2016 AUDI A7 coolant temperature

Instruments and indicator Lights
Instruments and indicator Lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster overview
The instrument cluster is the central information center for the driver.
F ig. 3 In str ument cluster ove rview
CD Eng ine coolant temperature gauge 10
@ Ta chome ter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
- with status indicator
OFF . . . . . 75
- with status indicator
READY . . . 80
@ Turn signa ls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
© Disp lay with
- Drive r informat io n system . . . . . 23
- Indicator lig hts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
® Tachometer
@ Fue l level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
a) Tips
The instr ument ill umination for the needles
and dia ls t urns on when the ignition is turned
on and t he lights are turne d off. T he ill umina­
t ion fo r the d ia ls reduces autom atic ally and
eventually tu rns off as brig htn ess outs ide in ­
creases. Th is function remi nds the driver to
t u rn the headlig hts on at the appropriate
time.
Engine coolant temperature gauge
The engine coo lant gauge CD i=;, page 10, fig. 3
only works when the ign ition is on. To prevent
10
damage to your engine, please note the follow­
i ng important poi nts :
Engin e cold
If only the LEDs at the bottom of the gauge t urn
on, the engine has not reached operating tem­
perature yet. Avoid high engine speeds, heavy en­
gine loads and heavy thrott le app lications.
No rmal temperatu re
The eng ine has reac hed its operating tempera­
ture once the LEDs up to the center of the ga uge
turn on under normal driving conditions. The
LEDs higher up may turn on when the eng ine is
under heavy load or the exterior temperature is
high . This is no need to worry as long as the.
warning light in the instrument clus ter does not
ill uminat e. If the L EDs in the uppe r area of the
display and the in dicator light . in the inst ru ­
men t cluster d isp lay tur n on, the coo lant tempe r­
atu re is too hig h
i=;,page 15.
A WARNING
- Always observe t he warn ing in ~ page 218,
befo re open ing t he hood and checking the
engine coolant level.

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N \!) ,....,
-Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dripping from the engine compartment. You
could burn yourself. Let the engine cool off
first until you can no longer see or hear steam or coolant escap ing .
Q) Note
-Mounting additional lights or accessories in
front of the air inlets reduces the cooling ef­
fect of the radiator. At h igh outside temper­
atures or high engine load, the eng ine could
overheat.
- The front spo iler has been designed to prop­
erly distribute the cooling air when the veh i­
cle is moving. If the spoiler is damaged, this
could reduce the cooling effect and the en­
gine could then overheat. Ask your author­
ized Audi dealer for assistance.
Tachometer
The tachometer displays the engine speed in rev­
olutions per minute (RPM).
You shou ld shift to the next lowest gear when the
speed is below 1500 RPM . The beginn ing of the
red zone in the tachometer indicates the maxi­
mum permissible engine speed for all gears once
the engine has been broken in and when it is
warmed up to operating temperature. Before reaching the red zone, you should shift into the
next h igher gear, choose the Dor S selector lever
position, or remove your foot from the accelera­
tor pedal.
CD Note
The tachometer needle© c::> page 10, fig. 3
should only be in the red zone briefly: other­
w ise, this increases the risk of engine dam-
age. The location where the red zone beg ins
varies depend ing on the eng ine.
@, For the sake of the environment
Upshift ing early helps you to save fuel and re­
duce operating noise.
In strum ent s a nd indicato r li ghts
Fuel level
The fue l gauge only works when the ignition is
on. If the fue l level drops below 2.6 gallons (10
liters), the bottom LED turns red and the indica­
tor light
t]J turns on c::> page 21. The bottom
LED blinks red when the fuel leve l is very low .
T he possible range based on the current f uel lev­
el is shown in tab@c::>
page 23, fig . 4 .
For the tank capacity in your veh icle, refer to the
T echnical Data c::>
page 2 72.
CD Note
Never drive until the tank is completely emp­
ty. The irregular supply of fue l that resu lts
from t hat can cause the eng ine to misfire. Un­
combusted fuel w il l then enter the exhaust
system . This can cause overheat ing and dam­
age to the catalytic converter.
Indicator lights
Description
The ind icator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or turn on. They indicate funct ions or ma l­
funct ions c::>
.&,.
Messages may appear with some indicator lights .
A warn ing s ignal will sound at the same time.
T he ind icator lights and messages in the cente r
of the displays may be replaced by other d isplays .
T o show them again, se lect the tab for ind icator
lights and messages using the m ultifunction
steering wheel c::>
page 23. If there are several
malfunctions, you can display them one at a time
using the thumbwheel.
Some indicators lights in the display can turn on
in several colors.
A WARNING
- Failure to heed warning lights and other im­
portant veh icle information may result in
serious personal injury or veh icle damage.
- Whenever stalled or stopped for repair,
move the vehicle a safe d istance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the emer-
gency flasher c::>
page 46. .,,.
11

workshop and have the malfunction correct­ed.
- If the brake warning/indicator light does
not go out after a few seconds and the park­
ing brake is released, or lights up while 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 inspected.
- Always keep in mind that after several brake
applications, you will need greater pressure
on the brake pedal to stop your vehicle. Do
not rely on strained brakes to respond with
maximum stopping power in critical situa­
tions. You must allow for increased braking
distances. The extra distance used up by
fading brakes could lead to an accident.
PARK/( ®) Electromechanical parking brake
The warning/indicator light monitors the elec­
tromechanical parking broke.
If the indicator light- (USA models)/ .
(Canada models) turns on, the parking brake was
set .
- (USA models) • (Canada models) Cau­
tion: Vehicle parked too steep
If the indicator light blinks and the message ap­
pears, there is not enough braking power to keep
the vehicle from rolling. The brakes have over­
heated. The vehicle could roll away even on a
small incline.
Press brake pedal to release parking brake
To release the parking brake, press the brake ped­
al and press the button~ or start driving with
starting assist at the same time ¢
page 79.
Please release parking brake
To release the parking brake manually, press the
brake pedal and press the button
(2) at the same
~ time. The parking brake only releases automati-
j cally if the driver's safety belt is fastened. 'SI:
; Ill Parking brake!
N
ID
......
Instruments and indicator lights
If the Ill indicator light turns on and this mes­
sage appears, there is a parking brake malfunc­
tion. Drive to your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop immediately to have the mal­
function corrected.
- L Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engine cooling system must
be repaired as soon as possible.
• Switch off engine and check coolant level
If the indicator light turns on and the message
appears, the coolant temperature is too high or
the coolant level is too low.
"' Pull
off the road.
"'Stop the vehicle.
"'Turn off the engine.
"'Check coolant level¢
page 224.
"'Add coolant if necessary ¢ page 225.
"'Continue driving only after the engine coolant
warning/indicator light goes out.
"' Contact your authorized Audi dealer for assis-
tance if necessary.
If the engine coolant level is correct, then the ra­
diator fan may be the cause of the malfunction.
• Coolant temperature too high! Please let en­
gine run with vehicle stationary
If the indicator light turns on and the message
appears, let the engine run at idle for a few mi­
nutes to cool down.
&_ WARNING
= -
-If your vehicle should break down for me­
chanical or other reasons, park at a safe dis­
tance from moving traffic, turn
off the en­
gine and turn on the hazard warning lights
¢ page 46, Emergency flasher.
-Never open the hood if you see or hear
steam or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment - you risk being scalded. Wait
until you can no longer see or hear steam or
coolant escaping.
- The engine compartment of any vehicle is a
dangerous area. Before you perform any
work in the engine compartment, turn of
15

Warm and cold
Warm and cold
Climate control system
Description
Applies to veh icles: w ith three -zone cl imate cont ro l or fo ur­
zo ne automat ic climate co ntrol
The climate control system warms, cools and
adds humidity to the a ir in the veh icle interior . It
is the most effect ive when the windows a nd sun­
roof* are closed . If the temperature inside the
pa rked vehicle becomes ve ry wa rm, opening the
w indow briefly will speed up the coo lin g p rocess.
In all heating mode functions except
defrost, the
b lowe r only sw itches to a highe r speed once the
engine coolant has reached a cer tain tempera­
t ure.
Condensation from the cooling system can dr ip
and form a puddl e of water unde r the veh icle .
T his is normal and does no t mean there is a leak .
Pollutant filter
The pollutant filter removes pollutants s uc h as
dust and pol len from the a ir .
The air pollutants filter must be changed at the
interva ls specified in your Warranty
& Mainte­
nance booklet, so that the a ir cond it io ne r can
p roperly work.
I f you drive your vehicle in an area with h igh air
pollut ion, the filter may need to be changed
more frequently than spec ified in you r Audi War­
ranty
& Maintenance booklet . If i n doubt , ask
your author ized Audi Se rv ice Advisor for advice .
Key coded setting s
Three-zone climate control: T he b lowe r setting
a nd a ir dist ribution are stored automatically and
assigned to the remote contro l key that is i n use.
Four -zone automatic climate con trol: Th e cli­
ma te con tro l sett ings a re a utomat ic all y stored
and assigned to the remote con trol key that is in
use.
68
A WARNING
-
Reduced visibility is dangerous and can cause
accide nts .
- For safe driving it is very important that a ll
w indows be free o f ice, snow and condensa­
tion .
- Comp letely fam iliarize yourse lf wit h the
prope r use and f unction of the heat ing and
ve ntilation system and espec ially how to de­
fog and defrost t he windows .
- Never use the winds hield wiper/washer sys­
tem in free zing weathe r until you have
wa rmed t he w indshie ld fi rst, using the heat­
ing a nd venti lation system. The washer sol u­
tio n m ay free ze on t he windsh ie ld and re­
duce visibility.
W Note
- I f you s uspect that the air conditioner has
bee n damage d, sw itch the syste m off to
a void furthe r dam age and have it inspec ted
by a q ualified dea lership .
- Repairs to the Audi air conditioner re quire
speci al techn ic al know ledge and spec ia l
tools . Con ta ct an au thori zed A udi dea ler for
assistance .
@ For the sake of the environment
By reducing the amou nt of f uel you use, you
a lso reduce the amo unt of poll utants emitted
i nto the a ir.
@ Tips
- Keep the air i nta ke s lo ts (i n front o f the
windshield) free from ice, snow and debris
in o rder to maintain the proper function of
the climate contro l system.
- Th e energy manageme nt system may switch
t h e seat heating * or r ear w indow defroster
off temporarily. These systems are availab le
again as soon as t he energy balance has
been restored.
- Air escapes t hrough vents under the rear
w indow. When plac ing items of cloth ing on
t h e luggage compartment cove r, ensure
t h at the openi ngs are not covered.

Warm and cold
At both of these settings, the climate control sys ­
tem runs continuously at maximum cooling or heating power. There is no temperat ure regula­
tion.
Adju st ing th e bl ow er[!]
You can ad just the volume of air generated by the
b lower to yo ur preference. To have the blower
reg ulated automatically, press the
!AUTO I button .
~ Adjusting air d istribution
You ca n manually se lect the vents whe re the air
w ill flow. To have the air distrib ution regu lated
automatically, press the
! AUTO ! button.
~ Adjusting seat heating * /se at vent ilation*
Pressing the button switches the seat heating/
seat ventilat ion on at the highest setting ( leve l
3). The LEDs indicate the tempe ratu re leve l. To
red uce the tempe ratu re, p ress the butto n aga in.
To switch the seat heating/seat venti lation off,
press the button repeatedly until the LED turns
off .
After 10 minutes, the seat heating automat ica lly
switches from leve l 3 to leve l 2 .
I@ FRONT I Switching the defroster on /off
The windsh ield and s ide windows are defrosted
or cleared of condensation as quickly as possible.
The max imum amo unt of air flows ma inly from
t he ven ts below the w indshie ld. Rec irc ulat ion
mode switches off . The temperature shou ld be
set to approximately 22
°C.
The IAUTOI b utton swi tches the defroster off.
IOiil REAR I Switching the rear window defogger
on /off
The rear w indow heater only operates when the
eng ine is running.
It sw itches off automatically
after a few m in utes, depend ing on the outs ide
temperature.
To prevent the rear w indow heater from switc h­
ing off a utomat ica lly, press and hold the
!l:iil REAR I
button fo r more t han 2 seconds. This rema ins
stored until the ignition is switched off.
72
I SYNC I Sy nchron izat ion
When synchroni zation is swi tched on, the set­
tings for the driver's side a re applied to the front
passenger's side (except for seat heating/ventila­
tion*). The settings in the rear are also synchron­ ized. Synchronization switches off if the settings
are adjusted on the front passenger's side or in
the rear.
You can synchronize the settings in a row by
pressing and holding a control. For example, to
apply the settings for the front passenger's side
to the driver's side, press and ho ld the control on
the front passenger's side. The same applies to
the rear .
Residual he at*
With the ign ition turned off, you can activate the
residual heat function by pressing the
[!:I button
<=> fig . 76 . The residua l heat from the coolant is
u sed to heat the veh icle interior. The residual
heat funct ion switches off automatically after
about 30 minutes.
Air vents
You can open or close the center and rear vents in
the cockpit and the vents in the rear center con­
sole and door pillars using the ridged thumb­
whee ls . T he levers adjust the direct ion of the air­
flow from the vents.
.8, WARNING
- You should no t use the re ci rculation mode
for an extended period since no fresh air is drawn in. With the a ir-conditioning switched
off, the windows can fog up, which increases
the risk of an accident.
- Individ ua ls with red uced sensitivity to pain
or temperat ure could deve lop burns when
using the seat heating f unction. To reduce
the risk of inj ury, these indiv iduals should
not use seat heating .
(D Note
To avoid damage to the heating e lements in
the seats, do not kneel on the seats or place heavy loads on a small area of the seat.

M N <( (.J
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braking effect to slow the vehicle. Use of the
brakes alone can cause them to overheat and fail.
Air suspension*
When driving with a trailer, activate the trailer
mode of the air suspension. Switch the air sus­
pension trailer mode on when you are towing a
trailer. This will limit the regulation by the air
suspension while driving. Select in the MMI:
ICARI function button > (Car)* systems control
button>
Vehicle settings> Air susp.: towing>
On.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge c::> page 10 must
be observed carefully. The coolant temperature
can increase if you drive on long inclines in a low
gear at high engine speeds . Reduce your speed
immediately if the LEDs in the top part of the dis­
play turn on .
For more information about indicator lights, re­
fer to.
c::> page 15.
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a moving
vehicle is at a much greater risk in an acci­
dent . Never let anyone ride in your car who is
not properly wearing the restraints provided
by Audi.
Trailer mode notes
Important to know
-
Your vehicle handles differently when towing a trailer because of the additional weight and dif­
ferent weight distribution . Safety, performance
and economy will greatly depend on how careful­
ly you load your trailer and operate your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area away
from traffic . Keep practicing until you have be­
come completely familiar with the way your vehi­
cle-trailer combination behaves and responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice. Back­
ing up with a trailer generally requires steering
Trailer mode
action opposite to that when backing up your ve­
hicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your vehicle
and the one in front of you . You will need more
room to stop. To compensate for the trailer, you
will need a larger than normal turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot accel­
erate as fast as you normally would because of
the added load. Make sure you have enough room
to pass. After passing, allow plenty of room for
your trailer before changing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in peri­
od of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may require
more frequent maintenance due to the ex­
tra load
c::> page 2 7 4.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer. If it cannot
be avoided, do so only after doing the following:
When parking:
" Apply the foot brake.
" Have someone place chocks under both the ve­
hicle and the trailer wheels.
"With chocks in place, slowly release the brakes
until the wheel chocks absorb the load.
"Turn the wheels towards the curb.
... Apply the parking brake.
"Select the P selector lever position.
When restarting after parking:
"Apply the foot brake.
"Start the engine.
"Select the D/S selector lever position.
"Release the parking brake and slowly pull out
and away from the wheel chocks.
"Stop and have someone retrieve the wheel
chocks .
203

Checking and Fill in g
Checking and Filling
Hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the vehi­
cle.
Fig. 1 86 Driver footwell: release lever
Fig. 187 Rocker sw itch under the hood
Make s ure the wiper arms are not ra ised up from
the windshield . Otherwise the paint could be
damaged .
.. Wi th the driver's door open, pu ll the lever un­
der the instrument panel in the direction of the arrow
c::> fig. 186.
.. Raise the hood s lightly c::> _A .
.. Press the rocker switch under the hood upward
Q fig. 187. This releases the catch.
.. Open the hood.
A WARNING
Hot engine coo lant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if yo u see or hear steam or
coolant escap ing from the engine compa rt­
me nt. Wait until no steam or coo lant can be
218
seen or heard before carefully open ing the
hood.
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in the
engine compartment.
Whenever you mu st perform any w ork in the
engine comp artment , for example checking and
filling d iff erent fluid s, the re i s a risk of injury ,
burns and accidents. To p revent pe rsonal injur y
alwa ys ob serv e the follow ing WARNING S. The
engi ne compartment o f an y vehicle is a h azard ­
ous are a
i::>_6 .
A WARNING
To help avo id injury, before you check any­
thing under the hood:
- Turn off the engine.
- Switch off the ignition.
- App ly the parking brake.
- Move selector leve r to P (Park).
- Always le t the eng ine cool down. Hot com-
ponents wi ll burn skin on contact .
-
-To reduce the risk of bei ng bur ned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam o r
coo lant escaping from the engine compart­
ment . Wait unt il no steam o r coolant can be
seen or heard before carefully open ing the
hood.
- Keep c hildren away from the engine com­
partment .
- Never sp ill fluids on hot engine compo ­
nents. They can cause a fire.
- Never touch the radiator fan. The auxiliary
electric fan is temperature cont ro lled and
can switch on suddenly.
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap when
the engine is sti ll warm. The coolant system
is pressur ized and hot coo lant co uld spray
out.
- Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot engine coolant by placing a
thick rag ove r the cap w hen you open the
coo lant reservoir.

Checking and Filling
Do not fill coolant above the "MAX" mark. Excess
coolant will be forced out through the pressure relief valve in the cap when the engine becomes
hot.
A WARNING
- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of scalding
from hot coolant by following these steps .
- Turn off the engine and allow it to cool
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 carefully in a
counter-clockwise direction while applying light, downward pressure on the top of
the cap.
- To avoid being burned, do not spill anti­
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system or
hot engine parts. Under certain condi­
tions, the ethylene glycol in engine cool­
ant can catch fire .
-Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store anti­
freeze in its original container and well out
of the reach of children .
- If you drain the coolant, it must be caught
and safely stored in a proper container
clearly marked "poison" .
(D Note
- Do not add coolant if the expansion tank is empty. Air could enter the cooling system
and damage the engine. If this is the case,
do not continue driving. Seek professional
assistance .
- Coolant pollutes the environment and could cause an engine fire. Excess coolant will be
forced out through the pressure relief valve
in the cap when the engine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be add­
ed, the correct ratio between water and an­
tifreeze
¢ page 224 must be restored as
soon as possible.
226
-
® For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be reused. Always
dispose of used coolant while observing all
environmental regulations.
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by it­
self
An auxiliary electric radiator fan switches on and
off depending on coolant temperature and other
vehicle operating conditions.
After you switch the engine off, the auxiliary fan
can continue running for up to 10 minutes -even
with the ignition off. It can even switch on again later by itself ¢& . if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises due
to the heat build-up from the engine in the en­
gine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because the
vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
- To reduce the risk of personal injury never
touch the radiator fan.
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature con­
trolled and can switch on suddenly even
when the engine is not running.
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on auto­
matically when the engine coolant reaches a
certain temperature and will continue to run
until the coolant temperature drops. -