2015 AUDI Q7 brake fluid

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Error messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Trailer hitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Adaptive Air Suspension .. .. . .
Air suspension and damping
S afet y fir st ... ...... ... .. .. .. . .
15 7
157
163
Driving Safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Gene ral notes ..... .... ... .. .. .. . .
Proper occupant seating posit ions . . .
Ped al area .. .. ............. .. .. . .
Stowing luggage ......... .... .. . .
Report ing Safety Defects ....... ... .
Safety belts ........... .... .. . .
General notes ............... .... .
Why safety belts? ............... .
Safety belts ..... ... ... .. .. .. .. . .
Safety bel t pretens ioners .. .. .. .. . .
Airbag system .......... ... ... .
Important things to know .. .. .. .. . .
Fr ont airbags ..... ..... .. .... .. . .
M on itoring the A dvanced Airbag
System .... .. ... .. ..... ... .. .. . .
Side airbags . ... ...... ... .. .. .. . .
Side curtain ai rbags .... ... .. .. .. . .
Child Safety .. .. .... ... .. .. .. . .
Important th ings to know . ... .. .. . .
Ch ild safety seats ......... .... .. . .
Instal ling a child safe ty seat .. .. .. . .
LATC H Lower ancho rages and tethers
for chi ldren .... .. ... ... .. .. .. .. . .
Addit ional Information
Vehicle operation ... .. .. .. .. . .
Intelligent technology .. .. . .. .
163
164
168
169
1 70
173 1 73
174
177
180
182
18 2
186
193
197
200
203
203
209
213
216
222
223
223
Not ice about data recorded by vehi cle
con trol mod ules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
E lect ronic S tabiliz ation Control ( ESC) . 223
Brake system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Servotronic -advanced powe r steering
system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Driving w ith your quattro . . . . . . . . . . 227
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Table of contents 3
Driving and environment . . . . .
230
The first 1,000 miles (1 ,500 km) and
afterwa rds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Catalytic co nverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Diesel particulate filter . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Avoid damaging the vehicle . . . . . . . . . 232
S h utting down veh icle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Operate yo ur v ehicl e economically and
min imi ze poll ution .. . ............ .
Driving off road .............. .
D riv ing i n diff icult road conditions and
offroad . .. .. .. .. .... ........... .
Trailer towing .... .. .. ... ..... .
Drivi ng with a trailer ........... .. .
T rail er tow ing t ips .. . ............ .
Vehicle care ... .. .. ........... .
Vehicle care and cleaning .... .
Genera l informa tion . ... .... ... .. .
Car was hes . ..... .. . .. .. ..... ... .
Cleaning and care information ... .. .
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank ... .... .. . .. .. ..... ... .
Fuel supp ly . ... .. .. .. ... ..... ... .
Diesel f uel .. .. .. .... ........... .
Fuel tank .. .. .. .. ... ............ .
Se lective cata lytic reduction ....... .
Checking and filling .......... .
En gine hood . .... .... .... ... .... .
E n gine o il ... .. .. .. . .. .... .... .. .
Engine cooling system ............ .
Br ake fluid .. .. .. ............... .
B attery ... .. .. .. .. .. ........... .
Windsh ie ld /hea dligh t washer 2
32
235
2 35
238
2 38
2 40
2 42
2 4 2
2 4 2
242
243
2 4 8
248
249
250
252
256
256
258
262
2 65
2 66
container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 70
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
T ires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 71
Tire pressure monitoring system 301
Do-it-yourself service . . . . . . . . . 304
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Jack, too ls an d inf lata ble spare tire . . 304
Changi ng a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
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Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 19
The ABS war nin g lig ht a nd the bra ke w arn­
ing l ight come on t ogeth er. The ABS will not
work and you will notic e a c hange in brak ing
re spo nse and pe rformance.
Ma lfunction in th e brak e system
If the b rake warn ing light <=>page 19 and
the ABS warning i lluminate
together there
may be a ma lfunction in the ABS, and there
may a lso be a malfunct ion in the brake system
itself <=>,&. .
In the event of a
m alfun ct ion in the b rake
s ys tem
the warning/indicator light 1111
(USA models) . (Canada models) in the in ­
strument cluster flashes. By pressing the
ICHECKI button, you can bring up a driver
message which explains the malfunct ion in
more deta il. Please note
<=>page 32.
M alfunction in t he e lectronic diff erential
lock (EDL)
The EDL works together with the ABS. The
ABS warning light will come on if there is a
malfunct ion in the EDL system
<=> page 223.
See your autho rized Aud i dealer as soon as
possib le.
.&, WARNING
-
- If the ml (USA models) ;tlJ (Canada
models) warning light does not go out,
or if it comes on while driving, the ABS
system is not working properly. The vehi­
cle can then be stopped only with the
standard brakes (without ABS). You will
not have the protection ABS provides.
Contact your authorized Aud i dealer as
soon as poss ible.
- If the
1111 (USA models)/ . (Canada
models) brake system indicator light
tu rns on together with the ABS and ESC
indicator ligh ts, the ABS/ESC regu lating
f unction may have failed. F unctions that
stabilize the vehicle are no longer availa­
ble. This could cause the vehicle to
swerve and increase the risk of sliding.
Drive carefully to the nearest authorized
Audi dealer or other qualified workshop and have the malfunction corrected.
:l~ /(® ) Parking brake
The indicator light monitors the parking
brake.
When the parking brake is applied and the ig­
nition is switched on, the. (USA models) /
• (Canada models) indicator light comes on .
The ind icator light must go out when the
parking b rake is released.
BRAKE/CC Dl Brake system
The warning/indicator light flashes if brake
fluid level is low, if there is an
ABS system
ma/function or a parking brake ma/function.
The 1111 (USA models)/ . (Canada models)
light illum inates when the ignition is turned
on.
It goes out after the eng ine has been
started . This indicates that the bra ke warning
l ight is functioning properly.
If the brake w arning light d oes not light up
wh en th e eng ine i s cran king, th ere ma y be a
malfunction in the ele ct ric al sy ste m . In thi s
c ase , conta ct your Audi de aler .
If the brake system warning/indicator light
flashes, there is a b rake system ma lfunction .
By pressing the
I CH ECK i button, you can bring
up a driver message which expla ins the ma l­
function in more detai l
<=>page 32.
If the ABS fai ls, the ABS wa rn in g/ indicator
li ght
ml (USA mode ls)/ [§] (Canada models)
flashes together with the brake system warn­
ing/indicator light<=>,&. .
(USA mode ls): If the warn ing light
1111 and
the warn ing light
El il luminate togethe r, im­
med iate ly contact yo ur a utho rized Aud i dea ler
or qualified workshop to have all brake pads inspected ¢
page 36.
When the light comes on, an aud ible warn ing
s ignal is also g iven.
.&, WARNING ~ ~
- If the 1111 (USA models) . (Canada
models) brake system indicator light
turns on together with the ABS and ESC

20 Instrum ent s a nd w arn in g/i ndic ato r light s
indicator lights, the ABS/ESC regu lating
function may have failed. Functions that
stabilize the vehicle are no longer availa­ ble . This could cause the vehicle to
swerve and increase the risk of sliding.
Drive carefu lly to the nearest authorized
Audi dealer or other qualified workshop and have the malfunction corrected.
- If the brake warning/indicator light does
not go out afte r a few seconds and the
par king brake is released, or ligh ts up
wh ile you are driving, the fluid level in
the brake fluid reservoir is too low. If you believe that it is safe to do so, proceed
immediately at low speed to the nearest
authorized Audi dealer or qualified repair
facility and have the brake system in­
spected.
- Always keep in m ind that after several
brake applicat ions, you will need greater
pressure on the b rake pedal to stop your
vehicle . Do not re ly on stra ined brakes to
respond w ith maximum stopp ing power
in cri tic al situations. You must a llow for
increased bra king distances. The extra
distance used up by fad ing brakes could
lead to an accident.

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For example, the symbol II appears in the
display, indicating low windshield washer flu­
id level. The follow ing message also appears:
Please refill washer fluid
The driver message disappears after a few
seconds. The driver message can be d isp layed
again by briefly pressing the
!CHECK I button.
Red symbols
Fig. 25 Display: engine coolant level warning (prio rity
1)
With a priority 1 malfunction, a large symbol
appears in the center area of the display
¢ fig . 25 . Wh en the symbo l appears, three
warning tones sound in succession. The sym­
bol continues to blink until the malfunct ion
has been repaired.
If there are
more than one priority 1 ma lfunc­
tions, the symbols appear one after the other for about 2 seconds.
An additional driver message can also be dis­
played by briefly pressing the
I CHECK ! button.
The red symbols mean:
Alternator malfunct ion
¢page31
USA models: Brake system
malfunction
¢page32
Canada models: Brake sys­
tem malfunction
¢pa ge32
Engine coolant level too
low/engine coolant temper­
ature too high
¢page32
Driver information display 31
@ Tips
Engine oil pressure too low
¢page 33
Refill Ad Blue*
¢page 252
AdBlue malfunct ion*
c!>page252
Faulty steering
c!>page 33
Faulty ignition switch
¢page 33
-If the warning/indicator light 11111 (USA
models)/ . (Canada models) in the in­
strument cluster flashes, there is a brake
system malfunction. By pressing the
!CHECK I button, you can bring up a driver
message which exp lains the malfunction
in more detail. Please note ¢
page 32.
-Speed warnings threshold 1. (USA
mode ls)/ . (Canada models) and
threshold 2. (USA models) . (Cana­
da models) are a lso shown as red sym ­
bols. The warning is always shown as a
small symbol in the uppe r area of the
display
c!> page 28.
0 Alternator malfunction
If the . symbol in the instrument panel dis­
play flashes, then there is a malfunction in the
alternator o r the vehicle elect ronics. A warn­
ing to the driver will appear, too . The driver
warning goes out after about 5 seconds, but it
can be brought up at any time by pressing the
ICHECK I button aga in.
Usually, you can still drive to the next deale r­
ship . Turn off all but the most necessary elec­
trical consumers, since these drain the vehi­
cle's battery.
([) Note
If the . warning symbo l (coo lant system
malfunction) also lights up on the instru­
ment panel during the trip¢
page 32,
then you have to stop immediately and ..,_

32 Driver in formation d isplay
turn off the eng ine. The coolant pump is
not working anymore -danger of damage
to the eng ine !
BRAKE/(©) Brake system malfunction
A malfunction in the brake system must be
repaired as soon as possible.
I f the warning/indicator light 1111 (USA
models) ;II (Canada mode ls) in the instru ­
ment cluster flashes, there is a brake system
mal function . By pressing the
I CHECK ! button,
you can bring up a dr iver message which ex­
p la ins the ma lfu nction in more detail.
Stop veh icle and check brake fluid level
• Pull off the road.
• Stop the vehicle .
• Turnoff the engine.
• Check the brake fluid level¢
page 265.
• Co ntact your nearest a uthorized Audi dealer
or qualified workshop if necessary .
Warning! Fault in brake system. Contact
workshop
• Drive carefu lly to the nearest a uthorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop and have
the malfunction corrected ¢
&.
If t he ABS system malfunctions, the ABS
warn ing/ indicato r light illum inates together
wi th the brake system malfunction warning/
i ndicato r light ¢& .
A WARNING
-Always obse rve the wa rni ngs in
¢
page 2 56, be fo re opening the hoo d
a nd chec king t he b rake fluid.
- D riving with low b ra ke fluid is a safety
ha zar d. S top the car and get pro fession al
assistance .
-If the 1111 (U SA m odels)/ . (C anad a
mode ls) brake sy stem indica tor ligh t
t ur ns on together with the AB S and E SC
indicator lights, the ABS/ES C reg ulating
f unction may have failed . Fu nctions that
stabilize the ve hicle are no longer availa­
ble. Th is could cause the vehicle to swerve and
inc rease the r is k of slidi ng.
Drive ca re fully to the nea rest authorized
Aud i dealer or other q ualified works hop
a nd have the ma lfu nction co rrected .
-L Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engine cooling system
must be repaired as soon as possible.
When the. symbo l in the disp lay blinks,
then either the engine coo lant
temperature is
too high, o r the coolant
level is too low. An
additional driver message can also be dis­
played by p ressing the
ICHECK I button:
Switch off engine and check coolant level
• Pull off t he ro ad.
• Stop the vehicle.
• Tur noff the engi ne .
• Chec k coolant leve l¢
page 263.
• Add coo lant if necessary ¢ page 264.
• Continue dr iv ing on ly after t he engine cool­
ant warning/ind icat or light goes out.
• Contact your authorized Aud i dealer for as-
sis tance if necessa ry.
If the engi ne coo lant level is correct, then the
r adiator fan may be the cause of the malfunc­
t ion.
If the . warning symbol (alternator mal­
funct ion) also lights up on the inst rument
panel
¢ page 31, then the fa n be lt may be
damaged .
A WARNING
- If you r vehicle should bre ak down for
me chanical or other reasons, par k at a
s af e dis tance from mov ing tra ffic, turn
o ff the en gine and tu rn on the haza rd
war ning lights¢
page 63, Emergency
flasher .
-
-Never open the hood if you see o r hear
steam or coo la nt escaping from the en­
g ine compartment -you r is k being scald ­
ed . Wait unt il you can no longer see o r
hear steam o r co olant escap ing.

34 Driver in formation d isplay
An additional driver message can also be dis ­
p layed by pressing the
! CHECK I button:
Ignit ion lo ck d efec tive. C ontact w ork sh op !
.. Do
not turn the eng ine off .
.. Drive immed iate ly to an authorized Audi
dealer to have the ma lfunction co rrected .
If there is a malfunction in the electronic igni­
tion lock, the ign ition cannot be turned off .
Drive immediately to an authorized Audi dea l­
e r to have the cause of the ma lfunction co r­
rected.
On vehicles w ith Convenience key*, the engine
should not be sw itched off using the
! STOP !
button because the eng ine cannot be started
aga in after the ignition is switched off.
Yellow symbols
Fig. 26 Disp lay: low fuel level warning (p riority 2)
When a yel low warning symbol appears, one
warn ing tone sounds . A dr iver message ap­
pea rs as well to explain the malfunc tion in
mo re deta il. The driver warning goes o ut after
about 5 seconds, but it can be brought up
again at any time by pressing the
I CHECK I but ­
ton .
Chec k the displayed funct ion as soon as poss i­
b le . If
more than one pr iority 2 malfunction is
detected, all symbo ls wi ll appea r one after
the other for about 2 seconds.
Yellow symbols mean: Convenience key*
Key not in vehicle
¢
page 110
USA models: Defect ive
brake light
¢ page 23
Canada model s: Defective
brake light
¢ page 23
Defect ive light bulb
¢ page 23
Light/ra in sensor defective
¢ page35
Windsh ield washer fluid lev­
el low
¢ page35
Low fue l level
¢page 35
Refill Ad Blue *
¢page 252
AdBlue malfunct ion*
¢ page252
Battery vo ltage
¢ page35
Worn brake pads
¢page36
Dynamic headlight range
control defective
¢ page36
Check engine o il level
¢ page 36
Engine o il sensor malf unc­
tion
¢ page 36
Engine speed limitation*
¢page36
Diesel particulate f ilter*
clogged
¢ page36
Adaptive light * defective
¢ poge37
Ign ition lock ma lfunction
¢ page 37

226 Intellig ent technol ogy
firm ly a few times from a mode rately high
speed ¢.&. .
Faults in the brake system
If you should notice a sudden increase in
brake peda l travel, t hen one of the two bra ke
circ uits may have failed ¢.&. .
Low brak e flu id le vel
Malfunct ions can occur in the brake system if
the brake fluid level is too low . T he brake fluid
l eve l is monitored electronically .
Bra ke boo ster
The brake booster increases the pressure that
you generate w ith the brake pedal. It only op­
erates while the eng ine is running ¢,&. .
Brake lining we ar sta tu s
Brake lining wear may be checked by visual in­
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the openings in the wheel. If neces­
sary, the wheel may be removed for this in­
spection ¢
page 307, Changing a wheel.
A WARNING
- You should perfo rm bra king maneuve rs
for the p urpose of clean ing the b rake
system on ly if road condit ions permit.
Other road users must not be put at risk -
you may cause an accident!
- Be fore descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transmission into a lower
gear or lower driving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too long or too often. This could cause the
brakes to get hot and dimin ish braking
efficiency .
- Do not "ride the brakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when you do not intend
to brake . Th is may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and inc reased
stopping distance.
- Under certain climat ic and operating
condit ions such as passing through wa­
ter, driving in heavy ra in or after wash ing
the vehicle, the effect iveness of the
brakes can be reduced . In winter, ice can accumu
late on the brake pads, linings,
discs and drums. Carefully app ly brakes
for a test. Brakes will dry and ice coat­ ings w ill be cleaned off after a few care­
ful brake applicat ions .
- Driving for an extended period of time on
salt-covered roads without using your
brakes can also affect braking efficiency .
Clean off accumulated salt coating from
b rake discs and pads with a few ca reful
brake applications.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
i n stall a diffe rent spoiler, be s ure the a ir
f low to the front brakes is not obs truct­
ed . Otherwise the brake system could
overheat reducing the effectiveness of
the entire brake system .
- Fai lure of one brake circuit will impai r
the braking capability resulting in an in­
creased stopping distance . Avoid driving
the vehicle and have it towed to the near­
est authorized Audi dea ler or qualified
workshop .
- Never let the ve hicle roll to a stop with
the engine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not working, the
brake peda l must be pressed cons idera­
b ly 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.
T he advanced Servotronic power steer ing sys ­
tem senses the road speed and electronica lly
adjusts power assistance to provide comforta­
ble and safe steering response exactly match­
ed to the vehicle speed.
Power s teer ing will not work if the engine is
off. As a result, the steering wheel will be hard
to turn.
T he powe r steering fluid level is checked d ur-
ing the sched uled maintenance services . ..,.

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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.
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