2015 AUDI Q7 engine coolant

10 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Instruments and warning/indicator Lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster and controls
The instrument cluster is your central source of information.
Fig. 3 Ove rv iew of t he inst ru m ent cluster
CD Coolant temperature gauge . . . 10
@ Ta ch ome ter w ith time an d date
d isplay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 11
® Warning/indicator lights . . . . . . 14
© Driver info rmation system .. .. . 21
® Speedometer with odometer . . 12
® Fuel gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
(i) Ins trumen t clus ter ill umination 13
@ Reset button for t rip odometer . 12
® Parking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
@ ICHECK I button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
@ Tips
The ill umi nat ion fo r th e i nstru me nt cl uster
lights up whe never yo u switch on the i gni ­
tion with t he
vehicle headlights off . As
the daylight fades, the instrument cluster illumi nat ion likewise dims automatically
a n d w ill go out completely when t he out­
side light is very low. This feat ure is meant
to remind you to switch on the headlights
w hen o utside lig ht con dit io ns become
poor.
Engine coolant temperature gauge
The eng ine coolant gauge q page 10, fig. 3 CD
only works when the ignition is on. To p revent
damage to you r engine, please note the fol­
lowing impor tant po ints:
Engine cold
As long as the needle remains at or close to
the bottom of the gauge, the engi ne still has
not reached its operat ing temperature . Avoid
high eng ine speeds, heavy eng ine loads and
heavy th rottle a pplicat io ns.
Normal temperature
When the engine has reached its operat ing
temperature, the needle w ill move into the
midd le of the gauge and rema in the re. If th e
engine is worki ng ha rd at high outside tem­
peratures, the needle may rise up. This is no
need to worry as long as the. warni ng lig ht
i n the i nstr ument cluster does not ill uminate.
Warning light in the instrument cluster
When the. warning lig ht in the instr ument
cluster s tarts to flash, th is can mean one of
two things : either the coo lant
temperatur e is .,..

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Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 11
too high, or the coolant level is too low
¢ page 32.
If the needle is well in the upper area of the
ga uge , the coolant temperature is too high.
Stop the vehicle , switch the eng ine off and
allow the engine to cool.
If the warning light
comes on again after driving a short distance,
contact an authorized dealer.
A WARNING
- Always observe the warning in
¢
page 256, before opening the hood
and checking the engine coolant level.
- Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dr ipping from the engine compartment.
You could bu rn yourself. Let the engine
cool off first until you can no longer see
or hear steam or coolant escaping.
0 Note
- Mount ing additional lights or accessories
i n front of the a ir inlets reduces the cool­
i ng effect of the radiator. At h igh outside
temperatures or high eng ine load , the
engine could overheat.
- The front spo iler has been designed to
properly distribute the cooling air when
the veh icle is moving. If the spoiler is
damaged, this cou ld reduce the cooling
effect and the engine could then over­ heat. Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
ass istance.
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
The tachometer @¢ page 10, fig. 3 is the left
of the two large clock-type displays.
The engine turns at a speed 1,000
times the
single digit in the display, e.g . if the needle is
pointing at the "2" the engine is turning at
2,000 RPM.
If engine RPM drops be low 1,500, you should
downshift to the next lower gear. The red area at
the end of the scale indicates maximum
permissible engine RPM after the break-in pe­
riod. Before reaching this area , move these­
lector lever to position D (Drive) or ease your
foot off the accelerator pedal.
(D Note
The tachometer needle should not move
into the red range. If it does, then only for
a very short per iod of t i me. You could
damage your engine by driving at high RPM .
@) For the sake of the environment
Upshifting early saves fuel and reduces en­
gine noise .
Digital clock with date display
Fig. 4 In st ru m en t cluster : time a nd da te
The date, time of day, and time and date for ­
mat can be set in the MMI. You can learn more
about this in the MMI manual.
(D Tips
-When open the driver door, the time,
date and odometer are disp layed for an
add itional 30 seconds.
- You can also call up the display with the
!CHECK I button q page 12 while the ig­
nition is sw itched off.

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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.

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-The brake booster and servotronic on ly
work when the engine is running. With
the ignition turned off, you have to apply
more force when steering or braking .
S ince you cannot steer and stop normal­
ly, this can lead to accidents and ser ious
injuries.
- The rad iator fan can continue to run for
up to 10 min utes even after you have
turned off the engine and removed the ign ition key. The radiator fan can also
turn on again if the engine coolant heats
up because of intense sunlight or heat
build -up in the engine compartment.
«I) Note
Do not stop the engine immed iate ly after
hard or extended dr iving. Keep the engine
running for approximately two minutes to
prevent excessive heat build-up .
Starting and stopping
the engine with
Convenience key
Starting the engine with the~
button
App lies to vehicles: with Convenie nce key
This bu tton swi tches on the ign ition and
starts the engine .
Fig. 124 Co nvenie nce k ey: ENG INE START b utton
The I STAR T! button is provided w ith two -sta ge
o p era tion
¢ fig. 124.
Sw itching the ignition on
.. Press the !STAR T I button once to the firs t
stage to switch on only the ign ition .
On th e road 109
Gasoline eng in e: St arting the engine
.. Step on the brake.
.. Move the s elector lever to the P or N posi­
tion ¢.&, .
.. Press th e
r:: 1s =T:--:- A=RT= i button to the secon d
stage to start the engine .
Diesel en gine : Starting the engine
.. Step on the brake.
.. Move the selector lever to the P or N posi­
tion ¢.&, .
.. Press th e
r:: 1s =T A c:--=RT= I button down to the first
level to begin the preheating process . The
glow plug indica tor light
II illum ina tes
when the glow plug sy stem is active .
.. When the ind icator light
II switches off,
press the
I ST ART ! button down to the se c­
ond
level to star t the eng ine .
After a cold engine is started, there may be a br ief period of inc reased no ise because oil
pressure must first build up i n the hydraulic
valve adjuste rs. This is norma l and not a cause
for concern .
If the engine does not start immediately, stop
trying after 10 seconds and then try to restart
the engine abou t 30 seconds later .
Glow plug system*
Die sel engines
are equ ipped with a glow plug
system whose preheating time is controlled
by the coo lant and outs ide temperature . Start
the engine
immediately afte r the glow plug
indicator light
II swi tches off .
The glow plug indicator light will only illumi ­
nate fo r approximate ly 1 second when the en­
gine is warm or the outs ide temperature is
highe r than 46 °F (8 °C) . That means yo u can
start the eng ine
immediately .
WARNING
Never allow the engine to run in confined
spaces -danger of asphyxiation .
(D Note
-Avo id h igh engine rpm, full thrott le and
heavy engine loads until the eng ine has

110 On the road
reac hed o per ating temperature -other ­
wise you risk engine damage.
- The eng ine cannot be started by pushing
or towing the vehicle.
@ For the sake of the environment
Do not allow the engine to warm up with
t he vehicle stationary. Start driving right
away . In th is way you avoid unnecessary
emissions.
@ Tips
If you open the drive r's door when the ig ­
nition is switched o n, a buzze r sounds and
the message
Ignition is on appears i n the
instrument cluster disp lay. Please switch
the ignition off.
Switching engine off with the~
button
App lies to veh icles: wit h Co nvenience key
Fig . 125 Convenience key: ENGINE STOP button
.. Bring your vehicle to a complete stop.
.. Move the selector lever to the P or N pos i-
t ion.
.. Press the
!STOP ! button c;, fig. 125.
Pressing the ! STOP ! button once switches off
the eng ine and the ignition. If you press t he
!STOPI button again for more than 1 second,
the steering is locked , provided that the selec­
tor lever is in t he P pos it ion
c;, & .
Emergency OFF function
If necessary, the eng ine can be sw itched off
with the selector lever in the R, Dor S posi­
tions . To do so, step on the brake pedal and press and ho
ld the
! STOP ! button (vehicle
speed must be less than 6 mph/ 10 km/h).
.&_ WARNING
-
- Never turn off the engine until the vehi-
cle has come to a complete stop.
- The brake booster and servotronic only
work when the engine is running. With
the ignition turned off, you have to apply mo re force when steeri ng or brak ing.
Since you cannot stee r and stop normal­
ly, t his can lead to acc idents and se rious
. . . in Juries.
- For safety reasons, you sho uld a lways
pa rk your vehicle wit h the selector lever
in P. O therwise, the vehicle could inad­
ver ten tly roll aw ay.
- Afte r the eng ine has been switch ed off,
t he r adi ator fa n can cont in ue to run f or
up to 10 minu tes -even with the igni tion
switched off . It can also switch on again
after some t ime if the coolant tempera ­
ture rises as the resu lt of a heat b uildup
or if the engine is hot and the engine
compartment is additionally heated by
the sun's rays.
(D Note
If the engine has been under heavy load
for an extended pe rio d, heat b uilds up in
the engine compartment after the engi ne
i s sw itched off -there is a r isk of damag ing
the e ngine. A llow the engi ne to run a t id le
fo r about 2 minutes before switching it
off .
Driver messages in the instrument
cluster display
Applies to veh icles: w it h Co nvenience key
If a func tion is not present, a driver message
appears.
No key identified
T his message appears when the I STAR T I but-
ton is pr essed if there is no master key ins id e
the vehi cle or if the system does not recogn ize
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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