2014 AUDI Q7 wheel

-when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem indicates that the front airbag on the
passenger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on)
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part
of their body too close to the area where
the airbags are located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be se­
riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
c> page 185.
A WARNING -
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be seriously injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer .
Airbag system 193
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenger seat . Objects
could move into the area of the front air­
bags during braking or other sudden ma­
neuvers and become dangerous projec­
tiles that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cupholders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move into the area of the side airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined.
- Never tilt the front passenger seat back­
rest forward when the vehicle is moving.
An inflating airbag will force the back­
rest backward and can injure rear seat oc­
cupants.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing problems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­ ing conditions.
-
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory
.___ c_ o_ n_ d_ it_ i_o _ ns_ sh_o_ u_ l_ d _:g:_ e_ t _f_re _s_ h_ a_ i_r _ri ..:::g :....h _t __
_J ~
•
•

turned off, and the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi. Installing,
removing, servici ng or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a co llision.
There are some important th ings you have to
know to make sure that the effect iveness of
the system will not be impa ired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or po l­
lute the env ironment.
_& WARNING
Improper ca re, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in ­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploy ing when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpected ly:
- Never cover, obstr uct, o r change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument pane l or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cu­
pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
pane l, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened w ith plain water. Solvents or
cleaners co uld damage the airbag cover
o r change the stiffness or strength of the
material so tha t the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protec t prope rly.
- Never repa ir, adjust, or change any par ts
of the airb ag sys tem.
- All wo rk on the stee ring wheel, inst ru­
ment pane l, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (incl uding t he inst allation of aud io
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
A irbag system 197
-For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that yo u see your
author ized Audi dealer or qualif ied work­
shop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
-Always make sure that the s ide a irbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or rep lace­
ment upholstery over the fron t seat­
backs tha t have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use addi tional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side a irbags
i nflate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or
to the seam in the area of the side ai r­
bag module must a lways be repaired
i mmediately by an author ized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it must be replaced by an authorized Aud i
deale r or qualified technician who has
the technical information, training and
specia l equipment necessary .
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace­
men t pa rts designed and approved espe­
cially fo r you r A udi model version. Re­
placemen t of complete airbag systems
or airbag components mus t be per ­
formed by qualified workshops on ly .
Make sure that any airbag serv ice action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alte rnator and starter are sepa rated
from the veh icle battery with a pyrotech­
nic circuit inte rrupte r.
- W ork on the pyrotechnic c ircuit inter ­
rupter m ust only be pe rformed by a
qualified dea le r - risk of an accident!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interr upter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be fo llowed.
•
•

-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
Child Safety 205
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­ cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight -sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight -sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the ..,.
•
•

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 .