2014 AUDI Q7 Owner´s Manual

Relea sin g the teth er str ap
"' Loosen the tens ion following the child re ­
stra int manufac turer's instructions .
"' Depress the spring catch on the hook and re­
lease it from the anchorage.
"' For the second row of se ats: Push the floor­
ing forward into place aga in.
"' For the third row of seats:* Replace the
plast ic cover cap .
([) Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly insta lled for severa l
days, th is cou ld leave a mark on the up­
holstery on the seat cushion and bac krest
in the area whe re the tether strap was in­
s talled. The upho lstery wo uld a lso be per­
manently stretched around the tethe r
strap . This applies especially to leather
seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently , few rear-facing child restraint sys­
tems come w ith a tether . P lease read and
h eed the child restraint system manufactur­
e r's instruc tions caref ully to determine how to
p roperly insta ll the tethe r.
A WARNING ,~
A child in a rearward -facing child sa fety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag wi ll hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w ith great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door .
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­
ward-fac ing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat i n the
s ea t and regis ter a heavier we igh t in the
Advanced Airbag System. The heav ier
Child Sa fet y 223
weight registered can make the system
work as though an adult were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it must be suppressed causing ser ious or
even fatal injury to the ch ild.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan­
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately insta ll the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety sea t in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system i nspected by your
Audi dea le r.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
T he re a re a number of sour ces of add itiona l
information about child rest raint se lection, in ­
stallation and use:
N HT SA advises t hat the bes t chi ld safety seat
is the one that fi ts you r ch ild and fits in you r
vehicle, and that yo u will use correct ly and
consistently.
T ry before yo u buy!
U.S National Highway Traffi c Safety Admin­
i s tration
T el.: 1-888-3 27-4 236 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
http://www .nhtsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
http://www .safe kids.o rg
Safety BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 745 -SAFE (English)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Span ish)
http://www .ca rseat.org
Transport Canada Information C entre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 or call
1-613-998-86 16 if you a re in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/ roadsafety/
menu. htm
Audi Cu stomer R elation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
•
•

224 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facturers fo r the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event . EDRs are sometimes ca lled "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDRs that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
A lthough your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, engine function, emis­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts .
These electronic contro l modules also record
vehicle-related data during normal vehicle op­
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded with special equip­
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
The Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC) rein­
forces driver safety. It reduces the risk of slip ­
p ing and improves driving stability. ESC de­
tects cr itical s ituations such as the vehicle oversteering and
understeering or the wheels
spinning . The vehicle is stabilized by applying
the brakes or reducing engine torque . Once
the ESC is active, the indicator light
G1 blinks
in the instrument cluster.
ESC includes the anti-lock brake system (ABS),
brake assist system, anti-slip regulation
(ASR), electronic differential lock (EDL) and
hill descent control.
Anti-lock brake system (ABS)
ABS prevents the whee ls from locking up
when braking. The vehicle can still be steered
even during hard braking. App ly steady pres­
sure to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped­ al. A pulsing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is helping you to brake the vehicle .
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease braking
distance. It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake pedal quickly in emer­
gency situations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal until the situation is over . In
vehicles with adaptive cruise control*, the
brake assist system is more sensitive if the
distance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
small.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road conditions. This makes it easier to
sta rt, accelerate and drive up hills.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinning and
transfers the drive power to the other wheels .
This function is available up to about 60 mph
(100 km/h) .
In extreme cases, EDL automatically switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked wheel
from overheat ing. EDL will switch on again au­
tomat ically when conditions have returned to
normal.

A WARNING 1-=
-ESC, ABS, ASR and EDL cannot overcome
the laws of physics. This is espec ially im­
portant on slippery or wet roads. If the
systems begin act ing to stab ilize your ve­
hicle, you should immediately change
your speed to match the road and traffic conditions. Do not let the increased sa fe­
ty provided by these systems tempt you
to take r isks. Doing so will increase the
risk of a loss of vehicle control, collision
and ser ious persona l injuries.
- Always adapt your speed to road, traffic
and weather conditions. The risk of los­
ing control of the vehicle increases when
dr iv ing too fast, especially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
w hen driving too close to vehicles up
ahead. ESC, ABS, the b rake assist sys­
tem, ASR and EDL cannot prevent co lli­
sions.
Switching on/off --- -
Intellig ent technolog y 225
-Always accelerate with special care on
even, smooth surfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even with
these assistance systems that cannot al­
ways he lp to reduce the risk of loss of ve­
hicle control.
@ Tips
- ABS and ASR only work correctly when
all four wheels are equipped with identi­
cal tires. D iffe rent tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine powe r.
- Yo u may hear noises when the systems
descr ibed are working.
- If the ind icator light
DJ or ~ (USA
mode ls)/ ii] (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction~
page 16,
¢page 18.
•
•
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine .
. ...---------.,
--------------
Fig. 230 Upper center conso le : ~ O FF button
The fo llow ing situations are exceptions where
it may be useful to switch on offroad mode to
allow the whee ls to spin: -
Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Dr iving in deep snow or on loose ground
- Driving with snow chains
- Dr iving on roug h terrain when much of the
car's weight is lifted off the whee ls (ax le ar ­
ticu lation)
- Dr iving downhi ll wh ile braking on loose
ground

226 Intelligent technology
Offroad mode on Offroad mode off
Behavio r
The ESC and ASR stabilization functions The fu ll stabilization function of the ESC
are limited
c> Li::,. .
Operation Press the 1.$ OFFI button.
Indicator fl turns on.
lights
D rive r mes-
Stabilization control (ESC): Offroad.
sages Warning! Rest ricted stability
Hill descent control
The hill descent control is switched on in off­
road mode. When slowly descending steep
gradients on loose ground or when the axles
are articulated, h ill descent control provides
assistance by automatically applying the
brakes to keep vehicle speed constant. The ve­
h icle is also rendered easier to steer by selec­
tive distribution of braking force . Hill descent
control intervenes when:
- the accelerator pedal is not pressed,
- the vehicle is trave lling less than 12 mph
(20 km/h),
- a steep gradient is detected,
-wheel behavio r indicates loose ground or
conditions with poor adhesion (e .g. also ax le
articulation) .
H ill descent control operates both driving for ­
ward and in reverse . Active hill descent con­
trol is deactivated by pressing the accelerator
pedal until the conditions for activation al ­
ready listed are met again.
A WARNING
You should only switch offroad mode on if
your dr iving abilities and road cond itions
permit.
- The stabilization function is limited
when offroad mode is switched on. The
dr iv ing wheels could spin and the vehicle
cou ld swerve, especially on slick or slip­
pery road surfaces.
- You should only sw itch offroad mode on
when driving offroad. and ASR
is available again.
Press the
1 .$ OF FI button again.
fl turns off.
Stabilization control (ESC): On
(D Tips
Offroad mode cannot be switched on when
adaptive cruise control* is switched on .
Brake system
Operating conditions and driving habits
The brakes on today's automobiles are still
subject to wear, depending largely on operat­
ing conditions and driving habits
c> Li::,. . On
vehicles that are either driven most ly in stop­
and-go city traffic or are dr iven hard, the
brake pads should be checked by your author­
ized Audi dealer more often than specified in
the Warranty & Maintenance booklet . Failure
to have your brake pads inspected can result
in reduced brake performance.
On steep slopes, you should use the braking
effect of the engine . This way, you prevent un­
necessary wear on the brake system .
If you
must use your brakes, do not hold the brakes
down continuously. Pump the brakes at inter­
vals.
Noises may occur when braking depending on
the speed, b raking force and outs ide cond i­
tions such as temperature and humidity.
Moisture or road salt
Under certain conditions, for example, when
driv ing through water or very heavy rain, or
even after washing your veh icle, the braking
effect can be reduced due to moisture (or in
freezing conditions ice) on the bra ke pads. A
f ew careful brake applications should dry off
the brake pads or remove any ice coatings.
jll,,

When you are driving at higher speeds wit h
the windshield wipers on, the brake pads will briefly touch the brake d iscs in regular inter­
vals so as to improve reaction t ime when brak­
ing on wet surfaces. You, the driver, will not
notice anything .
The effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is driven on a salt-covered
road and the brakes are not used . Here too,
you should clean
off accumulated salt coat ing
from brake discs and pads with a few careful
applications of the brake ¢ & .
Cor ro sion
There may be a tendency for dirt to build up
on the brake pads and corrosion to form on
the discs if the car is not dr iven regularly or
only for sho rt trips with little use of the
b rakes .
If the brakes are not used frequently, or if cor­ rosion has formed on the discs, it is advisable
to clean
off the pads and discs by b rak ing
fi rm ly a few times from a mode rately h igh
speed ¢.& .
Faults in the brake system
If you should notice a sudden increase in
brake peda l travel, t hen one of the two brake
circu its may have failed¢& .
Low brake flu id le vel
Malfunct ions can occur in the brake system if
the brake fl uid level is too low . T he brake fluid
level is monitored electronically .
Brake booste r
The brake booster increases the pressure t hat
you generate w ith the bra ke pedal. It on ly op­
erates while the eng ine is running¢ &.
Brake lining wear statu s
Brake lining wea r may be c hecked by vis ual in­
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the openings in the whee l. If neces ­
sary, the whee l may be removed for this in­
spection ¢
page 297, Changing a wheel.
Intellig ent technolog y 22 7
A WARNING
-You should perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system only if road conditions permit.
Othe r road use rs must not be put at risk -
you may ca use an accident!
- Before descend ing a steep grade, reduce
speed a nd s hift transmission into a lower
gea r o r l ower dr iving range. Do not ride
the br akes or ho ld t he pedal down too
long o r too often. This could cause the
brakes to get hot and diminish braking
efficiency .
- Do not " ride the brakes" by rest ing you r
foot on the pedal when you do not intend
to brake. This may ca use the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopping distance .
- Under certain cl imatic and ope rat ing
conditions such as passing thro ugh wa­
ter , dr iv ing in heavy rain o r after washing
the vehicle , the effectiveness of the
brakes can be reduced . In winte r, ice can
accumu late on the bra ke pads, lin ings,
d iscs a nd drum s. Carefu lly app ly bra ke s
for a test. Brakes w ill dry and ice co at­
ings w ill be cleaned
off after a few care­
fu l brake applicat ions.
- Driving for an exten ded period o f time o n
salt -cove red roads without using your
brakes can a lso affect braking efficiency .
C lean
off accum ulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few careful
brake applications.
- I f you damage the front spoiler, o r if you
install a different spoiler, be sure the air
f low to the front brakes is not obstruct­
ed. Otherw ise the brak e system could
overheat reducing the effectiveness of
the entire brake system.
- Failure of one b rake circuit will impai r
the braking capab ility result ing in an in­
creased s topping distance. Avoid driving
the vehicle a nd have it towed to the ne ar­
est a uthorized Audi dea le r or qu alified
wo rkshop.
•
•

228 Intellig ent technol ogy
- Never let the vehicle ro ll to a stop with
the engine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not working, the
brake pedal must be pressed considera­
bly harder to make up for the lack of
booster assistance.
Servotronic - advanced
power steering system
The power steering systems uses the power of
the running engine to allow precise steering
with little effort.
The advanced Servotronic power steering sys­
tem senses the road speed and electronically
adjusts powe r assistance to provide comforta­
b le and safe steering response exact ly match­
ed to the vehicle speed.
Power steering w ill not work if the eng ine is
off. As a result, the steering wheel w ill be hard
to turn.
The power steering fluid level is checked dur­
ing the scheduled ma intenance serv ices .
@ Note
If the re is an electronic malfunct ion, ser­
votronic
w ill still function like a conven­
tional power steer ing system, p roviding a
constant steer ing support force that is no
longer proportionate to the vehicle speed .
This is most noticeab le when turning the
steering whee l at low speeds (for examp le
when parking), -more effort will be re­
quired than usual.
- Be aware of the different than usua l
steering response and adjust your steer­ i ng force accord ingly.
- Have the prob lem checked and set right
by an Aud i dealer as soon as possible.
- When the engine is running , never hold
the steering whee l turned all the way to
the right or to the left for longer than
15
seconds . The power steer ing pump w ill
overheat the hydraulic flu id if you keep holding the steering wheel turned all the
way . This is likely to damage the power
steering system.
- If the powe r stee ring system sho uld fail
entirely, or if the engine is not running
(for example, whi le be ing towed), you
will still be able to steer the ve hicle.
However,
considerably more effort will
be required to do so .
- If the power steering system should
have a leak, or is not functioning proper­
ly, contact your author ized Audi dealer
immediately .
- The power steering system requ ires a
specially formulated hyd ra ulic fluid . The
powe r stee ring reservoir is the one locat­
ed farthest to the rear on the left s ide of
the engine comp artment r=;,
page 259.
T he correct fluid level in the reservoir is
important for proper functioning of the
power steering .
Driving with your
quattro
With all-wheel drive , all four wheels are driv­
en .
Gen eral information
With all-wheel drive, power is distributed to
all four wheels. This happens au toma tically
depending on your driving style and the road
condit ions at the time . See also r=;,
page 224 .
Winter tire s
When driving in the winter, yo ur vehicle with
a ll-wheel drive has an advantage, even wi th
regular tires . In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all -sea ­
son tires) for improved dr iveability and brak­
ing : these tires must be mounted o n
all four
wheels. See also r=;, page 288, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this normally also appl ies to veh icles
with all-wheel driver=;,
page 289, Snow
chains .

Replacing wh eels/ tire s
Vehicles w ith all-wheel drive must a lways
have tires of the same size. Also avoid tires
with different tread depths. For details see
page ¢
page 284, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels .
.&_ WARNING
Always adjust your driving to road and traf­
fic conditions . Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel dr ive tempt you into
tak ing extra risks.
-Although the all-wheel dr ive is very ef­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is limited by t ire traction . You
sho uld therefore not dr ive at excessive
speeds on icy or s lippery road surfaces.
- On wet road su rfaces, be careful not to
dr ive too fast because t he front wheels
cou ld beg in to s lide on top of the wa ter
(aquaplaning). If this sho uld occ ur, you
w ill have no warning from a sudden in­
crease in engine speed as with a front­
whee l drive vehicle. A lways drive at
speeds wh ich are suited to the road con­
ditions -risk of c rash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting
the engine.
I f a vehicle w it h a conventional energy system
i s not driven for a long pe riod of time, the bat­
tery is disch arged by idling c urrent cons umers
(e .g. immobilizer) . In ce rtain c ircumstances it
can result in there being insufficient energy
ava ilab le to start the engine .
I n tell igen t energy management in your vehi ­
cle hand les the d istribution of electrical ener ­
gy . Starting abi lity is marked ly imp roved and
the life of the battery is extended.
Int ellig ent technolog y 229
Basica lly, energy management consis ts of
batte ry diagnosi s, idling cur rent manage­
ment
and dynamic energy management.
Battery diagnosis
B attery diagnosis continuously de termines
the state of the battery . Sensors determine
batte ry voltage, battery current and battery
temperature . This determines the current
state of charge and the power of the battery.
Idling current management
Id lin g cur ren t man agement reduces energy
consumption while the vehi cle is standing.
With the ig nition switched off, it controls the
energy supply to the various electrical compo­ nents. Data from battery diagnos is is cons id­
ered.
Depend ing on the battery's state of cha rge,
individual cons umers are gradually turned off
to prevent excessive discharge of the battery
and thus maintain starting capability.
Dynamic energy manag ement
While the vehicle is being driven, dynamic en ­
ergy management distrib utes the energy ge n­
erated according to the needs of the individ u­
al components. It regulates consumption, so
that more electrical energy is not being used
than is be ing generated and ensures an opti­
mal state of charge for the battery .
(D Tips
-But even e nergy management cannot
negate the limits of physics. Consider
t hat the powe r and l ife of a bat tery are
l imited.
- If start ing ability is threatened, you are
informed by a warning ¢
page 230,
Driver notification in the instrument
cluster display.
•
•

230 Intellig ent technol ogy
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capability.
The battery is severely taxed in short-distance
driving, in city traffic and during the cold time
of year. Abundant electr ical energy is re­
qu ired, but only a little is generated. It is also
cr itical if the e ngine is not running and elect ri­
cal components a re turned on. In th is in­
stance energy is being consumed but none is being generated .
I t is in precisely these situations that you w ill
notice energy management actively regulat­
ing the distrib ution of energy.
Vehicle stand s for an ext ende d period
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, electrical compo­
nents are gradually cut back o r switched off .
This reduces energy cons umption and main­
tains starting capab ility
over a longer period.
Take into consideration that when you un lock
your ve hicle, some convenience functions,
such as the interior ligh ts or the power seat
ad justmen t, may not be available. The con­
venience functions will be available again
when you turn on the ignition and start the
engine.
With the engine turned off
I f you listen to the radio, for example, with
the eng ine turned off or use other MM I func­
tions, the battery is being discharged .
I f sta rting capability is jeopa rdized due to en­
e rgy consumpt ion, the follow ing warning ap­
pears in the MMI disp lay:
Ple ase s tart engin e, otherwi se system will
s wit ch off in 3 minute s.
The warning ind icates that the system will be
turned off automatically after 3 m inutes .
If
you wish to cont inue us ing the functions, you
have to start the engine.
With the eng in e runnin g
Although e lectrical energy is gene rated when
the vehicle is being driven, the battery can be­
come discharged. This happens mostly when
little energy is being generated and a great
deal consumed and the battery's state of
charge is not optimal.
To bring the energy balance back into equili­ brium, consumers which req uire especially
large amounts of energy are temporar ily cut
back or sw itched off. Heat ing systems in par­
t icular require a great deal of energy. If you
notice, for example, that the heated seats* or
the heated rear window are not heating, they
have been tempora rily cut back or switched
off . These systems w ill be available again as
soon as t he energy balance has been restored.
You w ill also notice that engine id le speed has
been increased slightly . T h is is normal and not
a cause for con cern. By inc reas ing engine id le
speed the additional energy required is gener­
ated and the battery is charged.
Driver notification in the instrument
cluster display
If battery power drops into the range where it
can limit the ability of the engine to start, this
is shown in the instrument cluster display
with the fo llow ing driver message:
(•) low batte ry charge: bat tery w ill be
ch arg ed whil e dri ving
This notificat ion reminds you that the starting
capability of the engine may be lim ited. As
soon as you start dr iv ing again, the battery
will be recharged and the not ificat io n will go
out .
Driver notific ation app ear s a nd goe s out
again
If this driver notification appears after the ig­
nition is turned on or wh ile driving and it goes
out again after a while, the battery has been
adequately recharged. .,.