2014 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 257, before 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
dr ipping from the engine compartment.
You could bu rn yourself. Let the engine
cool off first until you can no longer see
or hear steam or coolant escaping.
0 Note
- Mount ing additional lights or accessories
i n front of the a ir inlets reduces the cool­
i ng effect of the radiator. At h igh outside
temperatures or high eng ine load , the
engine could overheat.
- The front spo iler has been designed to
properly distribute the cooling air when
the veh icle is moving. If the spoiler is
damaged, this cou ld reduce the cooling
effect and the engine could then over­ heat. Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
ass istance.
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 engine RPM drops be low 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.
(D Note
The tachometer needle should not move
into 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
Upshifting early saves fuel and reduces en­
gine noise .
Digital clock with date display
Fig. 4 In st ru m en t cluster : time a nd da te
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.
(D Tips
-When open the driver door, the time,
date and odometer are disp layed for an
add itional 30 seconds.
- You can also call up the display with the
!CHECK I button q page 12 while the ig­
nition is switched off.

For example, the symbol II appears in the
display, indicating low windshield washer flu­
id level. The follow ing message also appears:
Pleas 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
!CHECK I button.
Red symbols
A red symbol means DANGER.
Fig. 25 Display: engine coolant level warning (prior ity
1)
• Pull off the road.
• Stop the vehicle .
• Turnoff the engine.
• Check the ma lfunction ing system. Contact
your authorized Aud i dea ler o r 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. The sym­
bo l conti nues to blin k until the malf unct io n
has been repaired .
I f there are
more than one prio rity 1 ma lfunc­
tions, the symbols appear one afte r the other
for about 2 seconds.
An addit ional driver message can also be d is­
p layed by briefly pressing the
I CHECK ! button.
The red symbols mean:
(D Tips
Driver inform ation di spl ay 31
Alternator malfunction
¢page 31
USA mod els: Brake system
malfunction
¢page 32
Canada mo del s: Brake sys­
tem malfunction
¢page 32
Engine coolant level too
low/engine coolant temper­
ature too high
¢ page 32
Engine o il pressu re too low
¢page33
Refill Ad Blue*
¢page254
AdBlue malfunction*
c:!> page 254
Faulty steering
¢page33
Faulty 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
> Pull off the road.
> Stop the vehicle.
>T urnoff the engine .
> Check the brake fluid level¢
page 267 .
> Co ntact you r neares t auth orized Audi dea ler
o r q ualified workshop if necessa ry.
Warning! Fault in brake system. Contact
workshop
> Drive carefu lly to the nearest a utho rized
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 system mal func tion warning/
indicator light¢&. .
A WARNING
-Always observe the war nings in
¢
page 257, before opening the hood
a nd checking the brake flu id.
- Dr iving with low brake flu id is a safety
hazard . Stop the car and get professiona l
assis tance .
- If the ~ (USA models) . (Canada
models) brake system ind icator light
turns on toget he r with the ABS and ESC
i n dicator lights, the A BS/ ESC regulat ing
fu nction may have failed. Func tio ns that
s tabilize the vehicle a re no longer av aila­
b le. This could ca use the vehicle to
swerve and inc rease the r isk of s liding.
Drive carefully to the nearest authorized
Aud i dealer or other q ualified workshop
and have the ma lfu nction corrected .
-L Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engine cooling system
must be repaired as soon as possible .
When the. symbo l in t he display blinks,
t h en eit her the engine coo la nt
temperature is
too high, o r the coo lant
level is too low. An
additional driver message can also be dis­
played by pressing the
I CHECK ! button:
Switch off engine and check coolant level
> Pull off t he road.
> Stop the vehicle.
> Tur noff the engine .
> Check coolant level ¢
page 265.
> Add coo lant if necessary ¢ page 266.
> Continue dr iv ing on ly after the engine cool­
ant warning/ind icator light goes out.
> Contact your authorized Aud i dealer for as -
sistance if necessa ry.
If the engine coolant level is correct, then the
radiator fa n may be the cause of the malfunc­
t ion .
If the . warning symbo l (a lternator mal­
funct ion) also lights up on the instrument
panel ¢
page 31, then the fan be lt may be
damaged .

& 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 ha zard
warning lights¢
page 60, Emergency
flasher .
-
-Never open the hood if you see or hear
steam or coolant escap ing from the en­
gine compartme nt -you risk being scald ­
ed . Wa it until you can no longe r see or
hear stea m or coo la nt escaping.
- The eng ine compartment of a ny veh icle
is a dangerous a rea . Before you perfo rm
any wor k in the engine compa rtme nt,
t ur n o f the eng ine and allow it to cool.
F ollow the warning stick ers ¢
page 257.
(D Note
Do not co nti nu e d riving if the . symbol
illumi nates. T here is a m alf unct io n in the
eng ine cooling system -you co uld dam age
your eng ine .
"t:::7: Engine oil pressure malfunction
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol
requires immediate servi ce or repair. Driving
with a low -oil -pressure indication is likely to
inflict severe damage to the engine .
If the. symbol appe ars in the display and
b links, the oil press ure is too low . An addition­
a l driver message can also be disp layed by
pressing the
I CH ECK i button :
Switch off engine! Oil pre ssure too low
Immediate actions
~ Pull off the road .
~ Stop the vehicle.
~T urnoff the engine .
~ Check the engine oil lev el with the dipsti ck
¢page 262.
Dipstick readings checks too low
~ Top off o il to the proper level¢ page 263 .
Driver information di spla y 33
~ Make s ure that the oi l pressure wa rning
symbo l. appears no longer in the disp lay
befo re you sta rt driv ing again.
Dipstick reading checks OK
~ If the oil press ure warning symbol.
starts flashing aga in even thoug h the en­
gine oil leve l checks OK on the dipstick,
do
not continue driving and do not let the en­
gine run in idle .
Instead, contact your au­
thori zed A udi dealer for assistance.
(D Tips
- The engine oil pressure symbol. is
not an indicator for a low engine o il lev­
el. Do not rely on it . Instead, check the
oil level in your engine at regular inter­
vals, preferably each time you refuel,
and always b efore going on a long trip .
- The yellow oil level warning indication
l!I requires oil refill or workshop serv­
ice without delay . Do not wait until the
red oil pressure warning. start s to
fla sh before you. respond to th e low oil
level warning l!I. By then, your engine
may already have suffered 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, the re is
a malfunction i n the elect ro nic steer ing col­
u mn lock. An additional driver message can
also be displayed by pressing the
ICHECK I but­
ton:
Do not drive vehicle: steering defective
~ Contact your nea rest au thori zed Aud i deale r
or qu alified worksho p.
~ Do not tow your ve hicle. .,..

-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 button switches on the ignition and
starts the engine .
Fig. 121 Convenience key: ENGINE START button
The I STAR T! button is provided w ith two -sta ge
o p era tion
¢ fig. 121.
Sw itching the ignition on
.. Press the !START I button once to the fi rs t
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=T:--:-A =RT=i button to the secon d
stage to start the engine .
Diesel en gine : Starting the engine
.. Step on the brake.
.. Move the selector lever to the P or N posi­
tion ¢.&, .
.. Press the
r:: 1s=TA c:--=RT= I button down to the first
level to begin the preheating process. The
glow plug indicator light
II illuminates
when t he glow plug system is active .
.. When the ind icator light
II switches off,
press the
I START ! 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 i n 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*
Die sel engine s
are equ ipped with a glow plug
system whose preheating time is controlled
by the coo lant 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
higher than 46 °F (8 °C). That means yo u can
star t 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

Driving off road
Driving in difficult road
conditions and offroad
General information
The operation of the E lectronic Stabilization
Control (ESC) is expanded fo r operation away
from paved roads. In situations where slip or a
differential lock ing funct ion is required, the
offroad mode can be activated
c:::> page 224.
Hill descent control is a lso ava ilable in the off ­
road mode, which automat ically brakes the
ve hicl e and thereby keeps speed consta nt
when differe nt w heel speeds a re detected
when descending a hill
c:::> page 226. Your A ud i
a lso has permanent a ll-wheel drive in addi­
tion.
H oweve r, your Aud i is not a pure off road ve hi­
cle . It was not built for d riving unde r extreme
conditions, e.g. for trips that are in the nat ure
of an expedition .
Drive only on road s and offro ad sections
which match the de sign of y our vehicl e and
you r abilitie s as a dri ver. Ne ver t ake ri sks!
Before driving offroad
- Check the eng ine oi l level, t ire pressu re ,
coolant level , and the fluid level in the w ind­
shield washe r reservo ir.
- Stow luggage items a nd other objects in the
l uggage compartment, and sec ure t hem
against s lid ing aro und .
After driving offroad
- After trips off road, remove any twigs and
othe r foreign objects from the grill , the un­
derbody and the wheels. Pay spec ia l atten­
t ion to fore ign ob jects (stones) which have
become lodged in t he tire tre ad.
- Clean t he body and the vehicle unders ide,
and inspect the veh icle for possible damage.
- Clean dirty w indows , headlamp lenses, rear
li gh ts, and license plates .
- Perfo rm a brake check (particularly after
t ravell ing throug h water) .
Driving off road 237
A WARNING
-Drive especially attentively and plan
ahead in diff icu lt road conditions and
when off road. Excessive speed o r inco r­
rect maneuve rs can cause injuries and
damage to the vehicle.
-
- Always adapt your speed and driving
style to road, offroad, t raff ic, and weath­
e r condition s. D rive e spe cially slowly off­
road when yo ur view is restricted.
- Please be aware that in offroad mode,
pa rti cularly on a smoo th and s lippery
road, the whee ls may have an increased
tendency to spin and the vehicle may
break away -danger of skidding!
- Stability is limited in the offroad mode .
@ For the sake of the environment
Avoid damage to the environment and re­
spect na ture .
@ Tips
Only d rive where it is permitted and stay
on marked roads and paths.
Explanation of some technical terms
T he following data refer to ideal cond itions .
Depend ing on ve hicle load and gro und condi­
tions and the environment, the numbers may
vary .
It is the driver's responsibility to decide
whether a veh icle can overcome a specific sit­
uat ion
c:::> &, .
Gradient angle
The number o f meters in altitude ga ined over
a distance of 109.4 ya rds or 100 meters
(grade) are given as a percentage o r 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 : 31
°
Lat eral angle (slo pe of veh icle )
Indicates the angle up to which the vehicle
can be driven diagona lly or across the fall line
on a slope without the vehicle tipp ing over
IJll,
•
•

For year-round driv ing, antifreeze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
- - 31 °F (- 35 °C) USA
- - 40 °F ( - 40 °C) Canada .
If you mus t add coolant, use a mixture of wa­
ter and coolant additive. Mixing the coolant
additive with distilled water is recommended .
A WARNING
-
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢
A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 257.
(D Note
-Before winter sets in, have the coolant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli­
mate conditions. This is especially impor­
tant if you live in a region where the win­
ter is extremely cold.
If necessary, in­
crease the proportion of coolant additive
to 60%.
- When adding coolant additive to your
cooling system, remember:
- We recommend using only coolant ad­
ditive Gl2++ or G13 for your vehicle.
This coolant additive is available at au­
thorized Audi dealers. Other types of
antifreeze can significantly reduce cor­
rosion protection . The resulting corro­
sion can cause a loss of coolant and se­
rious engine damage.
- Do not add any type of radiator leak seal­
ant to your vehicle's engine coolant.
Adding radiator repair fluid may adverse­
ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and could result in damage not covered by your New Vehicle
Limited Warranty.
Checking and filling 265
Checking the engine coolant level
T he engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance.
Fig. 245 En gin e compar tment: Coolant expansion tank
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine comport­
ment on page 257 .
.,. Park your vehicle on a level surface.
.,. Turn
off the ignition .
.,. Let the engine cool down.
.,. Place a thick rag over the coolant expans ion
tank ¢
fig. 245, c> page 259, fig. 241 and
carefully twist the cap counter-clockwise
¢,&. .
.,. Read the engine coolant level in the open
coolant expansion tank. With a cold engine,
the coolant level should be between the
"min " and "max" markings. When the en­
gine is warm, the level may be slightly
above
the "max" marking.
The location of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus­
tration
¢ page 259 .
To obtain an accurate reading, the engine
must be switched
off.
The expansion tank in your vehicle is equipped
with an electric coolant level sensor .
When the coolant level is too low, the warning
light in the Auto-Check System¢
page 32 will
blink until you add coolant and the level has
been restored to normal. Even though there is
an electric coolant level sensor, we still rec­ ommend you check the coolant level from
time to time .

-Antifreeze is poisonous . Always store an­
t ifreeze in its or iginal container and well
out of the reach of children.
- 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 re lief va lve 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 ¢
page 264 must be re­
stored as soon as possib le.
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained 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 the 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 auxilia ry
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself¢& , 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 hea ts up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight .
Checking and fillin g 267
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of personal injury nev­
er touch the rad iator 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 coo lant temper­
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brak e fluid lev el can be check ed with a
quick glance.
N
N
-N ,.
:8
Fi g. 246 En gin e compa rtm en t: cover o n the bra ke fluid
reservoir
Before you check anything in the eng ine com­
partment ,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 257.
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir ¢
fig. 246, ¢ page 259,
fig. 241.
The brake fluid level must be be­
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings .
The brake fluid reservoir is located at the rear
partition of the eng ine compartment on the
left side ¢
page 259.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads. This is not cause for alarm. ..,_