2016 AUDI S7 check engine light

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 Fill in g
Engine compartment
Engine compartment overview
These are the most important items that you can check .
Fig. 188 Typica l layou t fo r con tainers and en gin e oil fille r cap
@ Jump start point( -) with hex head Engine oi L
screw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 , 265
@ Jump start point(+) under a cover
@ Brake fluid reservoir (0)) ...... .
@ Eng ine oil filler cap
('t::71) .. .. .. .
® Coolant expansion tank (-L) .... .
@ Windshield/headlight washer con -
t .
(~ ) amer ~ ................. . .
230,265
227
222
224
231
The engine oil filler neck (item @) may be locat­
ed in a different area depending on the version of
the engine .
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
INGS~.&.
in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 218.
220
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used must conform to exact speci ­
fications.
The service inte rval disp lay in the instr ument
cl us ter of your vehicle will inform you whe n it i s
time for an oi l change . We recommend that you
have your oil changed by an authorized A ud i Serv­
i ce Advisor .
If you have to top off the o il between oi l changes,
use the Audi oil quality standard specifie d in the
table . ..,.

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~ Park your vehicle on a level surface.
~ Switch off the ignition .
~ Read the eng ine coolant leve l from the coolant
expansion tank
c> fig. 191, c> page 220,
fig. 188.
With a cold engine, the coolant level
should be between the "min" and "max" mark­
i ngs. When the engine is warm, the level may
be s light ly above the "max" marking.
The location of the coolant expans ion tank can be
seen in the engine compartment illustrat ion
i=>page220.
To obtain an accurate reading, the engine must
be sw itched
off.
The expansion tank in you r vehicle is equipped
with an electric coolant level sensor.
When the coo lant level is too low, the warning
light in the Auto-Check System
c:> page 15 wi ll il­
l uminate unti l you a dd coolant and the level has
been restored to norma l. Even though there is an
e lectric coolant level sensor, we still recommend
you check the coolant level from time to time.
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may i ndicate a leak in the coo ling
system . In the event of coo lant loss , the cooling
system should be inspected immed iate ly by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is not enough merely
to add coolant .
In a
sealed system, losses can occur only if the
boiling point of the coo lant is exceeded as a re­
sult of overheat ing.
A WARNING
The cooling system is under pressure and can
get very hot. Reduce the risk of scalding from
hot coolant by following thes e steps.
- Turn off the engine and allow it to coo l
dow n.
- Protect yo ur face, hands and arms from es­
caping fluid and steam by cove ring the cap
with a la rge, th ick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and ve ry carefu lly in a
counte r-clockw ise direct io n wh ile a pplying
light, downwa rd pr essur e on the top of the
c ap.
Checking and Fillin g
-To avo id being burned, do not sp ill anti­
freeze o r coolant on the exha ust system or
hot engine parts. Under certa in cond itions,
the ethylene glyco l in engi ne coo lant can
ca tch fire.
(D Note
Do not add any type o f radiator leak sea lant
to you r vehicle 's engi ne coolant . Add ing radia­
tor repair fluid may adversely affect the func­
tion and pe rformance of your coo ling system
and could r esult in damag e not cover ed by
your New Veh icle Limited Warranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check a nyth ing in the eng ine compart­
me nt,
always read and heed all WARNINGS
c> .&. in Working in the engine compartment on
page 218.
~ Requirement: T here must be a residua l amount
of coolant in the expansion tank
c:> (D .
~Tu rnoff the engi ne.
~ Le t the eng ine cool down.
~ Place a thick rag ove r the coo lan t expansion
t ank
c:>page 224, fig. 191 and carefully tw ist
t he cap coun ter- clockwise
c:> .&, .
~ Ad d coo lant mixed in the correc t ra tio
c:> page 224, Coolant up to the MAX marking .
~ Make sure that the fl uid leve l remains stab le.
Add more coo lant if necessary.
~ Twist the cap o n again tightly.
Rep lacement engine coo lant must confo rm to ex­
act specifications
c> page 224, Coolant.
We recommend using only coo lant add it ive G1 2+
+ , G 13 or in an emergency G12+. Do
not use a
different additive. In an emergency use p lain wa­
ter unt il you can get the correct add itive and can
restore the correct ratio. This should be done as
soon as possib le.
If you have lost a considerab le amou nt of cool­
ant, then you shou ld add cold antifreeze and co ld
water only whe n the eng ine is co ld.
Always use
new engine coo lant w hen refilling.
225

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. -

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Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
Fig. 192 Engine compa rtment : cove r on the brake f luid
reservoir
N
N
-N ,::
~
Before you check anything in the engine compart­
ment,
always read and heed all WARNINGS
¢ A in Working in the engine comportment on
page 218.
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the brake fluid
reservoir
¢ fig. 192, ¢page 220, fig. 188. The
brake fluid leve l must be between the "MIN"
and "MAX" markings .
The location of the brake f luid reservo ir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
¢page 220.
The fl uid level may drop slightly after some time
due to the automatic adjustment of the brake
pads. This is not cause for alarm.
I f the brake fluid level falls
considerably below
the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indicator
light
1111 (U .S. models)/ . (Canadian models)
will come on ¢
page 14. Do not cont inue to oper­
ate the vehicle . The complete brake system
should be thoroughly checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or other qualified facility and the cause corrected. If the brake fluid level is too low,
the brake warning/indicator light will illuminate.
Contact an authorized Audi dealer
immediately .
Changing brake fluid
Hove the broke fluid changed by on experienced
technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. If the
water content in the brake fluid is too high, cor-
Checking and Filling
rosion in the brake system may result after a peri­
od of time. The boiling point of the brake fluid
will also decrease considerably and decrease braking performance .
T herefore, the brake fluid must be changed
every
two years.
Always use new brake fluid which con­
forms to Federal Motor Vehicle Standard "FMVSS
116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be difficult to reach,
therefore, we recommend that you have the brake flu id changed by your authorized
Audi
dealer .
Your dea ler has the correct tools, the
right brake fluid and the know-how to do this for
you .
_&. WARNING
-.
- Brake fluid is poisonous . It must be stored
only in the closed original conta iner out of
the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inappro­
p riate brake fluid. Observe these precau­
tions:
- Use only brake fluid that meets SAE speci­
fication
J 1703 and conforms to Federa l
Motor Vehicle Standard 116. Always check
with your authorized Audi dealer to make
sure you are using the correct brake fluid .
The correct type of brake flu id is also ind i­
cated on the brake fluid reservoir.
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use of
the brakes can cause a vapor lock if the
brake fluid is left in the system too long.
T his can seriously affect the efficiency of
the brakes as well as your safety. This
could result in an accident.
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your vehi­
cle.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of prope r disposal of
brake fluid as well as the special tools re­
quired and the necessary expertise, we rec­
ommend that you have the brake flu id
changed by your authorized Audi dealer.
227

Checking and F ill in g
Battery
General information
Under no rmal operating conditions, the battery
in your Audi does not need any ma intenance.
W ith
high outside temperatu res or long daily
d rives we recommend that you have the electro­
lyte level checked by a service facility . The elec­
trolyte level should a lso be checked each time
the battery is charged ¢
page 230.
Have the bat tery checked when you take yo ur ve­
hicle in for service . You are we ll advised to re­
p lace a battery that is o lder than 5 years .
W ith certa in types of airbag deploymen t, the bat­
tery is disconnected from the vehicle electrica l
system for safety reasons ¢
.&. in Repair, core
and disposal of the airbags on page 158.
Disconn ecting the battery t erminal s
Some veh icle funct ions (power window regula­
tors, for examp le) are lost if the battery termi ­
na ls are disconnected. These functions have to be
re learned after the battery terminals are con­
nected aga in. To prevent this, the battery shou ld
only be disconnected from the vehicle electrical
system when absolutely necessary for repairs.
Vehicl es not driven fo r long period s
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period of
several days or weeks, e lectrica l components are
gradually cut back or switched off. This reduces
energy consumption and maintains starting ca­ pability over a longer period¢
page 194. Some
of the convenience funct ions may not operate,
such as the inter ior lights or power seat adjust­
ment. The convenience functions will be ava ilab le
again whe n you swit ch on the igni tion and sta rt
the engine.
Winte r operation
During the winter months, battery capacity tends
to decrease as temperatures drop . This is because
mo re power is also consumed w hile starting, and
the head lights, rear w indow defogger, etc ., are
used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, part icu­
larly in city traffic or when traveling only short
228
distances. Let your authorized Audi dealer check
the capacity of the vehicle battery before winter
sets in
¢ page 230 . A well charged battery will
not only prevent starting problems when the
weather is cold, but will also last longer.
(D Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for several
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the ve­
hicle battery should be removed and stored
where it will not freeze . This will prevent it
from being damaged and having to be re­
placed.
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is located in the luggage compart­
ment under the floor . Before you check anything
i n the luggage compartment,
re ad and he ed all
WARNINGS ¢&, .
Always heed the safety warning s, when working
o n the vehicle battery or the vehicle e lectr ical
system to prevent injury .
The following WARNING S are very important
when working on the battery :
Alw ay s heed the following WARNING SYM ·
BOL S and safety p recaut ions when wo rking on
the batter y.
®
Alw ay s w ear e ye protection .
~
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid . Al -
way s wear gloves and ey e protection .
@
No
· spark s
· flames
· sm oking.
~
When a battery is charged , it p roduce s
h yd rogen gas which is e xplosi ve and
'
could cause per sonal injury .
®
Always keep the battery well out of
r ea ch of ch ild ren.
...

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A WARNING
-=
Whenever working on the battery or on the
electrical system, there is the risk of injury,
accident and even fire. Read and heed the fol­
lowing WARNINGS:
- Always wear eye protection . Do not let bat­
tery acid or any lead particles get on your skin or clothing. Shield your eyes. Explosive
gases can cause blindness or other injury .
- Battery acid contains sulfuric acid . Sulfuric
acid can cause blindness and severe burns.
- Always wear gloves and eye protection. Do
not tilt the battery because acid could leak
out of the ventilation openings.
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or on
your skin, immediately rinse with cold wa­
ter for several minutes and get medical at­
tention .
- If you should ingest any battery acid, seek
medical attention immediately .
- Do not expose the battery to an open flame, electric sparks or an open light.
- Do not smoke.
- Do not interchange the positive and nega-
tive cables.
- When working on the battery, be sure not to short-circuit the terminals with tools or oth­
er metal objects. This would cause the bat­
tery to heat up very quickly, which could
lead to damage or explosion and personal
injury .
- When a battery is charged, it produces hy­
drogen gas which is explosive and could
cause personal injury.
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children .
- Before work is done on the electrical sys­
tem, disconnect the negative ground cable.
- Before performing any work on the electri­ cal system, switch off the engine and igni­
tion as well as any electrical equipment . The
negative cable on the battery must be dis­
connected. If you are just going to replace a
light bulb, then it is enough to switch off
the lights .
-
Checking and Filling
-Before disconnecting the battery, switch off
the anti-theft alarm system! Otherwise you
will set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first dis­
connect the negative cable and then the
positive cable.
- Before reconnecting the battery, make sure all electrical consumers are switched off. Re­
connect the positive cable first and then the negative cable. Never interchange the ca­
bles - this could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed -out bat­
tery . It could explode! If a battery has fro­
zen, then it must be replaced. A discharged battery can freeze over at 32 °F (0 °C).
- Make sure the vent hose is always attached
to the opening on the side of the battery.
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Always
replace a damaged battery.
A WARNING
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related acces­
sories contain lead and lead compounds,
chemicals known to the State of California
to cause cancer and reproductive problems.
Wash hands after handling.
([) Note
-Do not disconnect the vehicle battery when
the ignition is on or when the engine is run­
ning, otherwise, you will damage electronic
components in the electrical system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a long
period of time without being driven, protect
the battery from "freezing", otherwise it
will be damaged and will then have to be re­
placed.
- When opening the doors, the windows low­
er approximately 10 mm automatically. This
function is not available when the battery is
disconnected, which means there is a risk
that the door seal or the window could be
damaged .
229

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(D Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to start
the engine . This w ill seriously damage sensi­
tive electron ic components, such as control
units, relays, radio, etc., as well as the battery
charger.
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifica­
tions and dimensions as the original equipment
battery .
Intelligent energy management in your vehicle is
responsible for distributing the electrica l energy
throughout your vehicle
c:> page 194. The intell i­
gent energy management system will keep the
engine battery charged better than vehicles w ith­
out this system . To make sure the additional elec­
tr ical energy is available once again after you
have changed the battery, we recommend that
you install batteries of the same type and manu­ facture only (the same as those installed at the
time your veh icle was delivered). Specif ications
are listed on the battery housing. Your author­
ized dealer must code the battery in the energy
management system to enable you to use the en­
e rgy management functions correctly after re­
p lacing the battery.
The new battery must have the same capacity ,
voltage (12-volts), amperage, construction and plug sealing .
When installing the battery, make sure the igni­
tion and all electrical consumers are switched off.
Make sure the ventilation hose on the s ide of
the battery is connected, otherwise fumes or
battery acid can leak out.
- Vehicles with the Start-Stop-System* are equipped with a special cycle-proof AGM battery. Installing a different type of bat­
tery can cause problems in the vehicle elec­
trical system. When replacing the vehicle
battery, always install one with the same
specifications as the original battery.
Checking and Filling
{® For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal of
a battery, we recommend your authorized
Audi dealer change the battery for you. Bat­
teries contain sulfur ic acid and lead and must
always be disposed of properly in compliance
with all environmental regulations. Disposing
of vehicle batteries improperly is very danger­
ous to the environment.
Windshield/headlight
washer container
Fig. 194 Engine compa rtment: cover on the winds hie ld
and head lig ht* washer fluid reservoir
The washer fluid container is marked with the
symbol
ip on its cap c:>fig. 194, c:>page 220,
fig. 188.
.. Before you check anything in the engine com ­
partment,
always read and heed all WARN­
INGS c:> .&. in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 218.
.. Lift the filler cap tongue to add washer fluid.
You can fill the container to the top .
.. Press the cap back onto the filler neck after fill-
ing the container .
You can find the reservoir
capacity in the table in
c:>page272.
Clean water should be used when filling up. If
possible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
washer jets. Always add a g lass cleaner solution
(with frost protection in the winter) . ..,.
231