2015 AUDI S7 Owners Manual

M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
The washer fluid container is marked with the
symbol~ on its cap
¢fig . 199, ¢page 227,
fig. 193 .
.,. Before you check anything in the engine
compartment,
always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢ A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 225 .
.,. Lift the filler cap tongue to add washer flu­
id. You can fill the container to the top .
.,. Press the cap back onto the filler neck after
filling the container .
You can f ind the reservoir
capacity in the table
in
¢page 292.
Clean water shou ld be used when filling up. If
possible, use soft water to prevent sca ling on
washer jets. Always add a glass cleaner solu­
tion (with frost protection in the winter).
CJ) Note
Do not mix engine coolant antifreeze or
any other additives to fill up the wind­
shield washer reservoir.
Checking and filling 239
•
•

240 Tires and wheels
Tires and wheels
Tires
General notes
Tires may be the least appreci­
ated and most abused parts of
a motor vehicle.
Tires may be the least appreci­
ated and most abused parts of
a motor vehicle. Tires are, how­
ever, one of the most important
parts of a vehicle, particularly
considering the comparatively
small patch of rubber on each
tire that assures that all-impor­
tant contact between you, your
vehicle and the road.
Maintaining the correct tire
pressure, making sure that your
vehicle and its tires do not have
to carry more weight than they can safely handle, avoiding
damage from road hazards and
regularly inspecting tires for
damage including cuts, slashes
irregular wear and overall con­
dition are the most important
things that you can do to help avoid sudden tire failure includ­
ing tread separation and blow­
outs.
Avoiding damage
If you have to drive over a curb
or similar obstacle, drive very
slowly and as close as possible
at a right angle to the curb.
Always keep chemicals includ­
ing grease, oil, gasoline and
brake fluid off the tires.
Inspect the tires regularly for
damage (cuts, cracks or blis­
ters, etc.). Remove any foreign
bodies embedded in the treads.
Storing tires
Mark tires when you remove
them to indicate the direction
of rotation. This ensures you to
be able to mount them correct­
ly when you reinstall them.
When removed, the wheels or
tires should be stored in a cool,
dry and preferably dark place.
Store tires in a vertical position if they are not mounted on
rims, in a horizontal position if
they are mounted on rims.
New tires
New tires have to be broken in
¢ &.
The tread depth of new tires
may vary, according to the type .,.

Tires and wheels 241
and make of tire and the tread -New tires tend to be slip-•
pattern.
pery and must be broken in. • '
Hidden damage To reduce the risk of losing
Damage to tires and rims is of -control, a collision and seri-
ous personal injuries, drive
ten not readily visible. If you with special care for the
notice unusual vibration or the first 350 miles (560 km).
vehicle pulls to one side, this
-Driving with worn or dam-
may indicate that one of the
aged tires can lead to loss of
tires has been damaged . The
control, sudden tire failure,
tires must be checked immedi-
ately by an authorized Audi including a blowout and
sudden deflation, crashes
dealer or qualified workshop.
and serious personal inju-
Unidirectional tires ries. Have worn or damaged
A unidirectional tire can be tires replaced immediately.
identified by arrows on the -Tires age even if they are
sidewall, that point in the di rec- not being used and can fail
tion the tire is designed to ro- suddenly, especially at high
tate. You must follow the speci- speeds. Tires that are more
fied direction of rotation. This is than 6 years old can only be
necessary so that these tires used in an emergency and
can develop their optimum then with special care and
characteristics regarding grip, at low speed.
road noise, wear and hydro- -Never mount used tires on
planing resistance. For more in- your vehicle if you are not
formation
¢ page 280. sure of their "previous histo-
ry." Old used tires may have
A WARNING
been damaged even though -
New tires or tires that are the damage cannot be seen
old, worn or damaged cannot that can lead to sudden tire
provide maximum control failure and loss of vehicle
M N and braking ability. <(
control. (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,

242 Tires and wheels
-If you notice unusual vibra­
tion or if the vehicle pulls to
one side when driving, al­
ways stop as soon as it is
safe to do so and check the
wheels and tires for dam­
age.
0 Note
-Please note that summer and winter tires are de­
signed for the conditions
that are typical in those sea­
sons. Audi recommends us­
ing winter tires during the
winter months. Low tem­ peratures significantly de­
crease the elasticity of
summer tires, which affects
traction and braking ability. If summer tires are used
in
very cold temperatures, cracks can form on the tread
bars, resulting in perma­
nent tire damage that can
cause loud driving noise and
unbalanced tires. Audi is not
responsible for this type of
damage.
-Burnished, polished or chromed rims must not be used in winter road condi­
tions. The surface of the
rims does not have suffi­
cient corrosion protection
for this and could be perma­
nently damaged by road salt
or similar substances.
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weight (in
excess of those standard items
which may be replaced) of auto­ matic transmission, power
steering, power brakes, power
windows, power seats, radio, and heater, to the extent that
these items are available as fac­
tory-installed equipment (whether installed or not).
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the width of the tire in percent.
Numbers of 55 or lower indi­
cate a low sidewall for im­
proved steering response and
better overall handling on dry
pavement.
...

M N <( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Bead
means the part of the tire that
is made of steel wires, wrapped
or reinforced by ply cords and
that is shaped to fit the rim .
Bead separation
means a breakdown of the bond
between components in the
bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire pressure recom­
mended by the vehicle manu­
facturer for a tire of a designat­
ed size that has not been driven
for more than a couple of miles (kilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before
the tire pressure is measured or
adjusted.
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor
vehicle with standard equip­
ment including the maximum
capacity of fuel, oil, and cool­
ant, air conditioning and addi­
tional weight of optional equip­
ment.
Tires and wheels 243
Extra load tire
means a tire design to operate
at higher loads and at higher inflation pressures than the
corresponding standard tire .
Extra load tires may be identi­
fied as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR")
means the load-carrying capaci­
ty of a single axle system,
measured at the tire-ground in­
terfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR")
means the maximum total
loaded weight of the vehicle .
Groove
means the space between two
adjacent tread ribs.
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that
a tire is rated to carry for a giv­
en inflation pressure. You may
not find this information on all
tires because it is not required by law.
•
•
'

244 Tires and whee ls
Ma ximum load r ating
means the load rating for a tire
at the maximum permissible in­
flation pressure for that tire.
Maximum lo ad ed vehicle
weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Ma ximum (permissible )
inflation pressure
means the maximum cold infla­
tion pressure to which a tire
may be inflated. Also called
"maximum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms)
times the number of occupants seated in the vehicle up to the
total seating capac ity of your
vehicle.
Occupant di stribution
means distribution of occu­
pants in a vehicle .
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of
an inflated new tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance be­
tween the ex teriors of the side­
walls of an inflated tire, includ ­
ing elevations due to labeling,
decorations, or protective bands or ribs .
Ply
means a layer of rubber -coated
parallel cords .
Production options weight
means the combined we ight of
those installed regular produc­
tion options weighing over 5
lbs . (2 .3 kg) in excess of those
standard items which they re­
place, no t previously consid­
ered in curb weight or accessory
weight, including heavy duty
brakes, ride leve lers, roof rack,
heavy duty bat tery, and special
trim.
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in
wh ich the p ly cords that extend
to the beads are laid at sub ­
stantially 90 degrees to the
centerline of the tread .

Recommended inflation
pressure
see¢ page 243J Cold tire infla­
tion pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a tire design to operate
at higher loads and at higher
inflation pressures than the
corresponding standard tire. Reinforced tires may be identi­
fied as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Rim
means a metal support for a
tire or a tire and tube assembly
upon which the tire beads are
seated.
Rim diameter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat. If you change your
wheel size, you will have to pur­ chase new tires to match the
new rim diameter.
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nominal distance be­
~ tween rim flanges.
<( (.J
'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Tires and wheels 245
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire be­
tween the tread and bead.
Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at which a tire
is designed to be driven for ex­
tended periods of time. The rat­ ings range from 93 mph (150
km/h) to 186 mph (298 km/h)
¢ page 263. You may not find
this information on all tires be­ cause it is not required by law.
The speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and indicates
the maximum permissible road speeds ¢
A in Winter tires on
page
267.
Tire pressure monitoring system
means a system that detects
when one or more of a vehicle's tires are underinflated and illu­
minates a low tire pressure
warning telltale.
Tread
means that portion of a tire
that comes into contact with
the road.
•
•
'

246 Tires and whee ls
Tread sep aration
means pulling away of the
t read from the tire carcass.
Treadwear indicators (TWI )
means the projections within
the principal grooves designed
to give a visual indication of the degrees of wear of the tread.
See
¢ page 2 58, Tread Wear
Indicator (TWI)
for more infor­
mation on measuring tire wear.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire information sys tem de­
veloped by the United States
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) that is
designed to help buyers make
relative comparisons among
tires . The UTQG is not a safety
rat ing and not a guarantee that
a tire will last for a prescribed
number of miles (kilometers) or
perform in a certain way. It
simply gives tire buyers addi­
tiona l information to comb ine
with other considerations, such as price, brand loyalty and deal­
er recommenda tions. Under
U TQG, tires are graded by the
tire manufacturers in three
areas: treadwear, traction , and
temperature resistance . The UTQG information on the t
ires
molded into the sidewalls .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification
Number (TIN)
,
This is the tire's "serial num­
ber" . It begins with the letters
"DOT" and indicates that the
tire meets all federal stand­
ards . The next two numbers or
letters indicate the p lant where
it was manufactured, and the
last four numbers represent the
week and year of manufac ture.
F or example ,
DOT ... 2214 ...
means that the ti re was pro­
duced in the 22nd week of
201 4. T he other n umbers are
marketing codes that may or
may not be used by the tire
manufacturer. This information
is used to contact consumers if
a tire defect requires a recall.
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and lug­
gage load plus 150 lbs.
(68 kilograms) times the vehi­
cle's total seating capacity as
listed on the label located on
the dr iver's side B-pillar . .,..