2015 AUDI A7 suspension

210 Trailer towing
A lways apply brakes early. When driving
downhill, shift into a lower gear to use the en­
g ine braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Air su spen sion *
When driving with a trai ler, activate the trailer
mode of the air suspension. Switch the air
suspension trailer mode on when you are tow­
ing a trailer. This will limit the regulation by
the air suspens ion while driving. Select in the
MMI:
! CARI function button> (C ar)* sys te m s
control button > Vehicl e se tting s> Air s usp .:
t o wing > On .
Coolant t emperatur e
The coolant temperature gauge¢ page 11
must be observed carefully. The coolant tem­
perature can increase if you drive on long in­
clines in a low gear at high engine speeds. Re­
duce your speed immed iate ly if the LEDs in
the top pa rt of the display turn on.
For more information about indicator lights,
refer to. ¢ page 16 .
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing veh icle is at a much greater risk in an
accident. Never let anyone r ide in your car
who is not prope rly wearing the restraints
provided by Audi .
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle handles differently when tow ing
-
a trailer because of the addit ional weight and
d ifferent weight dist ribution. Safety, perform­
ance and economy w ill greatly depend on how
carefu lly you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turn ing, stopp ing and back ing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you
have become comp letely familiar with the way your vehicle
-trailer combination behaves and
responds .
Backi ng up is diffic ult and requi res p ractice.
Backing up w ith a trailer generally req uires
steering action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a trailer.
Maintai n a greater d ista nce between yo ur ve­
hicle and the one in fron t of yo u. You w ill need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you will need a larger than normal
turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot ac­ ce le rate as fast as you norma lly would be­
ca use of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass . After passing, allow
plenty of room for your trailer before chang­
ing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp tu rns o r rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load ¢
page 294.
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:
.,. App ly the foot brake .
.,. Have someone place choc ks unde r both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels.
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes unt il the whee l chocks absorb the
load .
.,. Turn the whee ls towards the curb.
.,. Apply the parking brake.
.,. Select the P selector lever posit ion.
When re sta rting after p ark in g :
.,. App ly the foot brake .
.,. Start the engine.

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'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Driving style
Driving fast around curves,
heavy acceleration and hard
braking increase tire wear.
Rotating tires for more even
wear
For all four tires on your vehicle
to have the same service life,
we recommend that the front
and rear tires are rotated ac­
cording to the tire manufactur­
er's suggested tire rotation in­
tervals. Please remember the
following:
-Tire rotation intervals may dif­ fer from the vehicle service in­tervals outlined in your War­ranty
& Maintenance booklet .
-The longer one tire is used in one location on the vehicle,
the more it wears at certain points; therefore, we recom­
mend that you follow the tire
manufacturer's suggested tire
rotation intervals.
-Vehicles with front-wheel drive experience more tread
wear on the front wheels com­
pared to all-wheel drive (quat­
tro).
-Please rotate ti res as shown
¢ fig. 203.
Tires and wheels 259
-Extra care must be taken when rotating direction-specific
tires ¢ page
280.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are
balanced. However, various sit­
uations during everyday driving
can cause them to become un­ balanced, resulting in vibra­
tions you can usually feel
through the steering wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be re­
balanced to avoid excessive
wear on steering, suspension
and tires. A wheel must also be rebalanced when a new tire is
installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can
cause excessive tire wear, im­pairing the safety of the vehi­
cle. If tires show excessive
wear, have the wheel alignment checked by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified workshop.
All-wheel drive
Vehicles with quattro must al­
ways have tires of the same size, construction and tread
type . For details see
¢ page
200.
•
•
'

268 Tires and wheels
loss of control, crashes and serious per­
sonal injuries. Have worn or damaged tires
replaced immediately.
- Winter tires have maximum speed rating
that may be lower than your vehicle's
maximum speed .
- Never drive faster than the speed for
which the winter or other tires installed on your vehicle are rated.
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to the road and traffic conditions. Never let the good ac­
celeration of the winter tires and all-wheel
drive tempt you into taking extra risks. Al­
ways remember:
- When braking, an all-wheel drive vehicle
handles in the same way as a front drive
vehicle .
- Drive carefully and reduce your speed on
icy and slippery roads, even winter tires
cannot help under black ice conditions.
@) For the sake of the environment
Use summer tires when weather condi­
tions permit. They are quieter, do not wear
as quickly and reduce fuel consumption.
Snow chains
Snow chains may be fitted only to the front
wheels, and only to certain tire sizes. Ask your
authorized Audi dealer on which tire sizes
snow chains can be used .
If you are going to use snow chains, then you
must install them on the front wheels at
least.
The snow chains must have low-profile links
and must not be thicker than 0.4 inch (10,5 mm), including the lock.
Remove wheel center covers and trim discs
before putting snow chains on your vehicle
q 0 . For safety reasons cover caps must then
be fitted over the wheel bolts. These are avail­
able from authorized Audi dealers.
A WARNING
Using the wrong snow chains for your vehi­
cle or installing them incorrectly can in­
crease the risk of loss of control leading to
serious personal injury.
- Snow chains are available in different
sizes . Always make sure to follow the in­
structions provided by the snow chain
manufacturer.
- When driving with snow chains never
drive faster than the speed permitted for
your specific snow chains.
- Always observe local regulations.
@ Note
-Remove snow chains before driving on
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging tires and wearing the snow
chains down unnecessarily .
- Snow chains, which come into direct con­
tact with the wheel rim, can scratch or damage it. Therefore, make sure that the
snow chains are suitably covered. Check
the position of the snow chains after
driving a few yards and correct if neces­
sary. Follow the instructions from the
snow chain manufacturer when doing so.
- If the Adaptive Air Suspension* should
malfunction, do not mount or use snow
chains because the vehicle will be ex­
tremely low. If you do drive with snow
chains on while the vehicle is at this lev­
el, the snow chains might severely dam­
age the wheelhouse and other parts of
the vehicle.
(j) Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory on cer­
tain roads, this normally also applies to
vehicles with all-wheel drive .

282 Fuses and bulbs
No . Equipment Amps
4 Suspension control system sen-
5
sor
5 Electron
ic Stabilization Control
5
(ESC) mod ule
6 Climate
control
5
7 Adaptive cruise control 10
8
Airbag control module, front
5
passenger's seat sensor system
9 Gateway 5
Garage door opener (Homelink),
10 night vision system contro l 5
module
11 Image processing (active
lane
10
ass ist, adaptive cruise control)
12 Dynamic steering 5
13 Terminal 15
in the instrument
15
panel
14 T
ermina l 15 in the luggage com-
partment 30
15 T
erminal 15 (engine)
15
16 Starter 40
Fuse panel @ (brown)
No . Equipment Amps
1 Gateway
5
2 Climate control 10
E lec tronic Stabilization Contro l
10
3
(ESC) module
4 Front door (driver's
side)
30
5 Power seat adjustment (driver's
7,5
seat)
6 Dynamic steering
35
7 Su nroof 20
Rear door control module (driv- 15
8
er's side)
9 Lumbar support (Front passen-
5
ger seat)
10 Tire pressure monitoring system
5
11 Su
nroof, rear spoiler (Sportbac k)
20
12 Driver door
control module
15
Fuse panel© (red)
No . Equipment
2 Fuel pump
3 Brake light sensor/brake pedal
sensor system
4 AdBlue control module (Diesel)/
Engine acoustics
5 Left rear door contro l modu le
6 Power
seat adjustment (pas-
senger's seat)
7 Horn
8 Windshield wiper motor
9
Light/rain sensor, heater for vid-
eo camera in windscreen
10 Lumbar support (dr iver seat)
11 Front
passenger door control
module
12 Right rear door control mod ule
Front passenger side cockpit fuse
assignment Amps
25
5/5
5/7,5 30
7,5 15
30
5
5
15
15
Fig. 220 Front passenger side cockpit: fu se pane l w ith
plastic bracket
Fuse panel @ (black)
No. Equipment Amps
1 Head-up Display
5
2 MMI Display 5
3 CD/DVD changer
5
4 MMI unit/dr ives 7,5
5 Chip card reader (not
in all coun-
5
tries)
6 Instrument cluster
5
7 Steering column switch module 5

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"' rl
"' rl
No. Equ ipment Amps
8
Headlight range adjustment/ 5/7,5
adaptive lighting system
10
Left headlight (headlight with 7,5 adaptive light)
11 Supplementary heater s
Fuse p anel @ (b ro w n)
No . Equipment Amps
1 Climate control 10
2
Climate control system blower 40
3
Diagnostic interface 10
4
E lectrical ignition lock s
5
Power steering column adjust-
ment
s
6 Steering column switch module 10
7
Power steering column adjust-
ment
25
8 Light switch 5
Luggage compartment fuse assignment
Fig . 221 Luggage compa rtmen t: fuse panel wit h p las ­
tic bracket
Fuse p anel @ (black )
No. Equipment Amps
4 Electromechan ical parking brake 30
5
Electromechanical parking brake 30
6
Front door (front passenge r's
30 s ide)
7 Rear exterior light ing 30
Rea r sun shade, closing aid, lug-
8
gage compartment lock, con-
20 venience key, START ENGINE
STOP, fuel filler door
Fu se s and bulb s 283
No. Equipment Amps
9 Power seat adjustment 15
10
Parking system 5
11
Rear seat heating 30
Fu se p an el@ (r e d )
No . Equipment Amps
1 Left belt tensioner 25
2
Right belt tensioner 25
3
Socket/cigarette lighter 20
4
Socket 20
5
Electromechanical parking brake 5
6 adaptive air suspension 15
7
Rear door (front passenger's
30 side)
8 Rear exterior lighting 30
9
Luggage compartment lid con-
30 trol modu le
10 Telephone 5
11
Sound amplifier 30
12
Rear spoiler (Sportback) 20
Fuse panel© (brown)
No . Equ ipment Amps
1
Radio receiver, Sound amplifier/
30/20
MMI unit/drives
2 Tank leak detection system 5
4
AEM control module/battery 10/15
module
6 Battery fan 35
7
Rad io receiver 7,5
8 Rear Seat Entertainment 7,5
9
Automatic d imm ing interior 5/15
rearview mirror/battery module
10 Parking system 5
Fu se pan el@ (gr ee n)
No . Equipment Amps
1 pre sense 5
2
Electromechanical parking brake 5
3
adaptive air suspension 5
4 Automatic transmission 7,5

M N <( I.J "". rl I.O
"'
@ Tips
Check carefully to make sure the hook-up
is secure before moving the car up the flat­
bed truck ramp .
Vehicle transport
Whenever you hov e your vehicle transported,
be sure to note the following :
(D Note
Mount the tie-down chains/cables over the
running surface (circumference) of the
tires. Never secure the vehicle by the axle,
the suspension struts or the front or rear
towline eye . For technical reasons, the
pressure in the suspension struts may
change du ring the transport and this will
adve rsely affect vehicle handling.
Lifting vehicle
Lifting with workshop hoist and with
floor jack
The vehicle may onl y be li~ed at the lif ting
points illu stra ted.
Fi g. 2 29 Front l ift ing po int
Fig. 2 30 Rea r lifti ng poin t
:;:; N 0 6 ., a,
5 .. Read and heed WARNING Q ,&..
Emergenc y situ ation s 289
.. Activate the vehicle jack mode* in the MM I:
!CAR I function button > (C ar)* s ystem s con­
trol button>
S e rv ic ing & check s> Air su sp. :
jack m ode> On .
.. Locate lifting poin ts Q fig . 229 and
Q fig . 230 .
.. Adjust lifting arms of wo rkshop hoist or
floor jack to match veh icle lifting points.
.. Insert a rubber pad be tween the floor jack/
workshop hoist and the lift ing po in ts.
The vehicle jack mode* must be activated so
that the automat ic adjustment of the Adap­
tive Ai r Suspens ion* does not make it more
diffi cult to raise the vehicle with the floor
jack.
If yo u must lift your v ehi cle with a floor jack
t o wo rk und ern eath , be sure th e vehicle i s
s af ely s upported on s tands intended for thi s
purpo se.
Front lifting point
The lifting po int is located on the floor pan re­
inforcement abo ut at the same leve l as the
jac k mounting point
Q fig. 229. Do n ot lift
t h e ve hicle at th e verti cal sill reinforc em ent .
Re ar lifting point
The lifting point is located on the vert ical rein­
forcement of the lower sill for the on-boa rd
ja ck
c::> fig. 230 .
Lifting with vehicle j ack
Re fer to Q page 277 .
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of ser ious injury and
veh icle damage .
- Always lift the veh icle only at the spe ­
cia l workshop hoist and floor jack lift
po ints illust rated
c::> fig . 229 and
c::> fig . 230.
- Failu re to lift the vehicle at these
po ints could cause the vehicle to tilt or
fall from a lift if there is a change in ve­
hicle weight distribution and balance .
This might happen, for example, when
-

29 2 Techni cal data
designated seating position) and luggage
weight¢ .&,.
Gross Axle W eight Rating
The Gross Axle Weight Rating is the maximum
l oad that can be applied at each axle of the
vehicle ¢Lr!, .
Vehicle cap acit y weight
The vehicle capac ity we ight (max. load) is list­
ed either on the dr iver's side B-pilla r or inside
the fuel filler flap.
_& WARNING
- T he actual Gross Axle Weight Rat ing at
the front and rear axles shou ld not ex­
ceed the permissible weights, and their
combination must not exceed the Gross
Vehicle Weight Rating.
Dimensions
Length
Width
Width (across mirrors) Height (unloaded)al
-
-Exceeding permissible weight ratings can
result in vehicle damage, accidents and
personal injury.
(D Note
- The vehicle capacity weight figures apply
when the load is distributed evenly in the
vehicle (passengers and luggage). When
transport ing a heavy load in the luggage
compartment, carry the load as near to
the rear axle as poss ible so that the vehi­
cle's handling is not impaired.
- Do not exceed the maximum permissible axle loads or the maximum gross veh icle
we ight. Always remember that the vehi­
cle's handling w il l be affected by the ex­
tra load. Therefo re, adj ust your speed ac­
cordingly.
- Always observe local regulat ions.
in (mm)
195.6 (4969)
i n (mm) 75.2 (1911)
in (mm)
84.2 (2139)
in (mm) 55.9 (1420)
al The he ight of the veh icle depen ds on the t ires and the suspension.
When driving up steep ramps, on rough roads,
over curbs, etc . it is important to remember
that some parts of your vehicle, such as spoil-
Capacities
Fuel tank: total capacity
-gasoline engine
- d iesel engine
Windsh ield fluid container
Windsh ield and headlight washer fluid containeir* ers
or exhaust system components, may be
close to the ground . Be carefu l not to damage
them.
gal ( liters)
approx. 19.8 (75.0)
gal ( liters) approx. 19.3 (73.0)
quarts (liters) approx. 3.7 (3.5)
quarts (liters) approx. 5.2 (4 .9)