2014 AUDI Q7 page 27

-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. ..,_

268 Check ing and filling
If the brake fluid level falls considerably be­
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indi­
cator light (U .S . mode ls:
1111 , Canadian
models: .) will come on
<::> page 19 and
<::> page 32. Do not continue to operate the ve­
h icle . The complete brake system should be
thoroughly checked by an authorized Aud i
dea ler or qualified workshop and the cause
corrected. If the brake fluid level is too low,
the brake warning/indicator light will illum i­
nate . Contact an authorized Aud i dealer
im­
m ediatel y.
@ Tips
The brake fluid rese rvoir is located unde r­
neath the cove r.
Changing brake fluid
Hove the broke fluid changed by on experi­
enced technician.
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
h igh , corrosion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime. The bo iling po int of the
brake fluid wi ll also decrease considerably and
decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
e ver y tw o year s. Always use new b rake fluid
which conforms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 1 16 DO T 4".
The brake flu id reservo ir can be difficult to
reach, therefore, we recommend that yo u
have the brake f luid changed by you r author­
ized
Audi dea ler. Your dea ler has the correct
too ls, the right brake fluid and the know -how
to do this for you.
A WARNING
- Brake fluid is poisonous . It must be stor­
ed only i n the closed orig inal container
o ut of the reach of children!
- Brake fa ilure can result from old or inap­
propriate b rake fluid. Observe these pre­
caut ions: -
Use only brake fluid that meets SAE
specification
J 1703 and conforms to
Federa l Motor Vehicle Standard 116.
Always check with your authorized Audi
dealer to make sure you are using the
correct brake fluid . The correct type of
brake f lu id is also ind icated on the
brake flu id reservoir.
- T he brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the bra kes ca n cau se a vapo r lock if
the b rake fluid is left in the system too
l ong . This can seriously affect the effi ­
c iency of the brakes as well as your
safety. This co uld resu lt in an accident.
(D Note
Bra ke fluid will damage the paint of you r
vehicle .
(® For the sake of the environment
Because of the p rob lem of p roper disposal
of b ra ke fluid as well as the spec ial too ls
r equired and the necessary expertise, we
re commend that yo u have the brake fluid
changed by yo ur authorized Aud i dea ler.
Battery
General information
U nder normal ope rat ing cond itions, the bat­
tery in yo ur Audi does not need any ma inte­
nance. With
high o utside tempe ra tur es or
l ong dai ly drives we recommend that you have
the e lectrolyte level checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop. The elec­
trolyte level should also be checked each time
the battery is charged
<::> page 2 70.
Have the battery checked when yo u take your
vehicle in for service. You are well advised to replace a battery that is o lder than 5 years .
With certain types of airbag deployment, the batte ry is disconnected from the veh icle elec­
trical system for safety reasons¢.&
in Re ­
pair , core and disposal of the airbags on
page 197.
~

Disconne cting the batt ery t erminals
Some vehicle functions (power w indow regu ­
l ators, for example) are lost if the battery ter­
minals are disconnected . These functions have
to be re learned after the battery terminals are
connected again. To prevent this, the battery
should only be disconnected from the vehicle
electrical system when absolutely necessary
for repairs .
Vehicle s not driven fo r lo ng period s
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, electrical compo­
nents are gradually cut back or switched off .
This reduces energy consumption and main­
tains starting capab ility over a longer per iod
¢ page 229 .
Take into consideration that when you unlock
your vehicle, some convenience functions,
such as the inter ior lights or the power seat
adjustment, may not be available . The con­
ve nience funct ions w ill be available again
when yo u turn on the ignition and start the
engine.
Winter op eration
During the winter months, battery capacity
tends to decrease as tempe ratures d rop . This
i s because more powe r is also consumed while
start ing, and the headl ights, rea r window de ­
fogger, etc., are used more often.
Avo id unnecessary power consumption, par­
ticularly in c ity t raffic or when t rave ling on ly
short d istances. Let you r autho rized Aud i
dealer check the capacity of the vehicle bat­
tery before winter sets in ¢
page 270. A we ll
charged battery wi ll not only prevent starting
prob lems when the weather is cold, but will
also last longer .
If your vehicle is left standing for severa l
weeks at extremely low temperat ures, the
veh icle battery should be removed and
stored where it will not freeze. This will
prevent it from bei ng damaged and hav ing
to be replaced.
Checkin g and fillin g 269
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is located under the driver 's seat.
Before you check anyth ing under the dr iver's
seat,
read and h eed all WARNINGS G &_ .
Always heed the safety warnings , when work­
ing on the vehicle battery or the vehicle e lec­
trical system to prevent injury .
The following WARNINGS are ver y
important when working on the batter y:
Alway s heed the following WARN IN G SY M-
BOLS a nd safety p re caution s when working
on the battery .
®
Alway s wear e ye prote ction.
&
Bat te ry acid contains s ulfuric acid. Al-
ways w ear glov es and ey e prot ect ion .
@
No
-spar ks
- flames
- smo kin g.
A
When a batt ery i s charged , it produ ce s
hydro gen g as whi ch i s explo sive and
c o uld cau se pe rsonal injur y.
®
Alw ays k eep th e batt ery w ell out of
reac h of chi ldr en .
.8, WARNING
Whenever working on the battery or on
the electrical system, there is the risk of
injury, accident and even fire . Read and
heed the following WARNINGS:
- Always wear eye protection. Do not let
battery ac id or any lead particles get on
your skin or clothing . Shield you r eyes .
Exp losive gases can cause blindness or
other injury.
- Battery acid contains sulfuric acid. Sulfu­
ric acid can cause blindness and severe
burns.
- Always wear g loves and eye protection.
-
Do no t tilt the ba ttery because acid .,. •
•

Always read and heed all WARNING S below
¢ A. and
¢A. in Working on the battery on
page 269.
.,. Turn off the ignit ion and a ll electrical con­
s u mers .
.,. Make sure the area is well vent ilated when
you charge the battery.
.,. Open the hood¢
page 257.
.,. Open the red cover on the posit ive pole
¢ fig . 247.
.,. Connect the charger connectors accord ing to
the instructions to the
jump start bolt s.
(Bolts unde r the red cover= "positive", Bolts
with hex head= "negative") .
.,. Only now pl ug the mains lead for the charg­
ing equipment into the wall outlet and turn
it on ¢
A_.
.,. Make su re the charging rate i s not o ver
30 arnp s/14.8 Volt.
.,. When the battery is fully charged: Turn the
charging equ ipment
off and remove the
mai ns lead from the wa ll outlet.
.,. Now remove the clamps for the charging
equipment.
.,. Close the red cove r on the pos it ive po le.
.,. Close the hood¢
page 257.
A discharged batte ry can fr eez e at tempera­
t ures of only O
0C. Allow a frozen batte ry to
thaw comp letely before a ttempting to charge
it ¢& . However, we recommend not using a
thawed battery again because the battery cas­
ing can be cracked due to ice formation and
can leak battery acid.
Battery charging (Ma ximum charging rate
o f 30 amp s/14 .8 Volt)
When charging at low voltages (e.g . w ith a
tric kle charger ), the battery cables do not
h ave to be disconnected first. The battery
caps should
not be opened when charging a
battery .
It is not necessary to remove the battery from
the luggage compartment.
Checkin g and fillin g 2 71
Fast charging the battery (cha rging rate
ab ove 14 .8 V olt s)
For technical reasons do not use a battery
charger that uses voltage greater than 14.8
Volts to charge your vehicle's battery.
A WARNING
~ -
Charging a battery can be dangerous .
-Always follow the operating instructions
provided by the battery charger manu­
facturer when charg ing your battery .
- Never charge a frozen battery.
It may ex­
plode because of gas trapped in the ice.
Allow a frozen batte ry to thaw out f irst.
- Do not reuse batteries wh ic h were fro­
zen. The battery hous ing may have
cracked and weakened when t he battery
froze.
- Charge the battery in a well ventilated area. Keep away from open flame or elec­
tr ica l spar k. Do not smoke. Hyd rogen gas
genera ted by the battery is explos ive .
- To reduce the danger of explosion, never
connect or d isconnect c harger cab les
while the charger i s ope rat ing .
- Fast cha rging a batte ry is dange rous and
should only be a ttempted by a compe­
tent techn ic ian wi th the p rope r equip­
men t.
- Battery acid tha t may spi ll dur ing cha rg­
ing should be washe d
off with a solu tion
of wa rm water and baking soda to neu ­
tralize the acid.
([) Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to
star t the engine. This w ill seriously dam­
age sens it ive e lectronic com ponen ts, s uch
as contro l units, re lays, radio, etc., as well
as the batte ry charger. •
•

272 Ch eck ing and filling
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifi­
cations and dimensions as the original equip­
ment battery.
Intelligen t energy management in your veh i­
cle is respons ible for d istributing the e lectr i­
cal en ergy throughout your vehicle
¢
page 229. T he intell igent e nergy manage­
ment system w ill keep the eng ine battery
cha rged better then vehicles w ithout this sys­
tem . To make sure the additional e lectrica l en ­
ergy is availab le once again after you have
changed the battery, we recommend that you install batteries of the same type and manu­
facture only (the same as those installed at
the time your vehicle was delivered). Specifi­
cations are listed on the battery hous ing . Your
author ized dealer must code the battery in
the ene rgy management system to enable you
to use the energy management f unct ions co r­
rectly after replac ing the battery.
If it is not poss ible to use a battery of this
type, the new battery must have the same ca­
pac ity, voltage (12 volts), amperage , con­
struction and plug seal ing.
When insta lling the battery, make sure the ig­
n it ion and all e lectr ica l consumers a re turned
off.
Q;) Note
Make sure the venti lation hose on the s ide
of the battery is connected, otherwise
fumes or battery ac id can leak o ut.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper d isposa l
of a battery, we recommend your autho r­
i z ed Audi dealer change the ba tte ry for
you. Bat teries con tain s ulfu ric ac id and
lead and m ust always be disposed of prop ­
erly in compliance with all environmental
reg ulations. Disposing of vehicle batteries
improper ly is very dangerous to the envi­
ronment.
Windshield/headlight
washer container
F ig . 24 8 Eng in e compar tment : cover on t he wi nds hield
and headl ig ht* washe r flu id reservoi r
The washer fluid co nta iner is marked w ith the
symbol Won its cap ¢
fig. 248, ¢ page 259,
fig. 241 .
.. Before you check anything in the engine
compartment,
alwa ys read and he ed all
W ARNING S
¢ & in Working in the engine
compartment on page 257 .
.. Lift the fille r cap tongue to add washer flu­
id. You can fi ll the container to the top.
.. Press the cap back onto the fi ller neck afte r
fi lling the container.
You can find the reservo ir
capacity in the table
in
¢ page 315.
Clean water should be used when filling up . If
poss ible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
the washer jets. A lways add a glass clea ne r
so lution (with frost prote ction in the winter).
0 Note
Do not mix engine coolant antifreeze o r
any other additives to fill up the wind­
s hi eld washer rese rvoir.

Tires and wheels
Tires
General notes
Tires may be the least appreciated and most
abused parts of a motor vehicle .
Tires may be the least appreciated and most
abused parts of a motor vehicle . T ires are,
however, one of the most important parts of a
vehicle, particularly considering the compara­
tively small patch of rubber on eac h tire that
assures that a ll- important contact between
you, you r vehicle and the road.
Maintaining the correct tire pressure, mak ing
sure that your vehicle and its tires do not have
to carry mo re weight than they can safely han­
d le, avoiding damage from road hazards and
r eg ularly inspec ting t ires for damage i nclud­
ing cuts, slashes irregu la r wear and ove rall
condition are the most important things that
you can do to he lp avoid sudden tire failure in­
cluding tread separat ion and blowouts.
Avoiding damage If you have to d rive over a curb or similar ob­
stacle, drive very slow ly and as close as possi ­
b le at a right angle to the curb.
A lways keep chemicals includ ing grease, o il ,
gasoline and brake fluid off the t ires .
I nspect the t ires regularly for damage (cuts,
cracks or b listers, etc.). Remove any fo reign
bod ies embedde d in the treads.
Storing tires Mark tires when you remove them to indicate
the direction of rotation . T his ensures you to
be ab le to mount them correctly when you re­
i nstall them .
When removed, the whee ls or t ires should be
sto red in a cool, d ry and preferably dark place .
Store tires in a vertical pos ition if they are not
mounted on rims, in a horizontal pos it ion if
they are mounted on rims .
Tires an d wheel s 273
New tires
New tir es have to be broken in ¢ & .
The tread depth of new t ires may vary, accord­
ing to the type a nd make of t ire and the tread
pa tte rn.
Hidden damage
Damage to tires and r ims is ofte n not readily
visible . If you notice unusual v ib rat io n or the
vehicle p ulls to one s ide, th is may ind icate
that one of the t ires has been damaged . T he
ti res m ust be chec ked immed iate ly by an au­
thorized Audi dea le r or q ua lified wor kshop .
Unidirectional tires
A un idirectional tire can be identified by ar­
rows on the s idewa ll, that po int in the direc­
tion the t ire is designed to rotate. You mus t
f ol low the specified di rection o f rotation . T his
is necessary so that these tires can develop
their optimum characteristics regarding grip, road noise, wear and hydrop laning resistance.
For more information ¢
page 301.
A WARNING
New tires or t ires that are o ld, worn or
damaged cannot provide maximum con­
trol and braking ability .
-
-New tires tend to be slippery and must
be broken in. To reduce the r isk of losing
control, a co llision and ser ious personal
in ju ries, d rive with special ca re fo r the
fi rst 350 m iles ( 560 km).
- Driving with worn or damaged tires can
lead to loss of control, sudden tire fail­
ure, including a blowout and sudden de­
fl ation, c ras hes and se riou s personal in­
juries . Have wo rn or damaged t ires re­
placed immediate ly.
- Ti res age even if they are not being used
and can fai l sudden ly, especially at hig h
spee ds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith special care and at low
speed.
•
•

Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs.
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that a tire is rated
to carry for a given inflation pressure. You
may not find this information on all tires be­
cause it is no t req uired by law.
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a t ire at the max i­
mum permissible inflation pressure for that
tire.
Maximum loaded vehicle weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Maximum (permissible) inflation pressure
means the maximum cold inflation pressure
to which a tire may be inflated. Also called "maximum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms) times the
number of occupants seated in the vehicle up
to the total seating capacity of your vehicle.
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants in a vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overa ll diamete r of an inflated new
tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteri­
ors of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, includ ­
in g elevations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands or ribs.
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated parallel cords.
Tires and wheels 275
Production options weight
means the combined weight of those installed
regular production options we ighing over 5
lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard items
which they replace, not previously considered
in curb weight or accessory weight, including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof rack,
heavy duty battery, and spec ial tr im .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which the ply cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substan­
tia lly 90 degrees to the center line of the
tread .
Recommended inflation pressure
see ¢ page 2 7 4, Cold tire inflation pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a t ire design to operate at higher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than the cor­
re sp onding standard tire. Reinforced tires
may be identified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA LOAD",
or "RF" on the sidewa ll.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a t ire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated.
Rim diameter
means nom inal diameter of the bead seat. If
you change your wheel s ize, you will have to
purchase new tires to match the new rim di­
ameter.
Rim size designation
means r im diameter and width .
Rim width
means nominal distance between rim flanges .
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire between the
tread and bead.
•
•

2 76 Tires and wheels
Speed rating (letter code)
means t he speed at wh ic h a tir e is des igned to
be d riven for extended per io d s of t ime. The
ratings range from 93 mph (150 km/h) to
186 mph (298 km/h)
¢ page 285. You may
not find this informat ion on all tires because
it is not required by law.
The speed rating letter code, w here applica­
b le, is molded on the tire sidewa ll and indi­
cates the maxim um permissible road speeds
¢ &. in Winter tires on page 289.
Tire pres sure monitoring sy stem
means a sys tem that detects when one or
mo re of a vehicle's t ires are under inflated and
i l lum inates a low t ire p ress ure warn ing te ll­
tale.
Tread
means t hat port ion of a tire tha t comes into
con tact w it h t he road.
Tread separation
means pull ing away of the t read from the t ire
car cass.
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means t he p rojections withi n the pr inc ipal
g rooves desig ned to give a v isua l ind ication of
the deg rees of wear of the tre ad. See
¢
pag e 283, Tread W ear Indicator (TWI) for
mo re in format io n on measu ring tire we ar.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a ti re i nfo rmation system developed by the
United States Nat io nal Highway Traffic Safety
Admin istration (N HTSA) that is designed to
h e lp buye rs make re lative compa risons among
tires. The UTQG i s not a s afety r ating and not a
g ua ran tee t hat a tire will las t fo r a presc ribed
n umber of m iles (kilome ters) or pe rform in a
certain way. It s imply gives tire b uye rs addi­
tional information to combine with other con- s
iderations, such as p rice, b rand loya lty and
dealer recommendations. Un der UTQG, tires
are grade d by the t ire manufacturers in three
areas: treadwear, traction, and temperature
resistance. The UTQG informat ion on the tires,
molded into the sidewalls .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN)
T his is the tire's "se ria l number" It begins
with the letters "DOT" and ind icates that the
t ire meets all federa l standards. The next two
numbers o r letters ind icate the plant where it
was ma nufactu red, and the last four numbers
represe nt th e week and year of ma nufact ure.
For exampl e,
DOT ... 2213 ...
means that the tire was produced in t he 22nd
wee k of 2013. The other numbers are market­
ing codes that may or may not be used by the
t ire manufacturer. This information is used to
contact consumers if a tire defect requires a
r ecall.
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and luggage load plus
150 lbs. (68 k ilograms) times the vehicle's to­
ta l seating capacity as listed on the label lo­
cated on the driver's side B-p illa r.
Vehicle maximum lo ad on the tire
means that load on an individua l tire that is
determined by distributing to eac h ax le its
share of the maxim um loaded vehicle weight
and divid ing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load o n an individua l t ir e that is
determined by distrib uting to eac h ax le its
share of the curb weight, accessory weight, and normal occ upant weig ht (d istr ibuted in
accordance with tab le below¢
page 2 77)
and divid ing by two .