2014 AUDI Q7 ABS

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.
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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

240 Trailer towing
Trailer towing
Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a trailer, p lease remember
that the additional load will affect durability,
economy and performance .
Trailer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
For this reason, always fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
@ Note
If you are going to tow a trai ler, you must
activate the trailer operation mode
c:::> page 159, Towing a trailer.
Technical requirements
Trailer hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer weight. The hitch must be suita­ ble for your vehicle and trailer and must be
mounted securely on the veh icle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a trailer
hitch with a removable ball mount. Always
check with the trailer hitch manufacturer to
make sure that you are using the cor rect
hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
The hitch must be installed in such a way that
it does not interfere with the impact-absorb­
ing bumper system. No modifications should
be made to the vehicle exhaust and brake sys­
tems. From time to time, check that all hitch
mounting bolts remain securely fastened.
When you are not towing a trailer, remove the
trai ler hitch ball mount. This prevents the
hitch from causing damage should your vehi­
cle be struck from behind
c:::> A.
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is equipped with a brakin g sys­
tem, check to be sure that it conforms to all
regulations.
T he trailer hydraulic brake system must not be
directly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
c:::> A .
Safety chains
Always use safety chains between your veh icle
and the tra iler.
Trailer lights
Trailer lights must meet all regulations. Be
sure to check with your authorized Audi dealer
for correct wiring, sw itches, and relays.
Mirrors
If you are unable to see the traffic behind you
using the regular outside mirrors, then you
must install extended mirrors.
It is important
that you always have clear v is ion to the rear .
A WARNING ,-
- If a trailer has electrical brakes please
note that these brakes are not activated
by the factory-fitted control unit -risk of
accident!
- Afte r removing the trailer hitch, do not
store it in yo ur vehicle. In case of sudden
braking, the hitch could fly forward and
injure you or your passengers.
- Never install a "weight distributing" or
"load equalizing" trailer hitch on your ve­
hicle. The vehicle was not designed for
these kinds of trailer hitches. The hitch
attachment can fail, causing the trailer
to tear loose from the vehicle.
- The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating for your
veh icle, found on the safety compliance
label on the driver's side B-pillar, must
never be exceeded under any c ircumstan­
ces. Exceeding the Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating of your vehicle is likely to damage
your vehicle, and such damage will not
be covered by your Limited New Vehicle
-
Warranty. Exceeding the Gross Vehicle ~

have become completely familiar with the way
your vehicle-trailer combination behaves and responds.
Backing up is difficu lt and requires practice.
Backing up with a trai ler genera lly requires
steering action opposite to that when backing up your vehicle without a trailer .
Maintain a greater distance between your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop . To compensate for the
trai ler, you will need a larger than norma l
turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot ac ­
celerate as fast as you normally would be ­
cause of the added load . Make sure you have
enough room to pass. After passing, allow plenty of room for your tra iler before chang­
ing lanes again .
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
@ Tips
- Do not tow a traile r during the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your A udi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load
<=> page 316.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer. If it can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol­
lowing:
When parking:
.. Apply the foot brake .
.. Have someone place chocks under both the
vehicle and the trai ler wheels .
.. With chocks in place, slowly re lease the
brakes until the wheel chocks absorb the
load .
.. Turn the wheels towards the curb .
.. Apply the parking brake .
.. Move the selector lever to P.
When restarting after parking:
.. Apply the foot brake.
Trailer towing 243
.. Start the engine.
.. Move the selector lever to D.
.. Release the parking brake and s low ly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks.
.. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks.
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the auto­
matic transmission to P before applying
the parking brake and before blocking the
whee ls, you may have to use more force
l ater to move the lever out of the
P posi­
tion.
•
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Vehicle care and cleaning 247
Component Situation Solution
Te xtile s,
Stains adhering to Vacuum cleaner
Vinyl, the surface
Alcantara Water-based stains Absorbent cloth and mild soap
solutional
such as coffee, tea, blood, etc.
Oil-based stains Apply a mild soap solutiona l, blot away the d issolved oil
such as oil, make- or dye, treat afterward w ith water, if necessary
up, etc.
Special stains such Special stain remover, b lot with absorbent material,
as ballpoint pen, treat afterward with mild soap solutiona l, if necessary
na il polish, latex
pa int, shoe polish,
etc.
Natural leather Fresh stains Cotton cloth with a mild soap solutiona l
Water-based stains Fresh sta ins: absorbent cloth
such as coffee, tea, Dried stains: stain remover suitable for leather
blood , etc .
Oil-based stains Fresh stains: absorbent cloth and stain remover suitable
such as oil, make- for leather
up , etc . dried sta ins: Oil cleaning spray
Special stains such Sta in remover suitable for leather
as ballpo int pen,
nai l polish, latex
paint, shoe polish,
etc.
Care Regularly apply conditioning cream that protects from
light and penetrates
into the material. Use specially-col-
ored conditioning cream, if necessary.
Carbon parts Dirty Clean the same way as plastic parts
al Mil d soap so lution: m axim um two ta bles poo ns neu tral soa p in a lite r of water
& WARNING
The windshie ld may not be treated with
water-repelling windshie ld coating agents .
Unfavorab le conditions such as wetness,
darkness, or low sun can result in in­
creased glare. W iper blade chatter is also
possible.
- Headlights/tail lights
- Never clean headlights or tail lights
w ith a dry cloth or sponge. -
Do not use any cleaning product that
contains alcohol, because they could
cause cracks to form.
-Wheels
-Never use any paint polish or other
abrasive mater ials.
- Damage to the protective layer on the
rims such as stone chips or scratches
must be repaired immediately .
-Sensors/camera lenses
- Never use warm or hot water to re-
move snow or ice from the camera
len s. This could cause the lens to crack .
IJII>
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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 .,. •
•

292 Tires and wheels
TPMS malfunction indicato r is combined with
the low tire pressure telltale . When the sys­
tem detects a malfunct ion, the te lltale will
flash for approximately one minute and then
remain continuously illuminated. This se­
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the malfunction exists.
When the malfunction indicator is illuminat­
ed, the system may not be able to detect or
signal low t ire pressure as intended. TPMS
malfunctions may occur for a variety of rea­
sons, includ ing the installat ion of replace­
ment or alt ernate tires or wheels on the vehi­
cle that prevent the TPMS from functioning
properly. Always check the TPMS malfunct ion
tellta le after replacing one or more tires or
wheels on your vehicle to ensure that the re­ p lacement or a lternate tires and wheels allow
the TPMS to continue to function properly.
Tire pressure indicator appears
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too
low or if there is a system malfunction.
Fig. 254 D isplay: underinflat ion wa rning
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure moni­
toring system compares the tire tread circum­
ference and vibration characteristics of the in­
dividual tires. If the pressure decreases in one
or more tires, this is indicated in the instr u­
ment cluster with a
[D] warning symbol and a
message ¢
fig. 254. The driver message in the
display goes out after S seconds. The driver
message can be displayed again by pressing
the
! CHECK I button . If only one tire is affect­
ed, the display will indicate its position . The tire pressure
monitoring must be reset via
MMI each time the pressures are adjusted (e.
g. when switching between partial and full
load pressure) or after changing or replacing a
tire on your vehicle¢
page 293. The TPMS in­
dicator on ly monitors the tire pressure that
you have prev iously stored . You can find the
re commended t ire pressures for your vehicle
on the label on driver's s ide B-pillar
¢page 277.
Tire tread circumference and vibration charac­
teristics can change and cause a tire pressure
warning if:
- the t ire pressure in one or more tires is too
low,
- the t ire has structural damage,
- the t ire pressure was changed, wheels rotat-
ed or replaced but the TPMS was not reset
¢page 293.
Warning symbols
[D] Loss of pressure in at least one tire¢.&. .
Check the tire or tires and replace or repa ir if
necessary. The
[I] indicator light in the instru­
ment cluster also illuminates
¢page 14.
Check/correct the pressures of all four tires
and reset TPMS via MMI.
@m (T ire Pressure Mon itor ing System) Tire
pressure: System malfunction!.
If ffiim appears afte r switching the ignition on
or whi le dr iving and the
[D] indicator light in
the instrument cluster blinks for approx i­
mately one minute and then stays on, there is
a system malfunct ion .
Attempt to store the correct tire pressure
¢
page 293. If the indicator light does not
turn off or if it turns on shortly thereafter, im­
med iate ly drive your vehicle to a n author ized
Audi dealer or authorized repair facility to
have the malfunction corrected.
.&_ WARNING
- If the tire pressure indicato r appears in
th e ins trum ent cluster display, one or
more of your tires is significantly under­
inflated . Reduce your speed immediately ..,_

and avoid any hard steering or braking
maneuvers. Stop as soon as possible and
check the tires and their pressures. In·
flate the tire pressure to the proper pres­
sure as indicated on the vehicle's tire
pressure label ¢
page 2 77. Driving on a
significantly under-inflated tire causes
the tire to overheat and can lead to tire
failure. Under-inflation also is likely to
impair the vehicle's handling and stop­
ping ability.
- The driver is responsible for maintaining
the correct tire pressures. You must
check the tire pressures regularly.
- Under certain conditions (such as a spor­
ty driving style, winter conditions or un­
paved roads), the pressure monitor indi­
cator may be delayed.
- Ask your authorized Audi dealer if run­
flat tires may be used on your vehicle.
Your vehicle registration becomes invalid
if you use these tires when not permit­
ted. Damage to your vehicle or accidents could also result.
@ Tips
- The tire pressure monitoring system
stops working when there is an ESC/ABS
malfunction.
- Using snow chains may result in a system
malfunction.
- The tire pressure monitoring system on
your Audi was developed using tires with
the "AO" or "RO" identification on the
tire sidewall¢
page 284. We recom­
mend using these tires.
Reset tire pressure monitoring system
If the tire pressure is adjusted, wheels are ro­ tated or changed, the TPMS must be reset via
MMI.
.,. Before resetting the TPMS, the current pres ­
sures of all four tires must correspond to
the specified values. Adjust the tire pressure and reset the pressure in the tire pressure
Tires and wheels 293
monitoring system according to the load
you are carrying
¢ page 277.
.,. Turn on the ignition.
.,. Select:
!CAR I function button > Systems*
control button > Tire pressure monitoring >
Store now. Or
.,. Select:
!CAR I function button> Car systems*
control button > Servicing & checks > Tire
pressure monitoring
> Store tire pressures .
@ Tips
Do not store the tire pressure if there are
snow chains on the tire.
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