2016 AUDI A7 traction control

M N <( I.J "". rl I.O
"' N I.O rl
Automatic transmission S tronic, tiptronic
Introduction
The automat ic transm iss ion is controlled elec­
tronically. The transmission upshifts or down­
shifts automatically depending on which drive
program is selected.
When a
moderate driving style is used, the
transmission selects the most econom ical driving
mode. The transmiss ion upshifts at a lower RPM
and downshifts at a higher RPM to improve fuel
efficiency.
The transmission switches to a sporty mode after a kick-down or when the driver uses a
sporty driv­
ing style
cha racterized by quick accelerator pedal
movements, heavy acceleration, frequent
changes in speed and traveling at the maximum
speed.
If desired, the driver can also select the gears
manually (tiptronic mode) ¢ page 111.
Various automat ic tr ansm issions may be instal­
led, depending on the model:
S tronic transmission
The S tronic is a dual -clutch transmission . Power
is transferred using two clutches that work inde­
pendently from one another. They replace the
torque converter used in conventional automat ic
transmissions and a llow the vehicle to accelerate
without a noticeable interruption in traction.
tiptronic transmission
In the tiptronic transmission, power is transfer­
r ed by a torque converter.
Automatic transmission
Selector lever positions
Fig. 116 Disp lay in the instrument cluste r: selector lever
posit ion
T he selec tor lever pos ition engaged appea rs next
to the se lector lever as well as in the instrument
cluster display.
P -Park
In this selector lever position the transmission is
mechanica lly locked . Engage P only when the ve­
hicle is
completely stopped¢.& in Driving the
automatic transmission on page 109.
To shift in or out of posit ion P, you must first
press and hold the brake pedal and then press
the release button in the selector lever hand le
whi le moving the selector lever to or from P. You
can sh ift out of this position only with the igni ­
tion on.
R -Reverse
Select R only when the vehicle is at a full stop
and the engine is running at idle speed¢ .& in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 109.
Before you move the selector lever to R, press
both the button in the hand le of the selector lev­
er
and the brake pedal at the same time.
When the ignition is on, the backup lights illumi­
nate when the selector lever is moved into R.
N -Neutral
The transm iss io n is in neutral in this pos ition.
Sh ift to this position for standing with the brakes
applied
¢ .& in Driving the automatic transmis-
sion on page 109. .,.
107

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 ..,.

M N <( I.J "". rl I.O
"' N I.O rl
Offroad vehicle?
Your Aud i is not an off road vehicle -there is not
enough ground clea rance . For this reason, avo id
difficu lt terrain .
A WARNING
-Also, in vehicles with all whee l dr ive, adapt
your dr iving style to the current road and
traffic conditions. Do not let the increased
safety provided tempt you into taking risks, because t his increases the risk of an acci ­
dent .
- The brak ing ability of yo ur vehicle is lim ited
to the traction of the wheels . In this way, it
is not different from a two wh eel drive veh i­
cl e. Do not be tempted to ac celerate to a
high speed when t he ro ad is s lippery th is in­
cr eases the r is k of an accident .
- Note t hat on wet streets, t he front w heels
c an "hyd rop lane" if d riving at speeds that
are too high. Unli ke front whee l drive
vehicles, the engi ne does not rev higher sud ­
den ly when the vehicle begins hydrop laning.
For this reaso n, pay attent ion to the r oad
condit ions regardless of your speed to re­
duce t he risk of an accident .
Rear spoiler
The extendable rear spoiler increases driving sta­
bility.
Fi g. 179 Cente r con sole : re ar s poil e r b utto n
The rear spoiler retrac ts and extends. Var ious op­
erat ing modes (automatic or manual mode) can
be activated .
Intelligent Technology
Automatic mode (normal operation)
-Au tomatic deployment : At a s peed of about 80
mph (130 km/h) , the rear spo ile r deploys auto ­
matically .
- Au tomatic retra ction: When speed drops below
abou t SO mph (80 km/h), the rea r spoi ler re ­
tracts automatically.
Manual mode
- Man ual deployment: Tapp ing br iefly on the
sw itch ~
fig. 179 deploys the rea r spo ile r.
- Manual retraction : At speeds up to about
10 mph ( 20 km/h), re tract the rear spoiler by
pressi ng and hold ing t he sw itch. At speeds be­
tween 10 mph (20 km/h) and 80 mph ( 130
km/h), retract the rear spoi ler by tapping on
the switch.
Indicator lights
rJ /. Rear spoiler : S ys tem fault
The rea r spoi le r may not have exte nded due to a
malfunction . Th is could change the vehicle's driv­
i ng charac teristics at high speeds . Do not exceed
8 5 mp h (140 km/h). Dr ive to you r authorized
A udi dealer immed iate ly to have the malfu nction
corrected. The color of the indicator light de ­
pends on the vehicle speed .
A WARNING
-
Driving at higher speeds witho ut the rear
spoi ler deployed ca n impair handling charac­
terist ics, making the vehicle harder to control.
- Always make sure that the spo iler is de-
p loyed w hen d riving at speeds over 85 mph
(140 km/h). If the rea r spo ile r warning/ind i­
cato r light i n the instrument cluster comes
on, the rear spoile r may not have deploye d.
- Never drive at speeds h igher than 85 mph
(140 km/h) if the spo iler is not deployed.
Have the spoiler i nspected as soon as possi­
b le by an au tho riz e d Aud i deale r o r q ualified
w orkshop.
- Always obey speed li mits and othe r traff ic
laws.
193

Wheels
av ailabl e cargo and luggag e
l oa d cap aci ty of your v ehi cle.
.,.Che ck th e tire sidew all
(¢ p ag e 233, fig. 1 9 5) to deter ­
mine the d esigna ted load ra ting
for a specifi c tire .
Wheel bolts and rims
Wheel bolts
Wheel bol ts m ust be clea n and loosen/t ighten
easi ly .
R ims
Rims with a bolted rim r ing* or w ith bolted wheel
covers * consist of mu ltiple piec es. These compo­
nents we re bo lted toget he r us ing special bolts
a nd a special pro cedure. You must no t repair or
d isassemble th em ¢.&. .
A WARNING
Whee l bolts t hat are tightened or repaired in­
co rrectly can become loose and resu lt in loss
o f vehicle control, which increases the risk of
an acc ident. For the correct tightening specifi­
cat ion, refer to
¢ page 2 56, After changing a
wheel .
-Always keep the wheel bolts and the threads
in the wheel hub clean and free of grease .
- Only use wheel bo lts that fit the r im .
- Always have damaged rims repa ired by an
autho rized Aud i dealer or authorized repair
facility. Never repair or disassemble rims
you rself, because this increases the risk of
an acciden t.
Winter tires
Winte r tires sign ificantly improve the ve hicle's
handling when d riving i n w inte r condit io ns. Be­
cause of the ir constr uction (wid th, compo und,
trea d patter n), s umme r tires p rov ide less tract ion
on ice and snow .
.,. Use w inte r tir es on all fou r wheels.
248
.,. On ly use winter tires that are approved fo r yo ur
vehicle.
.,. Please note that t he maxim um permitted
speed may be lower with winter tires ¢
_A .
Your authorized Audi dealer or authorized re­
pair faci lity can inform you about the maximum
perm itted speed for your ti res .
.,. Check the tire pressure afte r instal ling whee ls
¢ page 243.
The effect iveness of w inter t ires is red uced great ­
ly when the tread is worn down to a dep th of
0.1 57 i nch ( 4 mm). The cha racterist ics of winter
ti res a lso de crease grea tly as the t ire ages, re­
gardless of the remaining tre ad.
A WARNING
-
- Never drive faster than the max imum pe r­
m itted speed for your tires. This co uld cause
the t ires to heat up too much . This increases
the risk of an accident because it can cause
the t ire to burst.
- Always adapt your dr iving to the road and
traffic cond itions. D rive carefully and reduce
your speed on icy or slippe ry roads. Even
win ter t ires ca n lose traction on black ice.
@ For the sake of the environment
Reinstall summer tires at the appropriate
time, beca use they provide better handling
when roads are free of snow and ice . Summer
tires cause less road noise, tire wear and fuel
consum ptio n.
(D Tips
You can a lso use all season tires instead of
winter tires. Please note that in some coun ­
tries where w inter t ires a re requir ed, only win ­
ter tires w ith the£ symbol may b e permit­
ted.
' Snow chains
Snow chains improve traction in the snow .
.,. On ly install snow chai ns on the front w heels.
T his app lies also to vehicles with all wheel
dr ive*.

Wheels
-These tires may wear more quickly than others .
- Please also remember that, wh ile these ti res
deliver responsive handling, they may ride less
comfortably and make more noise than other
choices.
Reduced performance in winter/cold season
conditions
All tires are designed for certain purposes. The
low aspect ratio, ultra high performance tires
originally installed on your vehicle are intended
for maximum dry and wet road performance and handling. They are not suitable for cold, snowy or
icy weather conditions. If you drive under those
circumstances, you should equip your vehicle
with all-season or winter tires, which offer better
traction under those conditions. We suggest you
use the recommended snow or all-season tires
specified for your vehicle, or their equivalent.
Refer to ¢
page 248 for more detailed i nforma·
tion regarding winter tires .
Uniform tire quality grading
-Tread wear
- Traction AA A BC
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable on
the tire side wall between tread shoulder and maximum section width¢
page 233, fig. 195 .
For example: Tread wear 200, Traction AA, Tern·
perature
A.
All passenger car tires must conform to Federal
Safety Requirements in addition to these grades.
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified gov·
ernment test course.
For example, a tire graded 150 would wear one
and one half (11/2) times as well on the govern·
ment course as a tire graded 100.
The relative performance of tires depends upon
the actual conditions of their use, however , and
may depart significantly from the norm due to
250
variations in driving habits, service practices and
differences in road characteristics and climate.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, Band
C. Those grades represent the tire's
ability to stop on wet pavement as measured un­
der controlled conditions on specified govern ­
ment test surfaces of asphalt and concrete. A tire
marked C may have poor traction performance
¢ _& .
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (the highest), B,
and C, representing the tire 's resistance to the
generation of heat and its ability to dissipate
heat when tested under controlled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause the mate·
rial of the tire to degenerate and reduce tire life,
and excessive temperature can lead to sudden
tire failure ¢& .
The grade C corresponds to a level of perform·
ance which all passenger car tires must meet un·
der the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
No. 109. Grades Band A represent higher levels
of performance on the laboratory test wheel than
the minimum required by law.
A WARNING
-
The traction grade assigned to th is tire is
based on straight-ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include acceleration, cor·
nering, hydroplaning or peak traction charac­
teristics.
A WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire is estab­
lished for a tire that is properly inflated and
not overloaded. Excessive speed, underinfla·
tion, or excessive loading, either separately or
in combination, can cause heat buildup and
-
possible tire failure. ..,_