2015 AUDI A7 mission

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Automatic Transmission
S tronic, tiptronic
Introduction
The automatic transmission is controlled elec­
tronically. The transmission upsh ifts or down­
shifts automatically depending on which drive
program is selected.
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
transmission selects the most econom ica l
driving mode. It will then change up early and
delay the downshifts to give better fuel econ­
omy.
The transmission switches to a sporty mode
after a kick-down or when the driver uses a
sporty driving style characterized by quick ac­
celerator pedal movements, heavy accelera­
tion, frequent changes in speed and traveling
at the maximum speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode) ¢ page 113.
Various automatic transmissions may be in­
stalled, depending on the model :
S tronic transmission
The S tronic is a dual-clutch transmission.
Power is transferred using two clutches that
work independently from one another . They
replace the torque convert er used in conven­
tional automatic transmissions and allow the
veh icle to accelerate without a noticeable in­
terruption in traction.
tiptronic transmission
In the tiptronic transmission, power is trans­
ferred by a torque converter .
Automatic Transmission 109
Selector lever positions
Fig. 118 D isp lay in the instrument clus te r: se le ctor
lever pos itio n
The selector lever position engaged appea rs
next to the selector lever as well as in the in­
str ument cluster display.
P- Park
In this selector lever position the transm is­
s ion is mechanica lly locked . Engage P only
when the vehicle is
completely stopped Q .&.
in Driving the automatic transmission on
page 111.
To shift in or out of posit ion P, you must first
press and hold the brake pedal and then press
the release button in the selector lever handle
whi le moving the selector lever to or from P.
You can shift out of this position on ly with the
ignit ion on .
R- Reverse
Select R only when the vehicle is at a full stop
and the engine is running at idle speed ¢.&. in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 111.
Before you move the selector lever to R, press
both the button in the hand le of the selec tor
lever
and the brake pedal at the same t i me .
When the ignition is on, the backup lights illu­
minate when the selector lever is moved into
R.
N -Neutral
The transmission is in neutral in this pos ition .
Sh ift to th is position for standing with the
brakes applied
¢.&. in Driving the automatic
transmission on page 111. ..,.

110 Automatic Transmission
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds be low 1 mph (2 km/h), you must always apply
the footbrake before and while moving the lever out of N .
DIS -Normal position for driving forward
In the D/S position, the transmission can be
operated either in the normal mode Dor in
the sport mode S . To select the sport mode S,
pull the selector lever back briefly. Pulling the
lever back again will select the normal mode
D. The instrument cluster display shows the
selected driving mode .
In the
normal mode D, the transmission auto ­
matically selects the su itab le gear ratio . It de­
pends on eng ine load, vehicle speed and driv­
ing style .
Select the
sport mode S for sporty driving.
The vehicle makes full use of the engine's
power . Shifting may become noticeable when
accelerating.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds below 1 mph (2 km/h), you must always apply
the foot brake before and while moving the lever to D/S out of N.
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS ¢.&. in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 111.
(D Note
Coasting downh ill with the transmission in
N and the engine not running w ill result in
damage to the automatic transmission
and possibly the catalyt ic converter.
(D Tips
-Audi drive select: you can ad just the
spo rty sh ift characteristics in the
Dy­
namic driving mode.Swill appear in the
instr ument cl uster display instead of D.
- If you accidentally select N while driv ing,
take your foot off the acce le rator pedal
i mmedia tely and wait for the engine to
s low down to idle before selecting D/S. -
If there is a power failure, the selector
lever wi ll not move out of the P position.
The emergency release can be used if
this happens ¢
page 115.
. Automatic Shift Lock (ASL)
The Automatic Shift Lock safeguards you
against accidentally shifting into a forward or the reverse gear and causing the vehicle to
move unintentionally.
0, N ,r g
*
)
Fig. 119 Shi ft gate : selector lever lock pos it ions and
release butto n highl ig h ted
The selector lever lock is released as follows:
... Turn the igni tion on.
... Step on the brake pedal.
At the same time
press and hold the release button on the
side of the gear selector knob
¢fig . 119
with your thumb until you have moved the
selector lever to the desired position.
Automatic selector lever lock
0
c1i
)
The selector lever is locked in the P and N po ­
sitions w hen the ignition is turned on. You
must press the brake pedal and the re lease
button to select another position . As a re­
minder to the driver, the following warning
appears in the instrument cluster display
when the selector is in P and N:
When stationary apply brake pedal while se­
lecting gear
The Automatic Shift Lock only functions when
the vehicle is stationary or at speeds below 1 mph (2 km/h).
At speeds above about 1 mph (2 km/h) the
Automatic Shift Lock is automatically deacti-
vated in the N position . ..,.

M N <( I.J "". rl I.O
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A time delay element prevents the selector
lever from locking when it is moved through
the N position (going from R to 0/5). The lock­
ing element will lock the selector lever if the
lever is left in N (Neutral) for more than ap­
prox imately 2 second, without the brake ped ­
al being pressed.
Release button
The release button on the selector lever pre­
vents the lever from being accidenta lly shifted
into certain positions. Depending on the direc­
tion of the shift, the selector lever locks at d if­
ferent positions . The positions a re highlighted
in the illustration
c::> fig. 119.
Driving the automatic transmission
Fig. 120 Shift gate on the center console: se lecto r lev­
er with release button
Starting the engine
.. The selector lever must be in P or N.
Starting off
.. Press and hold the brake pedal.
.. Press and hold the release button in these­
lector lever handle, select the desired selec­
tor lever position such as 0/5 and release
the button.
.. Wait briefly until the transmission has shift­
ed (you will feel a slight movement).
.. Remove your foot from the brake pedal and
acce lerate .
Stopping temporarily
.. Keep the vehicle stationary using the brak­
ing peda l, for examp le at traffic l ights.
.. Do not press the accelerator pedal when do ­
ing this.
Automatic Transmission 111
.. To prevent the vehicle from rolling when you
start driving, set the parking brake when
stopping on steep inclines
c::> .&, .
.. The parking brake will release automat ically
and the vehicle will start moving once you
press the acce lerator pedal.
Stopping/parking
If the selector lever is not in the P position
when you open the driver's door, the vehicle
could roll. The message
Transmission: Car
may roll! Shift to park!
appears.
.. Press and hold the brake peda l until the ve -
hicle has come to a complete stop .
.. App ly the parking brake
c::> page 79, Parking .
.. Select the P selector lever position i=> .&, .
Stopping on an incline
.. Always press the brake pedal to hold the ve­
hicle in place and prevent it from "rolling
back"
i=> .&, . Do not try to prevent the veh i­
cle from "rolling back" when a gear is en­
gaged by increasing the engine speed
i=> (D .
Starting on an incline
.. Activate the parking brake .
.. With the driving gear selected, press the ac ­
celerator pedal carefully . The parking brake
w ill release automatically if your seat belt is
fastened .
Under certain circumstances, such as driving
in the mounta ins, it may be useful to sw itch
temporar ily to the manual shift program in or­
der to adjust the gears to the driving condi­
tions by hand
~ ,&..
On slopes, activate the parking brake first and
then move the selector lever to the P position .
This prevents too much stress from being
placed on the locking mechanism .
A WARNING
-The vehicle can also roll when the engine
is stopped .
- Unintended vehicle movement can cause
. . . serious mJury. Iii>

112 Automatic Tran sm iss ion
-Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running while in gear. If you must leave
your vehicle when the engine is running, act ivate the park ing brake and move the
selector lever to P.
- Power is st ill transmitted to the wheels
when the eng ine is running at idle . To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping", you
must keep your foot on the brake when
the engine is runn ing and the selecto r
lever is in D/S or R or "tiptronic" mode is
selected .
- Do not press the accelera tor pedal when
changing the selector lever pos ition
whi le the vehicle is stationary and the
engine is running.
- Never shift into
R or P whi le driving.
- Before driv ing down a steep slope , re-
duce you r speed and shift into a lower
gear with "tiptronic".
- Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
peda l too often or too long when dr iving
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substant ially re­
duces braking per formance, increases
braking distance or causes complete fail­
ure of the brake system.
- To prevent the veh icle from rolling back
when stopping on inclines, always hold it in place with the brake peda l or parking
brake .
- Never hold the veh icle on an incline with
a slipping clutch . The clutch opens auto ­
matically when it becomes too hot from
the overload . An indicator lamp@] illu­
minates and a dr iver message appears
9 page 114 when the clutch is overload­
ed.
- If the engine must remain running, never
have any driv ing pos ition eng aged when
check ing under the hood. Make sure the
selector lever has secure ly engaged and
is locked in P with the parking brake set
9 page 225. Otherwise, any increase in
engine speed may set the vehicle in mo­
t io n, even with the park ing brake ap ­
plied .
(D Note
-When stopping on an incline, do not try
to hold the vehicle in place by press ing
the acce lerator pedal while a driving gear
is se lected. This can cause the transmis­
sion to overheat and can damage it . Acti ­
vate the parking brake or press the brake
peda l to prevent the vehicle from roll ing .
- Allowing the vehicle to roll when the en ­
gine is stopped and the selecto r lever is
in N will damage the transmission be­
cau se it is not l ubricated unde r th ose cir­
c umstances.
(D Tips
Fo r safety reasons, the pa rking brake is re­
l eased automatically o nly when t he d riv­
er's safety belt is eng aged in the buckle.
Hill descent control
The hill descent control system assists the
driver when driving down declines.
Hill descent cont rol is activated when these­
lector lever is in D/S and yo u press the brake
peda l. The transmission automa tical ly selects
a gear tha t is suitable fo r the incline. H ill de ­
scent cont ro l tries to ma inta in the speed ach ­
ieved at the time of braking, within physica l
and tec hnical lim itations. If may sti ll be nec­
essary to ad just the speed with the brakes.
Hill descent cont ro l sw itches off once the de ­
cline leve ls o ut or yo u press the acce lerator
pedal.
On vehicles with the cru ise cont ro l system *
9 page 84 , hill descent control is also activa t­
ed when the speed is set.
A WARNING ,____ -
Hill descent control cannot overcome
physica l lim itations, so it may not be ab le
to maintain a constant speed under all
conditions . A lways be ready to apply the
brakes .

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Manual shift program
Using the manual shift program you can
manually select gears.
Fig. 121 Ce nter console : sh ift ing the gears manually
Fig. 122 Stee rin g wheel : S hi ft paddles*
Gea r selection with selecto r lev er
The t iptron ic mode can be selected eithe r with
the vehicle stationary or on the move.
• Push the selector lever to the right from 0/
S . An M appears in the instrument cluster
display as soon as the transmission has
shifted.
• To upshift, push the selector lever forward
to the pl us position
0 ¢ fig. 121.
• To downshift, push the lever to the minus
position
0 -
Gear selection w ith shift paddle s*
The shift paddles are act ivated when these­
lector lever is in D/S or the tiptron ic manual
shift program.
• To upsh ift, touch the shift paddle on the
right
0 ~ fig. 122 .
• To downshift, touch the shift padd le on the
left
0 .
The transmission automatically shifts up or
down before critical engine speed is reached .
Automatic Tra nsmi ssi on 11 3
The transmiss ion only allows manual shifting
when the engine speed is within the permit­
ted range.
(D Tips
- Whe n you shift into the next lower gear,
the transmission will downshift only
when there is no possibility of over-rev­
ving the engine.
- When the kick-down comes on, the
transmission will shift down to a lower
gear, depending on vehicle and engine
speeds .
- Tiptronic is inoperative when the trans­
mission is in the fail-safe mode.
Kick -down
Kick -down enables maximum acceleration .
When you depress the accelerator peda l be­
yond the resistance point, the automat ic
transmission downshifts into a lower gear, de­
pending on vehicle speed and engine speed .
The upshift into the next higher gear takes
place once the max imum specified engine
speed is reached .
A WARNING
Please note that the drive wheels can spin
if kick-down is used o n a smooth slippery
road - the re is a risk of skidd ing.
Launch Control Program
Applies to veh icles: w ith S tronic
The Launch Control Program provides the
best acceleration possible when starting from
a stop.
Requ irement: The engine must be at operat­
i ng temperature and the steer ing wheel must
not be tu rned.
• Press the
l,s OF FI button ¢page 197while
the engine is running . The
II indicator light
illuminates in the inst rument cluster and
Stabilizat ion co ntrol (E SC) : Off War nin g!
R edu ce d s ta bili ty
appears in the driver in-
formation system disp lay .
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114 Automatic Tran sm iss ion
• Move the selecto r lever to position D/S to
select sport mode (S) or select
D ynam ic
mode in Audi dr ive select ¢ page 103.
• Press the brake pedal strongly with your left
foot and hold it down for at least 1 second.
• At the same time, press the accelerator ped ­
al down completely w ith your r ight foot un­
t il the engine reaches and maintains a h igh
RPM.
• Remove your foot from the brake pedal
within S seconds¢ ..&,.
A WARNING
-Always adapt your driving to the traffic
flow.
- Only use the Launch Control Program when road and traffic conditions allow it
and other drivers will not be endangered
or annoyed by your dr iv ing and the vehi­
cle's accelerat ion.
- Please note that the driving wheels can spin and the vehicle can break away
when sport mode is sw itched on, espe­
c ially when the road is slippery .
- Once you have accelerated, you should
switch sport mode off by pressing the
I.$ OFF I button.
(D Tips
-The transm ission temperat ure may in­
crease significantly after using the Launch Control Program . If that hap­
pens, the program may not be available
fo r a few minutes. It will be availab le
again afte r a coo l-down period.
- When accelerating us ing the Launch
Control Program, all vehicle pa rts a re
subject to heavy loads. This can res ult in
i ncreased wear.
Transmission malfunction
[i'J Transmi ssion : Pre ss b rake pedal and se­
le ct gear aga in
Press the brake pedal and se lect the des ired
selector lever position again. You can then
continue driving .
[i'J Transmis sion ov erheating: Plea se dri ve
cons ervativel y
The transm iss ion tempera ture has inc reased
s ignificantly due to the sporty d riving manner.
Drive in a less sporty manner until the tem­
perature returns to the normal range and the
indicator light switches of.
[i'J Tra nsmi ssion malfun ct io n: Y o u ca n con­
tinue dri ving
The re is a system malfunction in the transm is­
s io n. You may cont inue drivi ng. Dr ive to yo ur
a utho rized Aud i dea ler o r qualified repa ir fa­
cility soon to have the malfunction corrected.
m) [O] Trans mission malfunc tion : You can
continu e driving with limit ed fun ctionality
T he re is a system malfunction in the transm is­
s ion. The t ransm ission is switching to eme r­
gency mode. This mode on ly shifts into cer ­
t ai n gears o r will no longer shift at all. The en­
gine may sta ll. Drive to your a uthorized Audi
dealer or qualified repair facility immediately
to have the malfunction corrected .
[i'J ffl Transmission malfunction : No rever se
gear . You can c ontinue drivin g
S tronic transmission: There is a system mal­
funct ion in the t ransmission. The transmis­
s io n is switching to emergency mode. This
mode only sh ifts into certain gea rs or will no
longer shift at a ll. The engine may stall. You
cannot engage the reverse gear . Drive to your
authorized Aud i dea ler or qualified repa ir fa­
c ility immediately to have the malfunction
corrected.
[i'J Tran smi ssion malfunct ion: Stop veh icle
a nd shift to P
Do no t con tinue dr iving . Se lect the P selector
lever position and see your authorized A udi
dealer or qualified repair facility for assis ­
tance.
(D Note
If the transmission switches to emergency
mode, yo u should take the vehicle to an
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authorized Audi dealership as soon as
possible to have the condition corrected.
Selector lever emergency release
If the vehicle's power supply fails, the selec­
tor lever con be released in on emergency.
Fig . 123 Front center co nsole : selecto r lever emergen­
c y release
• To reach the emergency release mechan ism,
remove the ashtray insert*.
• Loosen and remove the small cap in the ash­
tray mount
~ fig. 123.
• You now have access to a bolt. Using a
screwdriver or sim ilar, press the bolt down
and hold it down.
• Now press the interlock and move the selec -
tor lever to the N pos ition .
The selector lever can only be moved from the P posit ion if the ignition is turned on. If the
vehicle has to be pushed or towed if the power
supp ly fai ls (e .g . battery is d ischarged), the
selecto r lever must first be moved to the N
position using the emergency locking device.
Automatic Transmission 115

M N <( (.J
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effect can be reduced due to moisture (or in
freezing conditions ice) on the brake pads . A
few careful brake app lications should dry off
the brake pads or remove any ice coatings.
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 w ill not no­
tice anything .
The effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is dr iven on a salt-covered
road and the brakes are not used . Here too,
you shou ld clean off accumulated salt coat ing
from brake discs and pads with a few careful
applications of the brake ¢
A.
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 l ittle 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¢
A.
Low brake flu id le vel
Malfunct ions can occur in the brake system if
the brake fluid level is too low . T he brake fluid
level is monitored electronically .
Brake booste r
The brake booster works with vacuum pres ­
sure which is created only when the engine is
running ¢
A.
Brake lining w ear statu s
Brake lining wea r may be c hecked by vis ual in­
spection of the condition of the brake pads
Int ellig ent technolog y 199
thro ugh the open ings in the wheel. If neces ­
sa ry, the whee l may be removed for t his in­
spection ¢
page 2 75, Changing a wheel.
_& 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 and sh ift transmission into a lower
gea r o r l ower dr iving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too long or too o ften . T hi s could c ause 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 b rake . This may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopping distance.
- Unde r ce rtain climatic and operating
conditions such as passing thro ugh wa ­
ter, dr iv ing in heavy rain or after washing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced . In winte r, ice can
accumu late on the brake pads, lin ings,
discs and drums. Carefully app ly bra kes
for a test. Brakes will dry and ice co at­
ings w ill be cleaned off after a few care ­
fu l brake applicat ions.
- Driving for an ex tended period of time on
salt-covered roads without using your
brakes can a lso affect bra king efficiency .
Clean off accum ulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few careful
brake applications.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler, be sure the air
f low to the front brakes is not obstruct­
ed. Otherw ise the brake system could
overheat reducing the effectiveness of
the entire brake system.
- Failure of one brake circuit will impair
the braking capab il ity result ing in an in­
creased stopping distance . Avoid driving
the vehicle and have it towed to the
•
•