2014 AUDI Q7 warning

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 .,. •
•

2 70 Checking and filling
could leak out of the ventilation
openings.
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or
on your skin, immediately rinse with
cold water for several minutes and get
medical attention.
- If you should ingest any battery acid,
seek medical attention immediately.
- Do not expose the battery to an open
flame, electric sparks or an open light.
- Do not smoke.
- Do not interchange the positive and neg-
ative cables.
- When working on the battery , be sure
not to short-circuit the terminals with
tools or other metal objects. This would
cause the battery to heat up very quickly,
which could lead to damage or explosion
and personal injury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal injury .
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children .
- Before work is done on the electrical sys­
tem, disconnect the negative ground ca­
ble .
- Before performing any work on the elec­
trical system, switch off the engine and
ignition as well as any electrical equip­
ment. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected. If you are just go­
ing to replace a light bulb, then it is
enough to switch off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other­
wise you will set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first
disconnect the negative cable and then
the positive cable .
- Before reconnecting the battery, make
sure all electrical consumers are switch­
ed off. Reconnect the positive cable first
and then the negative cable. Never inter­
change the cables -this could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out
battery. It could explode! If a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced. A dis- charged battery can freeze over at 32
°F
(0 oc).
-Make sure the vent hose is always attach­
ed to the opening on the side of the bat­
tery .
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Al­
ways replace a damaged battery.
A WARNING
-
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac­
cessories contain lead and lead com­
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc­
tive problems. Wash hands after han­
dling.
(D Note
- Do not disconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is switched on or when
the engine is running, otherwise, you will
damage electronic components in the
electrical system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a
long period of ti me without being driven,
protect the battery from "freezing", oth­
erwise it will be damaged and will then
have to be replaced.
Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged
battery.
Fig. 247 E ngin e compart men t: Co nnectors fo r charger
and j umper cab les
Ill>

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. •
•

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.
•
•

& WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve­
hicle control, a crash or other accident, se­
rious personal injury, and even death .
- Carrying more weight than yo ur vehicle
was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in­ crease the risk of a loss of veh icle con­
trol.
- The brakes on a veh icle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
vehicle within a safe distance .
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload­
ed can fail suddenly causing loss of con­
tro l and a crash .
- Always make sure that the tota l load be­
ing transported -including the we ight of
a tra ile r hi tch and the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer -does not make the veh i­
cle heav ier than the veh icle's Gross Vehi­
cl e Weight Rating.
& WARNING
- Incorre ct tire pressures and/or underin­
fla tion can lead to a serious o r fatal acci­
dent.
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation cause increased tire wear and can
affect the handling of the vehicle .
- Incorre ct tire pressures and/or underin­
fla tion can also lead to sudden tire fa il­
ure, incl uding a blowo ut and sudden de­
flation, causing loss of vehicle control.
Checking tire pressure
-
The correct tire pressure for the tires original ­
ly installed on your vehicle is listed on the tire
pressure label located on driver's side 8-pil­ lar.
The recommended tire pressures are on the
tire pressure label and in the tab le
c:::> page 277, Cold tire inflation pressure .Th is
means that the pressure must be checked and
adjusted when the tire has not been driven for more than a couple of m iles (kilometers) at
low speeds during the p revious three hours .
Tires an d wheel s 2 79
Air in the tires expands when the tire heats up
as a result of internal friction as it flexes in
u se . The tire pressure is h igher when the tire
has warmed up than when it is "cold."
It is the inflation pressure in a "co ld" t ire that
counts . The refore, you should never let air o ut
of a warm tire to match "Cold t ire in flat ion
pressure" recommendat ions ¢
page 277 . The
tires wo uld then be underinf lated and could
fail suddenly .
The t ire pressure label on your Audi lists the
recommended co ld tire inflation pressures at
maximum capacity for the new, orig inal
equipment tires that were on your ve hicle at
the time it was ma nufactured . For the loca­
tion of the labe l
¢page 277, fig . 249 .
Most tires lose air naturally over t ime . They
can a lso lose some air if you drive over a pot ­
hole or hit a curb while park ing.
It is usually
not poss ible to see whethe r the rad ia l tires
u sed today are under inflated just by loo kin g
at them.
T herefo re, be su re to check t ire pressu res at
l east once a mo nth and a lways befo re go ing
o n a long tr ip. Ma ke s ure to ta ke t he number
of peop le and the amount of luggage in to ac­
count when ad justing tire pressu re for a trip -
even one that yo u wo uld not conside r to be
"long." See¢
page 281, Tires and vehicle
load limits
for more important information .
A lways use an acc ura te tire pressu re ga uge
when checking and adj usting inf lation pres ­
s ur es . Check a ll of the tires and be sure not to
forget the spare tire. If the pressure in any t ire
is too high when the tire is "cold," let a ir o ut
of the t ire s low ly w ith the edge of the tire
gauge and keep checking the pressure until
yo u reach the pressure that is correct for the
load (passengers and luggage) and k ind of
driv ing you plan to do.
If the pressure in any tire is too low, note the
difference between the pressure i n the cold
t ir e and the pressu re you need and add the air
t h at you need to reach the cor re ct pressure for
the ve hicle load (passengers and luggage) for
the tires on your vehi cle as listed on the on •
•

28 0 T ire s and wheel s
your veh icle and in this manua l and the kind
of driving yo u plan to do .
Neve r e xcee d the m ax imum inflati on pres­
s u re list e d on th e tir e s ide wall f or a ny r ea­
s on.
Remember that the vehicle manufacturer, not
the tire manufacturer , determ ines the co rrect
tire pressure for the t ires on your veh icle .
It is important to check the tire pressure when
the tires a re cold .
- Read the required t ire pres sure from the tire
pressure label. The ti re pressure label is lo­
cated on the driver's side 8-p illar . The t ire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
t ire inflat ion p ressu res for the veh icle at its
maximum capacity we ight and the tires that
were on you r vehicle at the time it was man­
ufactured . For recommended tire pressures
for normal load condit ions, please see chap­
ter
c:> page 2 77.
- Turn the valve stem cap counter-clockwise
to remove it from the tire valve.
- Place the a ir pressure gauge on the valve.
- T he tire pressures should on ly be checked
and adjusted when the tires are cold. The
s li ghtly raised pressures of warm tires must
not be reduced.
- Adjust the tire pressure to the load you are
carrying .
- Reinsta ll the va lve stem cap on the valve.
When should I check the tire pressur e?
The correct tire pressure is especially impor­
tant at high speeds. The pressure should
therefore be checked at least once a month
and always befo re starting a journey. Do not
forget to check the tire pressure for the spare wheel.
When should I ad ju st th e tire p re ss ures?
Adj ust the tire p ressure to the load you are
carry ing . After chang ing a wheel
or replacing
wheels you have to adjust the tire pressures
on all wheels . In addition, you must then
store the new tire press ures in the tir e pres­
sure monito ring system
c:> page 293.
A WARNING
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinfla­
tion can lead sudden tire fa ilure, loss of
control, collision, serious personal injury
or even death .
- When the warn ing symbol
[I] appears in
the instrument cluster, stop and inspect
the t ires.
- Incorrect tire pressure and/or underinfla­
tion can cause increased tire wear and
can affect the hand ling of the vehicle and
stopping abi lity.
- I nco rrect tire pressures a nd/or underin­
f lation can a lso lead to sudden t ire fail­
ure, including a blowout and sudden de­
flation, ca using loss of vehicle contro l.
- The drive r is responsible for the correc t
tire pressures for all tires on the veh icle.
The applicable pressure values are locat ­
ed on a sticker on the driver's side B -pil­
lar.
- On ly when all tires on the vehicle are fil­
led to the correct pressure, the tire pres­
sure mon itoring system can work cor­
rectly.
- The use of incorrect tire pressure va lues
can lead to acc idents or other damage.
Therefore it is essential that the driver
observe the spec ified t ire pressure values
for the tires and the correct pressures for
the function of the t i re press ure monitor­
ing system.
- Always inflate t ires to the recommended
and correct t ire p ressure before dr iv ing
off.
- Driving with underinf lated tires bend
mo re, letting them get too hot resulting
in tread sepa ration, s udde n tire failure
and loss of cont ro l.
- E xcessive speed and/overloadi ng can
cause heat b uild- up, sudden tire failure
and loss of cont ro l.
- I f the tire pressure is too low or too high,
the t ires will wear prema turely and the
vehicle wi ll not handle well. ..,

-If the ti re is not flat and y ou do not have
to change a wheel immed iate ly, drive at
reduced speed to the nearest service sta­
t ion to check the tire pressure and add
air as required.
(D Note
Dr iving without va lve stem caps can cause
damage to the t ire va lves. To prevent this,
always make sure that factory installed
valve stem caps on all wheels are secu re 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 t hat any veh icle and any t ire ca n car ry.
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 contro l,
but can a lso damage important parts of the
vehicle and can lead to sudden tire failure, in­
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation that
can cause the ve hicle to crash.
Your safety and that of yo ur passenge rs a lso
depends on making sure that load limits are
not exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody
and everyth ing in and on the vehicle. These
load limits a re tech nica lly referred to as the
ve hicle's
Gross Veh icle Weight Rating
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the we ight of the basic
ve hicle, all factory installed accessories, a full
tank of f uel, oil, coo lant and othe r fluids plus
max imum load. The maximum load includes
the number o f passenger s that the ve hicl e is
intended to carry ("se ating capacity") w it h an
assumed weig ht o f 150 lbs (68 kg) for each
passenger at a designated seating position
and the tota l weight of any luggage in the ve­
h icle. If you tow a trailer, the weight of the
trailer hitch and the tong ue weight of the
Tire s an d wheel s 281
loaded tra ile r must be included as part of the
vehicle load .
T he
Gro ss Ax le Weight Rating (" GAWR") is
the max imum load th at can be applied at each
of the vehicle's two axles .
T he Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing and t he
G ross Ax le Weig ht Ra ting are l iste d on the
s af ety comp liance s tic ke r la bel lo cated on the
driver's side 8 -pillar . Your Audi has 5 seating
positions, 2 in the front and 3 in the rear fo r
total seating capacity of 5. On vehicles with
s ix seats*, your vehicle has two front seats,
two seats in the second row seat ing and two
seats in the th ird row seati ng. On veh icles
with seven seats*, your vehicle has two front
seats, t hree seats in the second row s eating
and two seats in t he third row seating. Ea ch
seat ing pos itio n has a se at belt
~page 174,
Safety be lts .
The fact that ther e is a n upper limit to you r
vehicle's G ross Vehicle Weigh t Rati ng means
that the to tal weig ht of whatever is bei ng car­
ried in the vehicle ( in cl ud ing the weight of a
trailer hitch and the tongue weight of the l oa ded trai le r) is limite d. 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 max imum combined weight of all of the
occupants and luggage or other cargo that
t h e ve hicle can carry. Fo r the locat ion of the
label
~page 277, fig . 249.
A WARNING
Overloading a veh icl e can cause loss of ve­
h icl e cont ro l, a crash or o ther accide nt, se­
rio us pe rson al inj ury, a nd eve n death .
- Ca rrying more we ight tha n your ve hicle
was des igned to carry w ill prevent the
veh icle from h andling proper ly and in ­
crease the risk of the loss o f vehicle con ­
trol.
•
•