turn the wheels towards the curb.
.,. Apply the parking brake.
.,. Select the P selector lever posit ion.
When restarting after parking:
.,. App ly the foot brake.
.,. Start the engine.
.,. Select the D/S selector lever position .
.,. Release the parking brake and slowly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks.
.,. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks .
111>
•
•

212 Trailertowing
If you move the selector lever of the auto­
mat ic transm ission to P before app lying
the park ing brake and before blocking the
wheels, you may have to use mo re force
later to move the lever out of the P posi­
tion .

-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 ..,.
•
•

6. If your vehicle will be towing
a trailer, load from your trail­
er will be transfe rred to your
vehicle. Consult this manual
to determine how this re­
duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle.
... check the tire sidewall
(q page 254, fig. 204) to de­
termine the de signated load
rating for a specific tire.
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv­
ing style.
Fig. 202 Tir e tread: tread wea r indi cators (TWI)
Fig. 203 Rotat ing t ires for more even wear
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The original tires on your vehicle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators"
Tires and wheels 253
¢ fig. 202 ru nning across the tread. Depend­
ing on the make, t here will be six to eight of
them evenly placed around the tire. Marks on
the tire sidewall (for examp le "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear indicato rs . Worn tires must be rep laced .
D iffere nt figures may apply in othe r countr ies
~ A .
Tire pressure
Incorrect t ire pressure causes premature wear
and can cause sudden tire blow-out. For this reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month ¢
page 249.
Driving style
Driving fast around curves, heavy acce lerat ion
and hard braking increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your vehicle to have the
same service life, we recommend that the
front and rear tires a re rotated according to
the tire manufacturer's suggested tire rota­
tion intervals. Please remember the follow­ ing:
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from the
veh icle service interva ls outlined in your
Warra nty
& Maintenance booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points ; therefore, we recommend t hat you
follow t he tire manufacturer's suggested
tire rotation intervals.
- Veh icles w ith front-wheel dr ive experience
more tread wear on the front wheels com­
pared to all-wheel drive (quattro).
- Please rotate tires as shown ¢
fig. 203.
- Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires¢
page 2 71 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new veh icles are balanced.
However, various situations during everyday
driv ing can cause them to become unbal­
anced, resulting in vibrations you can usually
feel through the steer ing wheel. ..,.

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. .,.

266 What do I do now?
Changing a wheel
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang ­
ing a wheel .
... After you experience a tire failure, pull the
car well away from moving traffic and try to
reach
level ground before you stop o ,&.
... All passengers should leave the car and
move to a safe location (for instance, behind
the guardrail)
o A-
.. Engage the parking brake to prevent your
vehicle from rolling unintentionally
o ,&.
... Move selector lever to position Po ,& .
• If you are towing a trailer, unhitch the trailer
from your vehicle .
... Take the
jack and the spare tire out of the
luggage compartment
o page 264,
o page265.
A WARNING
You or your passengers could be injured
while changing a wheel if you do not fol­
low these safety precautions:
- If you have a flat tire,
move a safe dis­
tance off the road. Turn off the engine,
turn the emergency flashers on and use
other warning devices to alert other mo­
torists.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a safe
place away from the vehicle and well
away from the road and traffic.
- To help prevent the vehicle from moving
sudden ly and possibly slipping off the
jack, always fully set the parking brake
and block the wheel diagonally opposite
the wheel being changed . When one
front wheel is lifted off the ground, plac­
ing the Automatic Transmission in P
(Park) will
not prevent the vehicle from
moving.
- Before you change a wheel, be sure the
ground is level and firm.
If necessary,
use a sturdy board under the jack.
-
-Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack
and the replaced tire in the luggage com­
partment
opage 136.
@ Tips
Before changing the whee l, you must acti­
vate the jacking mode, so that the auto­
matic controls for the Adaptive Air Sus­
pension* do not make it more difficult to
lift the vehicle with the jack
o page 268 .
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel, follow these­
quence described below step-by-step and in
exactly that order.
l. Activate the vehicle jack mode*
opage 268 .
2. Remove the decorative wheel cover* . For
more details see also
o page 267, Deco­
rative wheel covers
or o page 267,
Wheels with wheel bolt caps.
3. Loosen the wheel bolts o page 268.
4. Locate the proper mounting point for the
jack and align the jack below that point
opage 268.
5. Raise the car with the jack o page 268.
6. Remove the wheel with the flat tire and
then install
the spare opage 270.
7. Tighten all wheel bolts lightly .
8.
Lower the vehicle with the jack .
9 . Use the wheel bolt w rench and
firmly
tighten all wheel bolts o page 268.
10. Replace the decorative wheel cover*.
11. Deactivate the vehicle jack mode * in the
MMI:
I CARI function button > (Ca r)* sys­
tems
control button > Servicing & checks
> Air susp.: jack mode > Off.
The vehicle jack mode* switches off automati­
ca lly at speeds above 6 mph (10 km/h) .
A WARNING ,-
Always read and follow all WARNINGS and
in format ion
o .&. in Raising the vehicle on
page 269
and opage 271.