2015 AUDI Q7 coolant

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Driving off road
Driving in difficult road
conditions and offroad
General information
The operation of the E lectronic Stabilization
Control (ESC) is expanded fo r operation away
from paved roads. In situations where slip or a
differential lock ing funct ion is required, the
offroad mode can be activated
c::;, page 223.
H ill descent control is a lso ava ilable in the off­
road mode, which automat ically brakes the
ve hicl e and thereby keeps speed consta nt
when differe nt w heel speeds a re detected
when descending a hill
¢page 2 2 5. Your A ud i
a lso has permanent a ll-wheel drive in addi­
tion.
H oweve r, your Aud i is no t a pure off road ve hi­
cle. I t was not built for d riving unde r extreme
conditions, e.g. fo r trips that are in the nat ure
of an expedition .
Drive only on road s and offro ad sections
which match the de sign of y our vehicl e and
you r abilitie s as a dri ver. Ne ver t ake ri sks!
Before driving offroad
- Check the eng ine oi l level, t ire pressu re,
coolant level, and the fluid level in the w ind­
shield washe r reservo ir.
- Stow luggage items a nd other objects in the
l uggage compartment, and sec ure t hem
against s lid ing aro und.
After driving offroad
- After trips off road, remove any twigs and
othe r foreign objects from the grill, the un­
derbody and the wheels. Pay spec ia l atten­
t ion to fore ign ob jects (stones) which have
become lodged in t he tire tre ad.
- Clean t he body and the vehicle unders ide,
and inspect the veh icle for possible damage.
- Clean dirty w indows, headlamp lenses, rear
li gh ts, and license plates .
- Perfo rm a brake check (particularly after
t ravell ing throug h water).
Driving off road 235
A WARNING
- Drive especially attentively and plan
ahead in diff icu lt road conditions and
when off road. Excessive speed o r inco r­
rect maneuve rs can cause injuries and
damage to the vehicle.
-
- Always adapt your speed and driving
style to road, offroad, t raff ic, and weath­
e r condition s. D rive e spe cially slowly off­
road when yo ur view is restricted.
- Please be aware that in offroad mode,
pa rti cularly on a smoo th and s lippery
road, the whee ls may have an increased
tendency to spin and the vehicle may
break away -danger of skidding!
- Stability is limited in the offroad mode .
@ For the sake of the environment
Avoid damage to the environment and re­
spect na ture.
@ Tips
Only d rive where it is permitted and stay
on marked roads and paths.
Explanation of some technical terms
T he following data refer to ideal cond itions .
Depend ing on ve hicle load and gro und condi­
tions and the environment, the numbers may
vary .
It is the driver's responsibility to decide
whether a veh icle can overcome a specific s it­
uat ion
c::;, &, .
Gradient angle
The number o f meters in altitude ga ined over
a distance of 109.4 ya rds or 100 meters
(grade) are given as a percentage o r degrees.
Information about the grad ient the vehicle
can climb under its own power (depends in
part on the road surface and engine power).
Max imum perm itted grade : 31
°
Gr ound cle arance
The distance between the road s urface and
the lowest point of the vehicle underbody.
•
•

24 0 Trailer towing
chains, make sure they wi ll not drag on the
road when you are driving .
The cha ins shou ld cross under the tra ile r
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
0 Note
If you are going to tow a tra ile r, you must
activa te the trailer operation mode
~ page 161, Towing a trailer.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
cor e and consid eration.
To obta in the best poss ible handling of vehicle
and tra ile r, p le ase no te the following:
.. Do not tow a loaded tra iler when your car it­
self is not loaded.
.,. Be especia lly careful when pass ing othe r
vehicles .
.. Observe speed limits.
.. Do not driv e at the maximum p ermissible
speed.
.. Always apply brakes early.
.. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight di stributio n
Towing a loaded trai ler with an empty ca r re­
sults in a high ly unstable distribution of
weight . If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
l ow speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control.
A "balanced" rig is eas ier to operate and con ­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and permiss i­
ble, while keeping the trailer as light as possi­
b le under the circumstances. Whenever possi­
b le, transfer some cargo to the luggage com­
pa rtment of the tow veh icle wh ile observing
tongue load requirements and vehicle loading
considerations .
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficult it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig . Do not
drive at the maximum permiss ible speed . Re- duce your speed even more i
f load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable - particularly
when going downhill.
Red uce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing.
Do not
t ry to stop the swa ying by acceleratin g.
Observe speed limits. In some a reas, speeds
f or vehicles tow ing tra ile rs are lower than for
r egular vehicles.
Always apply brakes early. When driving down hill, shift into a lowe r gear to use the en­
gine braking effect to s low the vehicle . U se o f
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
T he coo lant tempe ratu re gauge ~ page 10
must be observed caref ully. If the need le
moves close to the upper end of the scale, re­
duce speed immediately and/or turn off the
air conditioner.
If the coolant temperature warn ing light in
the instr ume nt cluster starts flashing., pull
off the road , stop and let the engine
idle for
about two min utes to prevent heat build -up .
A WARNING "--
Anyone not proper ly restrained in a mov-
i ng vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident. Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not properly wearing the restraints
p rov ided by Audi .
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle handles d ifferently when towing
-
a trai ler because of the additional weight and
different weight distr ibut ion. Safety, perform­
ance and economy will great ly depend on how
ca refully you load your tra iler and operate
yo ur rig .
Before you act ua lly tow your tra iler, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep pract ic ing unt il you

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-Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector lever to P (Park).
- Always let the engine cool down. Hot
components will burn skin on contact.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment. Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully opening the hood.
- Keep children away from the engine com­
partment .
- Never spill fluids on hot engine compo­
nents. They can cause a fire.
- Never touch the radiator fan. The auxili­
ary electric fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly.
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the engine is still warm. The cool­
ant system is pressurized and hot cool­
ant could spray out .
- Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot engine coolant by placing a
thick rag over the cap when you open the
coolant reservoir .
- Do not remove the engine cover under
any circumstances . This increases the
risk of burns.
- If work on the fuel system or the electri­
cal system is necessary:
- Always disconnect the battery .
- Never smoke or work near heaters or
open flames. Fluids in the engine com­
partment could start a fire.
- Keep an approved fire extinguisher im­
mediately available.
- To avoid electrical shock and personal in­
jury while the engine is running or being
started, never touch:
- Ignition cables
- Other components of the high voltage
electronic ignition system.
- If you must perform a check or repair
with the engine running:
Checking and filling 257
- First, fully apply the parking brake,
move selector lever to P (Park).
- Always use extreme caution to prevent
clothing, jewelry, or long hair from get­
ting caught in the radiator fan, V-belts
or other moving parts, or from contact­
ing hot parts . Tie back hair before
starting, and do not wear clothing that
will hang or droop into the engine.
- Minimize exposure to emission and
chemical hazards~&. .
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Engine exhaust, some of its constituents,
and certain vehicle components contain
or emit chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and birth de­
fects and reproductive harm. In addition,
certain fluids contained in vehicles and
certain products of component wear con­
tain or emit chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and
birth defects or other reproductive harm.
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac­
cessories contain lead and lead com­
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc­
tive harms. Wash hands after handling.
Q) Note
When adding fluids, always make sure that
they are poured into the proper container
or filler opening, otherwise serious dam­
age to vehicle systems will occur .
@ For the sake of the environment
To detect leaks in time, inspect the vehicle
floor pan from underneath regularly . If
you see spots from oil or other vehicle flu­ ids, have your vehicle inspected by an au­
thorized Audi dealer. •
•

258 Checking and filling Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check .
Fig. 242 Typical layo ut for containers, engine oil di pstick and engin e oil fille r cap
(D W indshield/head light washer
t . (
;R ) con ainer ,.... .............. .
@ Coolant expansion tank (-L) .. .
@ Engin e oi l filler cap ('t".:r.) . .. .. .
©
®
®
(j)
Eng ine oil dipstick .......... .
Brake fluid reservoir
((0)) ..... .
Power steering reservoir ... .. .
Jump start connector( +) under 270
263
261
260
265
226
a cover,( ·) with hex head screw 268,317
The position of the engine o il fi lling hole and
the engine oil dipstick
r=;, fig. 242 (position ®
and @) can vary according to the type of en­
gine .
_&. WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢.&.
in Working in the engine
c ompartment on page 256.
-
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used must conform to exact
specifications .
The service interva l disp lay in t he instrument
cluster of your vehicle will inform you when it
is time for an oil change . We recommend that
you have your oil changed by an authorized Audi Service Advisor.
If you have to top
off the oil between oil
changes, use the Audi o il quality standard
spec ified in the table.
Audi oil quality standard
Gasoline
VW 502 00 or
engine vw 504 00
Diesel vw 507 00
engine

26 2 Ch eck ing and filling
8_ WARNING
Stop! Before working in the engine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN ­
INGS
~ .&. in Working in the engine com­
partment on page
256 . The engine com­
partment of any motor veh icle is a poten­
tially dangerous area and can cause ser i­
ous personal injury.
8_ WARNING ,,,__
If you must change the engine oil in your
vehicle:
- Always wea r eye protection .
- T o reduce the ris k of burns from hot en-
gine oil let the engine cool down to the
touch.
- Whe n removing the oil drain plug with
yo ur fingers, stay as far away as poss ible.
Always keep your forearm paralle l to the
ground to he lp prevent hot oil from run­
ning down your arm.
- Drain the oi l into a container designed
for this pu rpose, one large enough to
hold at least the total amount of oil in
your engine.
- To reduce the risk of poisoning, never use
empty food or beverage containers that
might m islead someone into dr ink ing
from them.
- Engine oil is poisonous. Keep it well out
of the reach of children.
- Cont inuous contact with used engine oil
is harmful to your skin. Always protect
your sk in by washing thoroughly with
soap and water .
(D Note
Never mix oil additives with your engine
oil. These additives can damage your en­
gine and adverse ly affect your Audi Limit­
ed New Vehicle Warranty.
@i For the sake of the environment
- Before changing the oil, first make sure
you know where you can properly dispose of the old oil.
-
.
- Always dispose of used oil p roperly. Nev ­
er dump it on garden soil, in wooded
areas, into st reams or down sewage
dra ins.
- Recycle used oi l by taking it to a used en­
gine oil collection facility in your area, or
contact a service station.
- We strongly recommend that yo u have
your oil changed by an authorized Audi
dealer or a qualified workshop with the
special tools and expert ise required, and
proper means of disposal.
Engine cooling system
Coolant
The engine coolant performs two functions: it
keeps the engine from overheating and it pro­
tects the engine from freezing in the winter.
T he cooling sys tem is sealed and genera lly re­
quires little attention.
The cooling system has been fi lled at the fac­
tory with a permanent coolant which does not need to be changed. The coo lant cons ists of a
mixtu re of specially conditioned water and the
manufacturer's g lycol -basedcoo la nt add
i-
tive G l3 antifreeze with anticorrosion addi ­
tives (SO% for USA mode ls; 60% for Canadian
models). This mixture both assures the neces­
sary frost protection and protects metal com­
ponents in the eng ine's cooling system from
corros ion and scaling.
It also ra ises the bo il­
i ng po int of the coolant .
Do not reduce the concentration of the cool­
ant in the summer by adding p lain wate r. Th e
proportion of coo lant additiv e mu st be at
l e as t 50 °/4 but not m ore than 60°/4
to main­
ta in ant ifreeze protect io n and cooling eff ic ien­
c y.
If the coo lant fros t protection is too low,
the coolant could freeze and damage the vehi­
cle heating and engine cooling system.
For year- round driving, antifreeze is added at
t h e factory fo r temperatures down to:
- -31°F(-35°C)USA
- - 40 °F ( - 40 °C) Canada.

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If you must add coolant, use a mixture of wa­
ter and coolant additive. Mixing the coolant
addit ive with distilled water is recommended .
.&_ WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
¢ .&. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 256 .
(D Note
-Before winter sets in, have the coolant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is suffic ient to meet the cli ­
mate cond itions . Th is is especially impor­
tant if you live in a region where the w in­
te r is extremely cold. If necessary, in­
crease the proport ion of coolant additive
to 60% .
- When adding coolan t addi tive to you r
cooling system , remember:
- We recommend using only coolant ad­ ditive G12 ++ or G13 for your vehicle.
This coo lant additive is available at au­
thorized Aud i dealers . Other types of
antifreeze can significantly reduce cor­
rosion protection . Th e resu lting co rro­
sion c an cause a loss of coo la nt and se­
r ious engine damage.
- Do not add a ny type of radiator leak sea l­
ant to your veh icle's engine coo lant.
Adding rad iator repair fluid may adverse ­
l y affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and could result in damage not covered by your New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
-
Checkin g and fillin g 263
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance .
F ig . 2 4 6 En gin e compar tmen t: Coolant expan sio n ta nk
Befo re you check anyth ing in the eng ine com ­
partment,
alw ays r ead and he ed all WARN­
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine comport­
ment on page 256 .
.,.. Park your vehicle on a level su rface.
.,.. Tu rn
off t he ignition .
.,.. Let the engine cool down.
.,.. Plac e a thick rag over the coolant expans ion
tank ¢
fig. 246, ¢ page 258, fig. 242 and
carefull y twist the cap counter-clockwise
¢_&. .
.,.. Read the engine coolant level in the open
coo lant expansion tank. W it h a co ld eng ine,
the coolant leve l should be between the
"min " and "max" markings. W hen the en­
gi ne is wa rm, the level may be slightly above
t he "max" marking.
T he location of the coo lant expansion tank
can be seen in the engi ne compa rtment illus­
trat ion
¢ page 258 .
To obtain an accu rate reading, the engine
must be switched off.
The expansion ta nk in your vehicle i s equ ipped
with an electric coolant level sensor .
When the coolant leve l is too low, the warning
light i n the Auto-Check System¢
page 32 will
blink unti l you add coolant and the level has
been restored to normal. Even though there is
an electric coo lant level senso r, we still rec­
ommend you check the coolant level from
t ime to t ime .

264 Check ing and filling
Coolant lo ss
Coolant loss may indicate a l ea k in t he cooling
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cool ­
ing system should be inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer. It is not
enough merely to add coolant.
I n a
se ale d system, losses can occur only if
the boiling point of the coolant is exceeded as
a result of overheating.
A WARNING
The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of scald­
ing from hot coolant by following these
steps.
- Turn off the engine and allow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering the
cap with a large, thick rag .
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in
a counter-clockwise direction wh ile ap­
plying light, downward pressure on the
top of the cap .
- To avoid being burned, do not spill ant i­
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system
or hot eng ine parts. Under certain condi­
t io ns, the ethy lene g lycol in engine cool­
an t ca n ca tch f ire.
0 Note
Do not add any type of radiator leak seal­
ant to your vehicle's eng ine coolant. Add­
ing radiato r repair fluid may adve rsely af­
fect the function and performance of your
cooling system and could res ult in damage
not covered by your New Vehicle Limited
Warranty .
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check anything i n the engine com­
pa rtmen t,
a lwa ys read and heed all WARN ­
INGS c:::> A in Working in the engine compart ­
ment on page 256.
.. Tu rn off the engine .
.. Let the engine cool down.
.. Place a thick rag over the coo lant expansion
tank
c> page 263 , fig. 246 and carefully
twist the cap counter-clockwise c> ,&. .
.. Add coo lant m ixed in the correct rat io
c:::> page 262, Coolant.
.. Twist the cap o n again tightly.
Rep lacement engine coo lant must conform to
exact spec ificat ions
c> page 262, Coolant.
We recommend using only coo lant add it ive
G12 ++, G13 or in an emergency G12 +. Do
not
use a different add itive. In an emergency use
plain water until you can get the correct addi­
t ive and can restore the correct ratio . This
shou ld be done as soon as poss ib le.
If you have lost a considerab le amount of
coolant, the n you should add cold ant ifreeze
and co ld water on ly when the eng ine is cold .
Always use
new engine coolant when refilling.
Do not fi ll coo lant above the "MAX" mark. Ex­
cess coolant will be forced o ut through the
pressure relief valve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
A WARNING
- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of
scalding from hot coolant by following
these steps.
- Turn off the engine and allow it to coo l
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering
the cap with a large, th ick rag.
- Turn the cap s low ly and very carefully
in a counter-clockwise direction while
applying light, downward pressure on
the top of the cap.
- To avoid being burned, do not spill an­
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys­
tem or hot engi ne parts. Under certain
cond it ions, the ethylene g lycol in e n­
gine coolant can catch fire .

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-Antifreeze is poisonous . Always store an­
t ifreeze in its or iginal container and well
out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
tainer clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant pollutes the environment and
could cause an engine fire. Excess coo l­
ant will be forced out through the pres­
sure re lief va lve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze ¢
page 262 must be re­
stored as soon as possib le.
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be reused. Al­
ways dispose of used coolant while observ­ ing all environmental regulations .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself
The radiator fan is driven by the engine via the
V-belt . The viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan accord ing to the temperature of the
coolant .
An auxiliary electric radiator fan* switches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and other vehicle operating conditions .
After you switch the engine off, the auxilia ry
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself¢& , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment hea ts up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight .
Checking and fillin g 265
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of personal injury nev­
er touch the rad iator fan.
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running .
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on au­
tomatically when the engine coolant reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coo lant temper­
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brak e fluid lev el can be check ed with a
quick glance.
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Fi g. 247 En gin e compa rtm en t: cover o n the bra ke fluid
reservoir
Before you check anything in the eng ine com­
partment ,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 256.
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir ¢
fig. 247, ¢ page 258,
fig. 242.
The brake fluid level must be be­
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings .
The brake fluid reservoir is located at the rear
partition of the eng ine compartment on the
left side ¢
page 258.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to t he automatic adjustment of the
brake pads. This is not cause for alarm. ..,_