2017 AUDI A7 ABS

Trailer towing
Trailer towing
Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passenger
transportation.
If you plan to tow a trailer, please remember that
the additional load will affect durability, econo­my and performance.
Trailer towing not on ly places more stress on the
ve hicle, it also ca lls for more concentration from
the dr iver.
F or this reason, always follow the operating and
driving instructions provided and use common
sense.
@ Note
If you are going to tow a trailer, you must ac­
tivate the tra ile r operation mode
¢ page 82, Operating instructions.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trai ler weight. The hitch must be suitab le
for your ve hicle and tra iler and must be mounted
securely on the vehicle 's chassis at a
technically
sound
locat ion . Use on ly a trailer hitch with a re­
movable ba ll mount . Always chec k w it h t he t rail ­
er hitch man ufactur er to make s ure t hat you a re
using the co rrect hi tc h.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
The hitch m ust be installed i n such a way that it
does not interfere with the impact -absorbing
bumper sys tem . N o mod ificat ions should be
made to the vehicle exhaust and b rake systems .
Fr om t ime to t ime, che ck t hat all hitch mo unti ng
bol ts rem ain securely faste ned.
W hen you are not tow ing a tra iler, remove the
tra ile r hitc h ba ll mount . This prevents the hitch
from ca using damage shou ld your veh icle be
s truck from behind¢ &..
82
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is equipped wi th a bra king sys tem,
c h ec k t o be sure that it con forms to all regu la ­
tions.
The trailer hydrau lic br ake system mus t not be
directly connecte d to the vehicle's hydr auli c
brake system .
Safety chains
Always use safety chains between your vehicle
a nd t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Trailer lights must meet all regulations. Be sure
to check w ith your Aud i dea ler for correct wir ing,
switches and relays.
Mirrors
If you a re unab le to see the traffic behind you us­
i ng the regular outs ide mir rors, then you
must in­
stall extended mirrors. It is important that you
always have clear vision to the rear.
A WARNING
Afte r remov ing the tra ile r hi tch, do not s to re
i t in yo ur vehicle. In cas e of sudden brak ing,
the hit ch could fly fo rwa rd and injure you or
your pas sengers.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
A tra ile r f or yo ur vehicle is lim ite d to a typical
cla ss 1 or class 2 trailer.
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the load in the trai ler is held sec urely in
place to p revent it from shifting forward , back­
ward or si deways .
Never allow a pas senger to ride in a trailer ¢ &.
in Driving instructions on page 84.
Engine cooling system
Towing a tra ile r makes the engine wor k harder . It
i s impo rtant that the cooling system's perform­
ance is up to the additional load. Ma ke sure that
the cooling system has enoug h fluid.
IJJ,,,

Trailer towing
Coolant t emperatur e
The coolant temperatu re gauge <=? page 9 must
be observed ca refully. The coo lant tempe rature
can increase if you drive on long inclines in a low
gear at high engine sp eeds. Reduce your sp eed
immed ia te ly if the LEDs in the top part of the dis­
p lay turn on.
For more information abo ut indicator lights, re­
fe r to . <=?
page 14.
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 towing information
Important to know
-
Your veh icle hand les different ly when tow ing a
tra ile r because of the additional weight and d if­
fe rent we ight d istr ib ution. Safety, performance
and economy w ill great ly depend o n how careful­
ly you load yo ur trailer and ope rate your r ig .
Before you actually tow your tra iler, practice
turn ing, stopp ing and bac king up in an area away
from t raff ic. Keep practicing until you have be­
come comple tely fami liar with t he way your vehi­
cle-trailer comb inat ion behaves and responds.
Backing up is d iffic ult and requires pract ice .
Backing up with a tra iler gene rally requires steer­
i n g ac tion oppos ite to tha t when backing up yo ur
veh icle w it h out a trailer .
M aintain a g reater d istance between your vehicle
and the one in front of you . You w ill need more
room to stop . To compensa te fo r th e tra ile r, you
will nee d a larger than no rma l tur ning rad ius.
When pass ing , remembe r that you ca nnot accel­
e rate as fast as you no rma lly would because of
the adde d load . Make s ure yo u have eno ugh room
to pass . After passing, allow plenty of room for
your trai ler before chang ing lanes again.
84
Avo id jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
c h anges.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer dur ing the brea k-i n pe ri­
od of your veh icle.
- I f you tow a tra ile r, your A udi m ay requi re
more frequent ma intenance due to the ex­
tra load
¢ page 264.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope wi th a trailer . If it cannot
be avoided, do so only after doing the following:
When parking:
.,. App ly the foot bra ke .
.,. Have so meone p lace cho cks unde r bot h the ve­
hicle and the trailer w heels.
.,. With choc ks in place, slowly rele ase the brakes
until the w heel chocks abso rb the load .
.,. Turn th e whee ls towards the curb.
.,. App ly the par king b rake .
.,. Select the P se lecto r lever posit ion.
When restarting after parking:
.,. App ly the foot bra ke .
.,. Start the engine .
.,. Sele ct the D/S se lector l ever position.
.,. Re lease the par king brake and s low ly pull o ut
and away from the whee l chocks.
.,. Stop and have someone re trieve the wheel
chocks .
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the automat­
i c transmission to P befo re applying the park­
i ng brake and before blocking the whee ls, yo u
may have to use more force la ter to move the
l eve r o ut of the P pos it io n.

Intelligent Technology
Intelligent Technology
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
Elect ronic Stabilization Control (ESC) suppo rts
driver safety.
It red uces the risk of slipping and
improves dr iving stability. ESC detects crit ica l sit­
uations such as the veh icle oversteering and un­
dersteering or the wheels are sp inning. The vehi­
cle is stabilized by app lying the brakes or reduc ­
ing engine torque. As soon as the ESC is active ly
regulat ing, the
D.1 indicato r light blin ks in the in­
s trumen t clus ter.
The fo llow ing systems are integrated in the ESC :
Ant i-lock braking system (ABS)
ABS p revents the whee ls from locking whe n brak­
ing. The vehicle can sti ll be steered even during
hard brak ing. Apply steady press ure to the brake
pedal. Do not pump the pedal. A puls ing in t he
b rake pedal indicates that the system is acting to
s tabilize the vehicle .
Br ake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease brak ing dis­
tance . It increases brak ing power when the driver
presses the brake pedal q uick ly in emergency sit­
uations . You must press and hold t he b rake pedal
until the dangerous sit uat io n is over . In veh icles
with adapt ive c ruise control*, the bra ke as sist
sy stem is more sensitive if t he di sta nce detec ted
t o the vehicle dr iv ing ahead is too small. On
ve hicl es with act ivated and f unct io ni ng night vi ­
sion assist*, the brake assist system can respond mo re sensit ively if there is a warning .
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR red uces eng ine power when the drive w heels
be gin sp inning an d adapts the force to the road
conditions. This makes it easie r to sta rt, acceler ­
ate and dr ive up h ills.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
E DL a ppl ies the bra kes to a wheel tha t st art s
sp inning and tra nsfe rs t he dr ive powe r to t he
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other driving whee ls. This func tion is no t ava ila ­
ble at hig her speeds.
I n extreme cases , EDL automat ic al ly swi tches off
to keep t he b rake o n the br aked wheel from ove r­
heating. The ve hicle is still working correct ly. ED L
will switc h on again automatically when condi­
tions have returned to normal.
Steering recommendation
The ESC he lps to s tabili ze th e vehicle by ch ang ing
t h e s teer ing torque.
I n veh icles with dynamic s teer ing*, ESC a lso
helps to stab ilize the s teeri ng in cr it ic al situ a­
tions.
Selective wheel torque control
Se lective wheel to rque control is used when d riv­
i ng on curves . The front whee l on the ins ide of
t h e curve or both whe els on the i nside of th e
cu rve are braked se lectively as needed. This al­
l ows mo re pre cise driving in curves .
Automatic post -collision braking system
The "a utomat ic post -coll is io n braking system"
can help to reduce the risk of sl iding and of addi­
tiona l co llisions after an acc iden t. If the a irbag
c on tro l modu le dete cts a collision above a cer tain
vehicle speed, the veh icle is braked by t he ESC.
The veh icle does not brake automatically if:
- the drive r presses the accelerator pedal, or
- the bra king force generate d by the pressed
brake pedal is greater than the b raking force
that would be in itiated by the system, or
- the ESC, the bra ke system or the vehicle elect ri­
cal system are not functioning.
A WARNING
- The ESC and its integ rated systems can not
overcome the lim its imposed by natura l
p hys ica l laws. Th is is es pec ially i mpo rtan t
on s lippery or we t roads. If the system s be­
g in a cting to s tabili ze yo ur vehicle, you
should immedi ately alte r your speed to
match the road and tra ffi c conditions. Do
not let the inc reased safety provided tempt

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you into taking risks. This could increase
your risk of a collision.
- Please note the risk of a co llision increases
when driving fast, especially through 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 r isk of acci­
dents!
- Press the accelerator pedal carefully when
accelerating on even, slippery surfaces such
as ice and snow. The drive wheels can spin
Switching on /off
Intelligent Technology
even when these control systems are instal­
led and this can affect driving stability and
increase the risk of a collision.
(D 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. 140 Center console: OFF ~ button
The following examples are unusual situations
where it may make sense to switch sport mode
on in order to allow the wheels to spin:
ESC levels
Sport mode on
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
-Driving in deep snow or on loose ground
- Driving with snow chains
Applies to: RS models: the ESC is designed to
function in levels. Depending on the level that is
selected, the stabil izat ion function of the ESC is
limited or switched off. The amount of stabiliza­
tion control will differ depending on the level.
Sport mode off
Behavior
The ESC and ASR stabilization functions The
full stabilization function of the ESC
are limited
c::> & . and ASR is available again.
Operation Press the I~ OFF I button . Press the 1.$ OF FI button again .
Indicator Ill turns on. II turns off.
lights
Messa ges Stabilization control (ESC ): Sport Warn- Stabilization control (ESC): On
ing! Reduced stability
121

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\.J ' -Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already installed
floor mats. Additional floor mats and other
coverings will reduce the size of the pedal
area and interfere with the pedals .
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for cleaning.
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into the driver footwell while the vehicle is
moving . Objects can become trapped under
the brake pedal and accelerator pedal caus­ ing a loss of veh icle control.
Storing cargo correctly
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be properly
stowed and secured in the luggage compart­
ment.
L oose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling charac­
teristics. Loose items can also increase the risk of
serious personal injury in a sudden vehicle ma­
neuver or in a collision.
.. Distribute the load evenly in the luggage com­
partment.
.. Always place and properly secure heavy items in
the luggage compartment as far forward as
possible.
.,. Secure luggage using the tie-downs provided
¢ page 55 .
.,. Make sure that the rear seatback is securely
latched in place.
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items can
fly through the vehicle causing serious per­
sonal injury in the event of hard braking or an
accident. To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury:
- Always put objects, for example, luggage or
other heavy items in the luggage compart­
ment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage com­
partment using the tie-down hooks and
suitable straps.
Driving safety
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi­
cle handles. To help reduce the risk of a loss
of control leading to serious personal injury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the center of
gravity can also cause changes in vehicle handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible .
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating
or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on the left
door jamb. Exceeding permissible weight
standards can cause the vehicle to slide and handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driving
¢page 129.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from
being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the
rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than those
f itting completely into the luggage area be­
cause the rear lid cannot be fully closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear lid open, observe the following notes to reduce
the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument pan-
el,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed .
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win­
dows , the power roof* and the rear lid are se­
curely closed and locked to reduce the r isk of
in jury when the vehicle is not being used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make sure
-
that it is properly closed and locked. ~
135

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-Failure to pay attention to the warn ing light
that come on, could lead to persona l injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 145 Unbelted occupants in a vehicle heading for a wall
Fig. 146 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­ ies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engi­
neers call this energy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle's we ight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Veh icle speed is the most significant factor. If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50
km/h), the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not us­
ing safety belts¢
fig. 145, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall¢
fig. 146 .
Safety belts
The same p rinciples apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is invo lved in a fronta l co llision. Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are a lso not
attached to the ir vehicle. In a frontal collis ion
they will also keep moving forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash .
Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions, they determine what happens in all kinds of accidents and collisions .
What happens to occupants not wea ring
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 14 7 A driver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
Fig . 148 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt will fly
forwa rd and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre­
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves . Without the benefit of safe­
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam v iolently into the steering wheel,
Ill>-
141

Safe ty belts
instrument panel, windshield, or whatever else is
in the way
r:!> fig. 147. This impact with the vehi­
cle interior has all the energy they had just be­
fore the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
protection. A irbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
equipped w ith airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor­
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in­
jury or death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always there
to offer protect ion in those accidents in wh ic h
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have a lready deployed . Unbel ted occupants can
also be thrown o ut of the veh icle where eve n
mo re severe or fatal injuries can occur .
It is also important for the rear pass engers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passengers
i n t he re ar seats endanger no t on ly themse lves
but also the drive r and other passengers
~ fig . 148. In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
in jure the driver and/or front seat passenger.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It's simply
not true!
F ig . 14 9 Driver is co rrectly restrai ned in a sudde n brak ing
m aneu ver
Safety belts used properly can make a b ig d iffer­
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap-
142
plied to the body in an accident , and help prevent
the uncontrolled movement that can cause seri­
ous injuries. In add ition, sa fety belts red uce the
danger of being thrown out of the vehicle.
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and g ive
them the benefit of being s lowed down more
gently or "soft ly" thro ugh the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety feat ures engi­
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
k inet ic energy over a longer per iod of t ime, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tolerab le" and less likely to cause inju ry .
Although these examples are based on a frontal
collision, safety be lts ca n also substantially re ­
duce the r isk o f injury in ot her kinds of crashes .
So, whethe r yo u're on a long trip or just goi ng to
the cor ne r store, a lways b uckle up and make s ure
othe rs do, too. Ac ciden t st at ist ics show that veh i­
cle o ccupants prope rly wearing safety bel ts have
a lowe r risk of being injured and a m uch better
chance of surviving an acc ident . Properly using
safety be lts also great ly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
li sion. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada .
Although your Aud i is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for examp le, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not act i­
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear co l­
li sions, in rollovers or in cases whe re there is not
eno ugh deceler ation throug h impa ct to the front
of the vehicle . The same goes for the other a irbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly rest rained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safe ty belts must always be correctly positioned
acros s the strongest bones of your body .
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de ­
scribed in this chapter.
.,. Make sure that your safety be lts are always
ready fo r use a nd are not damaged .

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\.J ' -Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained.
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering wheel
rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock po­
sitions to help reduce the risk of personal in­
jury if the driver's airbag inflates .
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any­
where inside the steering wheel or on the steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of
severe injury to the arms, hands, and head if
the driver airbag deploys.
& WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in ­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
-
bag deployment zone that could be struck
by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag de­
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the doors;
never attach then to the doors or the wind­
shield; never place them over or near or at­
tach them to the area marked ,,AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument panel or the seat backrests; never place them between
these areas and you or any other person in
the vehicle .
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such as
accessory GPS navigation units or music
players. Such objects could cause serious in­
jury in a collision, especially when the air­ bags inflate .
Airbag system
-Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side airbags or
the front airbag during breaking or in a sud­
den maneuver. Objects near the airbags can
fly dangerously through the passenger com­
partment and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in­
flate.
& WARNING
= -
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be­ ing too close to the airbag when it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un­
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
= The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in
accordance with the .,low risk" opt ion for 3-
and 6-year-old children under the U.S. Fed­
eral Standard if a child with electrical capac­ itance greater than the combined capaci­
tance of a typical one-year old infant re­
strained in one of the forward facing or rear­
ward-facing child seats with which your ve­
hicle was certified is on the front passenger
seat and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seat ing pos ition.
- For their own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their age
and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, as
well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ..,.
153