2016 AUDI A7 Owners Manual

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Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 176 Tether ancho rs: attach ment hook locatio ns be·
h ind t he rear sea tbacks
The tethe r anchors for the two/three* rear seat­
ing positions are located on the backside of the
rear seatbacks
~ fig. 176 . Vehicles with two rear
seating positions are equipped with two tether
anchors.
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that at­
taches the top part of a ch ild restraint to special
anchorage points in the vehicle.
The purpose of the te ther is to reduce the for ­
ward movement of the child restraint in a c rash,
in order to help reduce the risk of head injury that
could be caused by striking the vehicle interior.
F orward facing child restrain ts manufact ured af ­
ter Sep tember 1, 1999, are required by U.S . fed­
eral reg ulations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements. These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new chi ld safety seat s.
A WARNING
Improper installation of chi ld restraints will
increase the risk of i njury and death in a crash .
- Always follow the instructions prov ided by
the manufacturer of the child restra int you
intend to install i n your Aud i.
- Improper use of ch ild restra int anchors (in­
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a collision . The anchors are des igned to
withstand only those loa ds i mposed by cor­
rect ly fit ted child restra ints .
- N ever mount two chi ld restraint systems on
one LATC H lower anchor point .
.
Child sa fe ty
- Never attach two child restraint systems to
one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether anchorages
to secure safety belts or other k inds of occ u­
pant restraints.
- Never secure or attac h any luggage or other
items to the LATCH lower anchorages or to
the tether anchors.
- If you must insta ll a rearwa rd facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of except ional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig . 1 77 Tet her st ra p: prop er rou ting a nd m ou nting
Installing the tether st rap
... Release o r deploy the tet her st rap on the ch ild
restraint ac cording to the chi ld restraint manu­
facturer's instructions.
... Guide the upper te ther strap
under the rear
head restraint ~
fig. 177 (raise the head re­
straint if necessary).
... Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into the
tether anchorage.
... Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly follow ing the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
ll>
183

Child safety
Releasing the teth er str ap
.,. Loosen the tension following the c hild restra int
manufacturer's instructions.
.,. Depress the spring catch on the hook and re­
lease it from the anchorage.
(D Note
I f you leave the child restraint with the tether
strap firmly insta lled for severa l days, this
co uld leave a mark on the upho lstery on the
seat cush ion and backrest in the area where
the tet he r strap was installed. The upholstery
would also be permanently stretched around the tethe r stra p. This a pplies espec ially to
l e ather seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Cur rently, few rear-facing child rest raint systems
come with a tethe r. P lease read and h eed the
child restra int system manufactu rer's instruc­
tions carefully to determ ine how to properly in­
stall the tether.
A WARNING
A c hild in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
air bag infl ates -even w ith an Advance d Ai rb ag
System.
- T he inflati ng a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infa nt c arrie r with gre at force and
will smash t he chi ld safety seat and ch ild
against the bac krest, center armrest, or
doo r.
- If you mus t insta ll a rearward facing chi ld
safety seat on the fro nt passenger seat be­
ca use of exceptional ci rc u mstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-fac ing c hild safety seat in a rear
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspec ted by your A udi dealer .
184
Additional information
· Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number o f sources of additiona l infor ­
mation about child restraint se lection, insta lla­
tion and use :
N HT SA advises t hat the bes t chi ld safety seat is
the one tha t fits yo ur child and fits in yo ur vehi ­
cle, and that you will use correctly and co nsis ­
tent ly.
Try before yo u buy!
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Admin ist ra­
t ion
Tel.: 1 -888-3 27-4 236 (TIY: 1-8 00-42 4-9153)
www. n htsa .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
www.safe kids.o rg
Safety BeltSaf e U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 7 45-SAFE (English)
T el.: (800) 747-SANO (Spanish)
www. ca rseat.org
T ransport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 o r call 1-613-998-86 16 if
yo u are in the Ottawa a rea
http://www .t c.gc. ca/e ng/ roadsafety/menu .htm
Audi Customer Relations
Tel.: (800) 822-2834

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Audi pre sense Preventative passenger
protection
App lies to veh icles: with Audi p re se nse
Pre sense can initiate steps to protect veh icle oc­
cupa nts in certain dangerous situations. The
functions descr ibed a re ava ilable depending on
ve hicle equ ipme nt:
Pre sense ba sic*
The fo llow ing funct ions can be triggered in cer­
tain driving situations:
- Tensioning of the safety be lts (for example,
during heavy b raking) : The front safety belts
have revers ib le be lt pretensioners. If a collision
does not occur, the safety belts loosen sli ght ly
and are ready to trigger aga in.
- Clos ing the windows and the sunroof* (for ex­
amp le, when over- or understeering): The door
windows and the sunroof* are closed almost
completely until o nly a sma ll gap is open .
Audi pre sense basic functions can be triggered at
speeds above 20 mph (30 km/h).
Drive se lect: The deployment time is adapted in
Dynamic mode .
Pre sense front (vehicles with adaptive cruise
control* }
Pre sense front contains the functions of pre
sense basic . In add ition, the likelihood of a rear­
end collis ion with the vehicle ahead is also calcu­
lated, within the limits of the system. If the risk
of a collision is detected, the following functions
can trigger:
- Brak ing guard
¢ page 91
-Tensioning of the safety be lts
- Closing the w indows and the sun roof*
Pre sense rear (v ehicles with side assist* }
Pre sense rea r contains the funct ions of pre sense
bas ic. I n addit io n, the li kelihood of a rea r-end
coll is ion from the veh icle behi nd is also calc ulat­
ed, w it hi n the lim its of the system. If the risk of a
collision is de tected, the following functions can
trigger :
Audi pre sense
-Tens ion ing of the sa fe ty belts
- Clos ing the windows an d the s unroo f*
Pre sense plus*
P re sense p lus conta ins the functions of pre
sense front and p re se nse rea r.
Error mes sage
Aud i pre sense: Unavailable
Preventative passenge r protection is not availa ­
ble. Drive to yo ur autho rized Audi deale r immedi­
ately to have the ma lfunction corrected.
A WARNING
-
Pre sense cannot overcome natural physical
l aws. It is a system designed to assist and it
ca nnot prevent a collision. Do not let the in­
creased safety prov ided temp t you into taking
risks . This could incr eas e yo ur risk of a co lli­
s ion.
- The system can deploy incorrectly .
- Please note that t he sensors do not always
detect a ll objects . This inc reases the r isk of a
coll is io n.
- Pre sense does not react to people or a ni­
mals or objec ts that are crossi ng the vehi­
cle 's path o r are difficult to det ect
¢ page 85.
-Reflec tive ob jects s uch as guard rai ls o r the
entrance to a tunne l, heavy rai n and ice can
a ffec t the fu nction of the rada r senso rs and
t he system's ability to de te ct a co llision risk.
(D Note
The sensors can be d isplaced by impacts or
d amage to the bumper, w heel housing a nd
u nder body. Pre se nse can be impa ired by th is .
H ave an a utho riz e d Aud i de aler o r au th orized
A udi Service Facility check the ir func tion .
(D Tips
-Certa in p re sense fro nt functions swi tch off
w he n sp o rt mode is sw itche d off or w hen
dr iving in reverse .
- T he p re sense fun ctions m ay not be av aila ­
b le i f th ere is a m alfu nction in t he ES C sys­
tem or t he a irbag con tro l mod ule.
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Audi pre sense
-The pre sense front/plus f unctions are not
ava ila ble if there is a malfunction in the
adaptive c ruise control * system
~ page 92.
- The pre sense rear/pl us functions are not
ava ila ble if there is a malfunction in the side
ass ist * system
e> page 92.
186

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Intelligent Technology Notice about data
recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and
vehicle control modules
Event Data Recorder
This vehicle is equipped with an Event Data Re­
corder (EDR). The main purpose of an EDR is to
record, in certain crash or near crash-like situa­
tions, such as an a irbag deployment or hitting a
road obstacle, data that will assist in understand­
ing how a vehicle's systems performed. The EDR
is designed to record data related to vehicle dy­
namics and safety systems for a short period of
time, typically 30 seconds or less. The EDR in this
vehicle is designed to record such data as:
- How various systems in your vehicle were oper­
ating;
- Whether or not the driver and passenger safety
belts were buckled/fastened;
- How far (if at all) the driver was depressing the
accelerator and/or brake pedal; and,
- How fast the vehicle was traveling.
These data can he lp provide a better understand­
ing of the circumstances in which crashes and in­
juries occur. NOTE: EDR data are recorded by your
vehicle only if a non-trivial crash situation occurs;
no data are recorded by the EDR under normal
driving conditions and no personal data (e .g.,
name, gender, age, and crash location) are re­
corded. However, other parties, such as law en­
forcement, could combine the EDR data with the
type of personally identifying data routinely ac­
quired during a crash investigation.
To read data recorded by an EDR, special equip­
ment is requ ired, and access to the vehicle or the
E DR is needed. In addition to the vehicle manu­
facturer, other parties, such as law enforcement,
that have the special equipment , can read the in­
formation if they have access to the vehicle or the
EDR.
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down­
l oading of data stored by EDRs installed in a vehi­
cle for the express purpose of retrieving data af-
Intelligent Technology
ter an accident or crash event without the own­
er's consent.
A udi will not access the EDR and/or similar data
o r give it to others -
- unless the vehicle owner (or lessee if the vehi­
cle has been leased) agrees; or
- upon the official request by the police; or
- upon the order of a court of law or a govern-
ment agency; or
- for the defense of a lawsuit through the judicial
discovery process .
- Audi may also use the data for research about
veh icle operation and safety performance or
provide the data to a third party for research
purposes without identifying the specific vehi­
cle or information about the ident ity of its own­
er or lessee and only after the recorded vehicle
data has been accessed.
Vehicle control modules
Your vehicle is also equipped with a number of
electron ic control modules for various vehicle
systems, such as eng ine management, emission
control, airbags, and safety belts.
These electronic control modules record data during norma l vehicle operation that may be
needed by trained technicians for diagnostic and
repair purposes. The recording capabil ity of these
modules is lim ited to data (no sound is reco rded).
Only a small amount of data is actua lly recorded
over a very limited period of time, or stored when
a system fau lt is detected by a contro l module.
Some of the data stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, or braking, as well as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash . Stored data can also only be read and
downloaded w ith specia l equipment that is di­
rectly connected to the vehicle.
(D Tips
Your vehicle may be equipped with Audi con­
nect. Your use of certain Audi connect fea­
tures requires wireless services that are pro­
v id ed by a third party wire less telecommuni­
cations provider . For detai ls regard ing how in­
formation obtained through Audi connect is
collected, processed, transmitted, used, and ..,.
187

Intelligent Technology
shared, p le a se see yo ur contract with the
wireless telecomm unications provider and the
"About Aud i connect" tab in your vehicle's
MMI:
! MENUI button> Audi connect > About
Audi connect .
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of sk id­
d ing and loss of veh icle control.
It works only
when the engine is runn ing. ESC detects certa in
d ifficult d riving situations, including when the ve­
h icle is beginn ing to sp in (yaw) o ut of control and
he lps you to ge t the veh icle back u nder cont ro l b y
selec tively braking the whee ls, and/or reduc ing
engine power and providing steering assistance
to help hold the vehicle on the driver's i ntended
course. The indicator light
DJ in the instrument
cluster blinks when ESC is taking action to help
you control t he veh icle.
ESC has lim itations. It is important to remember
that ESC cannot overcome the laws of physics. It
will not a lways be ab le to he lp out under all con­
d itions you may come up against. For example,
ESC may not always be able to help you master
situations where there is a sudden change in the
coefficient of friction of the road surface. Whe n
there is a section of d ry road tha t is s udden ly cov ­
ere d wi th wa ter, s lush or snow, ESC ca nnot per­
form the same way it wou ld on the d ry s urface . If
the vehicle hydroplanes ( rides on a cushion of wa ­
ter instead of t he road surface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because contact
with the pavement has been i nterrupted and the
ve hicle cannot be b raked or steered. Dur ing fast
cor ne ring, particula rly o n w inding roads, ESC
cannot a lways deal as eff ect ively wi th d iff icu lt
d riving situat ions than at lowe r speeds.
Always ad just your speed and dr iv ing style to
road, traffic and weather conditions. ESC ca nnot
over ride the vehicle's physical limi ts, increase t he
ava ilab le tract io n, or keep a vehi cle on t he road if
roa d de pa rture is a res ult o f driver in att enti on.
I nstead, ESC improves the poss ibility of keeping
188
the veh icle unde r control and on the road dur ing
extreme maneuve rs by using the dr iver's stee ring
i nputs to help keep the vehicle going in the in ­
tended direction. If yo u are traveling at a speed
that causes you to run off the road before ESC
can p rov ide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC is switc hed on all the time. In certain s itua­
tions when you need less tracti on, you can switch
off ASR by press ing the button
[ru c:> page 189,
fig . 178. Be sure to sw itch ASR on aga in when
you no longer need l ess traction.
The following systems are integrated in the ESC:
Anti -lock braking system (ABS )
ABS prevents the whee ls from locki ng when brak ­
i ng . T he veh icle can st ill be stee red even during
hard braking. App ly steady pressure to the brake
pedal. Do not pump the pedal. A puls ing in the
brake pedal indicates that the system is acting to
stab ilize the veh icle.
Brake assist sy stem
The bra ke ass ist system can decrease braking dis­
tance. It increases bra king power when the driver
presses the brake peda l quickly in emergency sit­
uat ions. You must press and hold the b rake peda l
u nt il the dange rous situat io n is over . In vehicles
with adaptive cruise co ntro l*, the brake ass ist
system is more sensitive if t he d ista nce detected
to t he veh icle a head is too sma ll.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR red uces eng ine power when the drive wheels
begin spin ning and adapts the force to the road
cond it ions . Th is makes it eas ier to sta rt, acce ler­
ate a nd dr ive up incl ines.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
EDL applies t he brakes to a whee l that starts
sp inning a nd tra nsfe rs the d rive power to the
othe r drivi ng whee ls. This function is not ava ila­
ble at hig he r speeds.
In extreme cases, EDL automatically sw itches off
to keep the brake o n the braked whee l from over­
hea ting. The vehicle is st ill work ing cor rect ly. EDL ..,.

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will switch on again automatically when
conditions have returned to normal.
Steering recommendation
The ESC helps to stabilize the vehicle by changing
the steering torque.
In vehicles with dynam ic steering*, ESC also
he lps to stabilize the steering in critical situa­
tions.
Selective wheel to rque control
Selective wheel torque control is used when driv­
ing on curves . The front wheel on the inside of
the curve or both wheels on the i nside of the
curv e are braked selectively as needed . This al­
lows more precise dr iving in curves.
Automatic post-collision braking system
The "Automatic post-collision braking system"
can help to reduce the risk of sliding and of other
collis ions after an accident. If the airbag control
module detects a coll is ion above a ce rtain veh icle
speed, the vehicle is braked by the ESC.
The vehicle does not brake automatically if:
- the driver presses the acce lerator pedal, or
- the braking force generated by the pressed
brake pedal is greater than the braking force
that would be initiated by the system, or
- the ESC, the brake system or the vehicle electri­
ca l system are not functioning.
Switching on/off
Intelligent Technology
A WARNING ,-
-The ESC and its integrated systems cannot
overcome the limits posed by natural phys i­
cal laws. This is especially important on slip­
pe ry or wet roads. If the systems begin act­
ing to stabilize your vehicle, you should im­
mediately alter your speed to match the
road and traffic conditions. Do not let the in­
creased safety provided tempt you into tak­
ing risks. This could increase your risk of a
collis ion.
- Please note the r isk of a collision increases
when driving fast, especially thro ugh curves
and on slippery or wet roads, and when driv­
ing too close to objects ahead. The ESC and its integrated systems cannot always pre­
vent collisions· there is still a risk of acc i­
dents!
- Press the accelerator pedal carefully when
accelerating on even, slippery surfaces such
as ice and snow. The drive wheels can spin
even when these control systems are instal­
led and this can affect driving stability and
i n crease the r isk of a coll ision .
(j) Tips
-ABS and ASR only function correctly when
all four wheels are equipped with identical
tires. Different tire s izes can lead to a reduc­
tion in engine power .
- You may hear noises when the systems de­
scribed are working.
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine .
Fig. 178 Center console: !J, OFF butto n
The following examples are unusual situations
where it may make sense to switch sport mode
on in orde r to allow the wheels to sp in:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Driving in deep snow or on loose ground
- Driving with snow chains
189

Intelligent Technology
ESC lev els
Sport mode on Sport mode off
Beha vior
The ESC and ASR stabilization f unctions are The full stabilization function of t he ESC
limited
c> ,& . and ASR is avai lab le again .
Operation Press the 1.$ OFF I button. Press the 1.$ OFF I button agai n.
In dicato r II turns on. II turns off.
light s
Driv er m es- S ta bi liz at ion contr ol (ESC ): sport. Warn -Stabiliz ati on c ontr ol (ESC ): on
s age s ing! Res tricted stabilit y
A WARNING
Only switch sport mode on when yo ur driving
abilities and the traffic situation permit, be­
cause there is a risk of sliding.
- The stabilization function is limited when
sport mode is switched on. The dr iv ing
wheels could spin and the vehicle could
swerve, especially on slick or slippery road
s u rfaces .
(D Tips
-Sport mode cannot be switched on if the
cruise control system* or adaptive cruise
control* is switched on.
- If the rear spoiler system malfunctions,
sport mode may not switch on or it may
switch off again automat ically.
Braking
What affects braking efficiency?
New brake pads
During the f irst 250 miles (400 km), new brake
pads do not possess the ir full braking effect, they
have to be "broken in" first
c> ,& . You can com­
pensate for this sl ightly reduced brak ing power
by pushing ha rder on the brake pedal. Avoid
heavy brak ing loads dur ing the b reak-in per iod.
Operat ing condit ions and d riving hab its
The brakes on today's automobi les are st ill sub­
ject to wear, depending largely on operating con ­
d itions and dr iving habits
c> ,& . On veh icles that
are either driven mostly in stop-and-go c ity t raf­
fic or are dr iven hard, the b rake pads should be
checked by your author ized Audi dea ler mo re of -
190
ten than specified in the Warrant y & Mainte­
nan ce b ookl et.
F ail ure to have your brake pads
inspected can resu lt in reduced brake perform ­
ance.
On steep slopes, you sho uld use the braking ef­
f ect of the engine. This way, you prevent unnec ­
essary wear on the brake system. If yo u must use
you r brakes, do not hold the brakes down contin ­
u ously. Pump the brakes at intervals .
Operating noise
Noises may occur when braking depend ing on the
speed, braking force and ou tside cond itions su ch
as temperature and hum idity .
Effect of wat er and road salt
In certa in situations, for examp le after driv ing
t hr ough water, in heavy rain, after overnight con­
densa tion or after washing yo ur ca r, the bra king
effect can be reduced by moisture or ice on the
brake rotors and brake pads . The brakes must be
dried fi rst with a few careful brake applications .
At higher speeds and with the winds hield wipers
turned on, the brake pads press against the brake rotors for a short amount of time . This occurs at
r egular intervals without the driver noticing and
provides for better brake response time under
wet cond itions .
The effect iveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is d riven on a salt-covered road
and the brakes are not used. Likewise, you clean
off accumulated salt coating from brake discs
and pads wi th a few caut ious applications of the
brake
c> ,& . IJI>