2015 AUDI RS7 SPORTBACK engine overheat

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Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 11
- 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 burn yourself . Let the engine
cool off first until you can no longer see
or hear steam or coo lant escaping.
Q) Note
- Mount ing additional lights or accessories
i n front of the a ir inlets reduces the cool­
i ng effect of the rad iator . At h igh outside
temperatures or high eng ine load, the
engine could overheat.
- The front spo ile r has been designed to
proper ly distribute the cooling air wh en
t h e veh icle i s moving.
If the spoiler is
damaged, this cou ld red uce the cooling
effect and the engine co uld then over ­
heat . Ask yo ur authorized Audi dea ler fo r
ass istance.
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
If engine R PM drops be low 1 ,500, you should
downshift to the next lower gea r. T he red area
at the end of the sca le indicates maximum
pe rmissib le engine RPM after the break- in pe­
riod. Before reach ing this area, move these­
lector lever to position 0/5 (Drive) or ease
your foot off the accelerator peda l.
(D Note
The tachometer needle should only br iefly
be in the red zone: you cou ld damage your
eng ine! The beginn ing of the red zone var­
ies depending on the operati ng tempera­
ture of the eng ine .
@ For the sake of the environment
Upshift ing early saves fuel and reduces en­
gine noise.
@ Tips
The engine speed is limited when the en­
g ine is co ld - the full engine output is not ava
ilable . When the engine is at operating
temperature, the red area in the tachome­
ter moves to a higher RPM range.
Fuel gauge
The fuel gauge only works when the ignition is
on. If the fue l level drops below 2 .6 gallons
(10 lite rs), the bottom LED turns red and the
indicato r light
(j) turns on ¢ page 20. The
bottom L ED blinks red whe n the fuel level is
very low.
The possible range based on the current fuel level is shown in tab@¢
page 22, fig. 4.
(D Note
Neve r run the ta nk completely dry. A n ir­
r egular supply of f uel can cause engine
misfiring and fuel could enter the exha ust
system. The catalytic co nve rter could t hen
ove rheat and be damaged .
Warning/indicator
Lights
Description
The ind icator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or tur n on. They indica te f unct ions or
malfunctions ¢
&.
Messages may appea r with some indicato r
li ghts. A warning signal will sound at t he
same t ime . The indica to r li ghts and messages
i n the center of the displays may be rep lace d
by other disp lays. To show them again, select
the tab for ind icator lights and messages us­
ing the multif unction steering whee l
¢
page 22. If there are several malfunc­
tions, you can display them one at a time us­ i ng the thumbwheel.
Some indicators lights in the d isp lay can turn
on in severa l co lors.
A WARNING
- Failure to heed warning lights and other
important vehicle informat ion may resu lt
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Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 15
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 brake pedal to stop your
vehicle . Do not rely on stra ined brakes to
respond w ith maximum stopp ing power
in critical situations. You must allow for
increased bra king distances . The extra
distance used up by fading brakes could
lead to an accident .
PARK!<®> Electromechanical parking brake
The warning/indicator light monitors the
electromechanical parking brake.
If the indicator light . (USA models)/ .
(Canada models) tu rns on, the par king b rake
was set .
• (USA mod els ) ~ (C anada mode ls) Cau­
tion: V ehicle pa rk e d too stee p
If the indicator lig ht blinks and the message
appears, there is not enough braking power to
keep the vehicle from rolling. The brakes have
overheated . The vehicle could ro ll away even
on a small in cl ine.
Pr ess brake pedal to rel eas e parking brake
To release the parking brake, press the brake
pedal and press the button ~ or start driving
with s tart ing ass ist at the same t ime
c::> page 78.
Please release parking brake
To release the parking brake man ually, press
the brake pedal and press the button~ at the
same time. The parking brake on ly re leases
automatically if the driver's safety be lt is fas­
tened.
Ill Parkin g brake!
If the Ill indica tor l igh t turns on and this
message appea rs, there is a p arking brake
mal function . Drive to your authorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop immediately to
have the malfunction corrected
.
_L Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engine cooling system
must be repaired as soon as possible .
• Swit ch off en gin e and check coolant l evel
If the indicato r light turns on and the mes­
sage appea rs, the coolant temperature is too
high or the coolant leve l is too low.
.,. Pull off the road .
.,. Stop the vehicle .
.,. Turn off the engine .
.,. Check coolant level
c::> page 217 .
.,. Add coo lant if necessary c::> page 218.
.,. Con tinue dr iv ing on ly afte r the engine cool ­
ant warning/indicator ligh t goes out .
.,. Contact yo ur authorized Audi dealer for as-
sistance if necessary.
If the engine coo lant level is correct, t hen the
radiator fan may be the ca use of the malfunc­
tion .
• Coola nt temperature t oo high! Plea se let
engine run with vehicle stationary
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appea rs, let the engi ne run at idle for a
f ew m in utes to cool down.
A WARNING
- If you r vehicle should brea k down for
mechanical or other reasons, park at a
safe distance from moving traffic, turn
off the eng ine and turn on the hazard
warn ing lights
c::> page 45, Emergency
flasher.
-
- Never open the hood if you see or hear
steam or coolant escaping from the en­
gine compartment -you risk being scald­
ed . Wait unt il you can no longer see o r
hea r steam o r coolant escap ing .
- The engine compartment of any vehicle is a dangerous area . Before you perform
any wo rk in the engine compartment,
~

22 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
There is a malfunction with the sport differen ­
t ial.
Drive to your authorized Aud i dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction cor rected.
(II Sport differential: overheating
The transmission temperature has increased
significantly due to the sporty driving manner .
Drive in a less sporty manner until the tem­
perature returns to the normal range and the
indicator light switches of.
& WARNING
Contact your authorized Audi dealer or a
qualified workshop if the sport differential
is faulty or malfunctioning. The repair
must be performed by trained personnel
using the correct oil in order to ensure
safety.
¢ Q Turn signals
-
The indicator light blinks when you use either
turn signal.
Whenever you use the left. or the rig ht B
turn signal , the indicator light blinks. When
you use the emergency flashers, both indica­
tor lights f lash.
I f one of the turn signal light bulbs burn out,
the turn signa l will blink twice as fast as nor­
mal. Carefully drive to your authorized Audi
dealer immediately to have the malfunction
corrected.
@ Tips
For more information on the turn signals,
refer to r::!>
page 46.
CRUISE /"(0) Cruise control
The warning/indicator light II (USA models)/
ll (Canada models) illuminates when the
cru ise control is activated
c::> page 79 .
Driver information
display
Overview
Fig. 4 Dr iver informat ion syste m in the instrument
cl uster
Fig. S Di sp lay: exampl e of t he info rmatio n lin e
The driver information system contains infor­
mation @ that is displayed on tabs @
c::> fig. 4. The following content is possible de­
pending on vehicle equipment:
@
®
Tab Content
1 Vehicle functions :
On-board computer c::> page 24
Efficiency program* c::> page 25
Digital speedometer
Cruise control*
c::> page 79
Adaptive c ruise control and braking
g uard*
c::> page Bl
Audi active lane assist* c::> page 90
Boost, shifting and engine oil tern-
perature indicators
c::> page 28
Lap timer
c::> page 28
Display darkened

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Manual shift program
Using the manual shift program you can
manually select gears.
,
Ir_
Fig. 120 Ce nter console : sh ift ing the gears manually
Fig. 121 Stee rin g wheel : S hi ft paddles
Gear selection with selector lever
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 plus posi tion 0
~ fig. 120.
• To downshift, push the lever to the minus
position
0 -
Gear selection with shift paddles
The shift paddles are activated 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.121 .
• To downshift, touch the shift paddle on the
left
0 .
• If you do not press a shift paddle within a
short time while in the
0/5 posit ion, the
transmission will return to automatic mode .
Automatic Transmission 107
To keep shifting using the shift paddles,
move the selector lever to the right out of
the D/S pos ition.
When accelerating, the transmission does
not
automatically shift to the next gear shortly
before the maximum permitted engine RPM is
reached.
If you have se lected a lower gear than the cur­
rent one, the automatic transmission will shift
down only when the engine will not be over ­
revved.
With kick-down , the transmission shifts into a
lower gear depending on speed and engine
RPM.
(D Tips
Tiptronic is inoperat ive when the transmis­
sion is in the fa il-safe mode.
Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
When you depress the accelerator peda l be­
yond the resistance point, the automatic
transmission downshifts into a lower gear, de­
pending on vehicle speed and engine speed .
The upshift into the next higher gear takes
place once th e maximum specified engine
speed is reached .
A WARNING
Please note that the drive wheels can spin
if kick-down is used on a smooth slippery
road - there is a risk of skidd ing.
Transmission malfunction
[!l Transmission : Press brake pedal and se­
lect gear again
Press the brake pedal and select the desired
selector lever position again . You can then
continue driving.
[!l Transmission overheating: Please drive
conservatively

192 Intelligent technology
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopp ing distance.
- Under certain climatic 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 ca n
accumulate on the brake pads, linings ,
discs and d rums . Carefully apply brakes
for a test . B rakes wi ll dry a nd ice coat­
ings will be cleaned off after a few c are­
f ul brake app lications .
- Dr iv ing fo r an ex tende d pe riod of time on
salt-covere d roads w ithout us ing yo ur
brakes can also affect braking efficiency.
Clean off accumulated salt coating from
bra ke discs and pads w ith a few caref ul
brake applicat ions.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler, be sure the air
flow to the front brakes is not obstruct­ ed. Otherwise the brake system could
over heat reducing the effectiveness of
the ent ire brake system .
- Failure of one brake c ircuit will impair
the braking capability res ulting in an in­
creased stopp ing distance. Avoid driv ing
the vehicle and have it towed to t he near­
est Aud i dea le r o r q ualified w ork sho p.
- Never let the vehicle ro ll to a stop w ith
the e ngine shu t off.
- If the brake booster is not working, the
brake pedal must be p ressed conside ra­
bly harder to make up for the la ck of
booster assistance.
Electromechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electromechanical power assist helps the
driver when steering .
Power stee ring adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed .
Indicator lights and messages
• Steer ing defective! Stop the vehicle
If this indicato r light turns on and stays on
and this message appears, the power steering
may have failed.
Do
not con tinue dr iv ing . See your author ized
Audi dealer or other qualified repair facility
for assistance .
l;r-ij Steering: System fault You can continue
driving
If the indicato r light turns on and the mes­
sage appea rs, the stee ring may be more diffi­
cul t to move o r more sensi tive th an usua l. The
steering wheel may a lso be at an ang le when
driving straight .
Drive slowly to you r authorized Aud i dea le r o r
qualified wo rks hop to have the ma lf u nct ion
corre cted.
l;r,ij Dynamic steering: Initializing
If this driver message appears and t he indica­
tor light is f lashing on the instrument panel,
dynam ic steer ing* is being rei nitia lized. Afte r
sta rting the engine, the stee ring wheel will
move s ligh tly. Re- ini tiali zation mig ht be ne c­
e ssa ry if the stee ring wheel was moved h ard
to the left an d right wh ile the vehicle was not
moving . The display goes out as soon as initi ­
alization is complete.
D rive slowly to you r aut horized Audi de aler or
qualified wo rkshop to have the ma lf u nct ion
corrected.
A WARNING
Have t he dynamic stee ring * system mal ­
f u nction repa ired as soon as possib le by an
a uthorized Audi dealer or qua lified wor k­
shop - risk of accident !
(D Tips
If the . or@ indicator light on ly stays
on for a short time, yo u may continue driv­
i ng.
- The dynamic steering * sta bility systems
are not avai lab le in the event of a system
ma lf u nction.
- For add itiona l information on dynamic
steering *, refer t o
c> page 96.

198 Driving and en vironm ent
_& WARNING
The temperature o f the exhaust system is
high, both when driving and after stopping
the engine .
- Never touch the exha ust tail p ipes once
they have become hot. This could result in burns .
- Do not park or operate the veh icle in
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in contact with dry grass, brush,
fuel spill or other material which can cause a fire .
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustproofing on or near the exhaust
man ifold , exhaust p ipes, catalytic con ­
verte r or heat shie lds. D uri ng d riving, the
substance used for undercoating cou ld
over heat and cause a fire .
(I) Note
- Be aware that just one tank filling with
l eaded fuel will already seriously de­
grade the perfo rmance of the cata lytic
conve rter.
- Do not exceed the correct engine oil leve l
¢page 215.
- Do not d rive until the fuel tank becomes
completely empty. The eng ine could mis­
fire. Unburned f uel could a lso ge t in to
t h e exhaus t sys tem and this could cause
the ca talyt ic converte r to ove rheat.
- Do no t switch off the ign ition wh ile the
vehicle is moving.
- Do no t continue to operate yo ur vehicle
u nder these condi tions, as otherw ise fuel
can reac h the catalytic converter . This
could result in overheating of the co n­
verter, req uiring its replacement.
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis ­
sion Control System :
- Have your veh icle maintained properly
and in accordance with the service rec­
ommendations in your Wa rranty
&
Ma intenance booklet.
- Lack of proper maintenance as well as
improper use of the vehicle will impa ir the function of the em
ission cont ro l
system and could lead to damage .
~ For the sake of the env ironment
Even when the Emiss ion Con trol Sys tem is
operat ing proper ly, the exha ust gas can
have a sulfur-li ke ex haust gas smell under
some ope rat ing states . This depends on
the sulfur content of the fuel being used .
Using a different brand of fue l may help,
or fil ling the tank with lead -free super
grade gasoline .
Shutting down vehicle
If you would like you r vehicle to remain inop­
erative for a longer per iod of t ime, contact an
Audi o r other spec ia lized dealer. They can ad­
v ise you on ne cessa ry precautions e .g. co rro­
s io n preven tion , maintena nce and s to rage.
Pay a ttent ion to addi tional in fo rmat ion con­
cerning the battery. Refer to
¢ page 2 21.
Operate your vehicle
economically and
minimize pollution
General
Your p ersonal style of driving will determine
the economy of your vehicle , as well as ex ­
haust and nois e le ve ls .
Fu el economy, environmenta l impact, and
wear on your engine , brakes and tires largely
depend on three factors:
- your personal d riving style
- operati ng conditions
- technical limitat ions
If you an tic ipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, you can easily cut your
fuel consumpt io n by 10 -15 percent . This sec ­
t ion w ill give you some tips on how you can
help the e nvir onment and your pocketbook .

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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 .
The cooling system is sealed and generally re­
qu ires little attention .
The cooling system has been filled at the fac­
tory with a permanent coolant which does not need to be changed. The coolant consists of a
mixture of specially conditioned water and the
manufacturer's glycol-based coolant addi-
tive G13 antifreeze with anticorros ion addi­
tives (50% for USA models; 60% for Canadian models) . This mixture both assures the neces­
sary frost protection and protects metal com­
ponents in the engine's cooling system from
corrosion and scaling.
It also raises the boil ­
ing point of the coolant.
Do not reduce the concentration of the coo l­
ant in the summer by adding plain water .
The
proportion of coolant additive must be at
least 50% but not more than 60%
to main­
tain antifree ze protection and cooling efficien­
cy. If the coolant frost protection is too low,
the coolant could freeze and damage the vehi ­
cle heating and eng ine cooling system .
For year-round driving, antifree ze is added at
the factory for temperatures down to:
- -31°F(-35°C)USA
- -40 ° F ( - 40 °C) Canada.
I f you must add coo lant, use a mixture of wa­
ter and coolant addit ive. Mixing the coolant
additive 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 211.
(D Note
- Before winter sets in, have the coolant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
Checkin g and fillin g 217
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli ­
mate conditions. This is especia lly impor­
tant if you live in a region where the win­
ter is extremely co ld. If necessary, in­
crease the proportion of coolant additive
to 60% .
- When adding coolant additive to your
cooling system, remember :
- We recommend using only coolant ad­
ditive G12++ or G13 (check the label)
for your vehicle . This coolant additive is
avai lable at authorized Audi dealers .
Other types of antifreeze can signifi­
cantly reduce corrosion protection. The resulting corrosion can cause a loss of
coolant and serious engine damage.
- Do not add any type of radiator leak seal­
ant to your vehicle's engine coolant.
Adding radiator repair fluid may adverse­
ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and could result in
damage not covered by your New Veh icle
Limited Warranty.
Checking the engine coolant level
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance.
Fig. 191 En gin e compar tment: cover on the coo lant
expansio n tan k
Before you check anyth ing in the eng ine com­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS¢.&, in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 211 .
"'Park your vehicle on a level surface .
"' Sw itch off the ignition.
"' Read the engine coolant level from the cool­
ant expansion tank ¢
fig. 191, ¢ page 213, Ill>-

218 Check ing and filling
fig . 188. With a cold engine, the coo lant
l evel should be between the "min" and
"max" markings . When the engine is warm ,
the leve l may be slightly above the "max"
mark ing .
The location of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus­
tration
9 page 213.
To obtain an accurate reading, the engine
must be switched off .
The expans ion tank in you r vehicle is equipped
with an e lectric coolant level sensor.
When the coolant level is too low, the warning l ight in the Auto-Check System
9 page 15 w ill
illum inate unti l you add coolant and the level
has been restored to normal. Even though
there is an electric coolant level senso r, we
still recommend you check the coolant leve l
from time to time .
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a le ak in the 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
s ealed 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 followi ng 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, thick rag .
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefu lly in
a counter-clockwise direction w hile ap­
plying light, downward pressure on the
top of the cap . -
To avoid being burned, do not spi ll anti­
freeze or coolant on the exha ust system
or hot engine parts. Under certain cond i­
tions, the ethylene glycol in engine coo l­
a nt can catch fire.
(D Note
Do not add any type of radiator leak sea l­
ant to your veh icle's engine coolant. Add­
i ng radiator repair fluid may adverse ly af­
fect the funct ion and pe rformance of you r
cooling system and could result in damage
not cove red by your New Veh icle Limited
War ran ty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Befo re you check anyth ing in the eng ine com­
partment,
always read and he ed all WARN­
INGS ¢ ..&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page
211.
" Requirement: There must be a residua l
amo unt of coolant in the expansion ta nk
¢ (D .
"Tu rn off the engi ne.
" Le t the eng ine cool down.
" Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
t ank
9 page 217, fig. 191 and ca refully
twist the cap counter-clockwise ¢&,, .
" Add coolant m ixed in the correct rat io
¢
page 217, Coolant up to the MAX mark­
ing.
" Make sure that the flu id leve l remains sta -
ble . Add more coo la nt if necessary .
" Twist the cap o n again
tightly .
Replacement engine coo lant must conform to
exact spec ificat ions ¢
page 217, Coolant.
We recommend using only coolant add i-
tive
Gl2++, Gl3 or in an emergency Gl2 +. Do
not use a d ifferent addit ive . In an emergency
use p la in water until you can get the correct
additive and can resto re the co rrect rat io . This
shou ld be done as soon as possib le. .,..