2018 AUDI A7 service

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Applies to: vehicles with night vision assist
Night vi sion assist : S ys te m fault
The system cannot guarantee correct function
and is sw itched off . See an author ized Audi deal­
er or authorized Audi Service Facility for ass is­
tance.
Night vision a ssist : Currently una vailabl e
The system cannot guarantee correct function at
this t ime and is switched off.
Night vis ion assi st: Onl y av ailable at night with
light s turned on
Nig ht vision ass ist only wo rks when it is dar k out ­
side and the head lights are on.
Night vision a ssist : Pede strian marking curr ent­
l y unavail abl e
The pedestrian and wild animal marking was
sw itched off by the system .
Audi drive select (drive
settings)
Introduction
Drive select makes it possible to experience dif ­
ferent types of veh icle settings in one vehicle .
The dr iver can se lect
Comf ort , Auto a nd D ynamic
modes in the I nfota inme nt system to switch be­
tween , fo r example , a sporty and a comfo rtable
driving mode .
I n the
Indi vidual mode, the sett ings can be ad­
justed to your perso nal preferences . This makes
it poss ible to comb ine settings such as a sporty
engine setting with light steering.
Description
The fo llowing systems, among other things, are
infl uenc ed by drive select:
Engine and automatic transmission
D epending on the mode, the e ng in e and auto ­
mat ic transmission respond more q uickl y o r in a
more balanced manner to accelerator pedal
A ss istance systems
movements . In the sporty dynamic mode, the
transmission shifts at higher speed ranges .
Adaptive air suspension*
The adapt ive a ir suspens ion* is an e lectron ica lly ­
contro lled air suspens io n and dampi ng sys tem.
T he adjustment depends o n the dr iving mode se ­
l ected, steering movements, the driver's braking
and acce leration, and as the road surface, ve hicle
speed and load.
T he vehi cle ground clearance depends on t he
mode selected and the speed . When you are in
the
a uto mode, the highway setting is activated
when you dr ive above 75 mph (120 km/h) for
more than 30 seconds. The ground clearance is
increased automatically if the speed drops below
44 mph (70 km/h) for more than 120 seconds .
Suspension control*
With the Audi Dynamic Ride Contro l damping
contro l, dampening characteristics of the vehicle
can be individually adjusted us ing drive select.
This makes it possib le to satisfy the des ire for
sporty suspens ion (DYNAMIC) and comfortable
suspension (COMFOR T) without g iv ing up bal­
anced tu ning (AUTO) .
Steering
The power steering adapts. Indirect steering that
moves easily as in comfort mode is espec ially
su ited to long drives on a highway . The dynamic
mode provides sporty, direct steeri ng .
Applies to: vehicles with dynamic steering
The steering ratio changes based on veh icle
speed in order to maintain optimum steering ef­
fort for the driver at all times . Th is sets the steer­
i ng to be less sensitive at h igher speeds i n orde r
to prov ide improved ve hicl e cont rol. At red uced
speeds, stee ring is more d irect in orde r to keep
the steering effort as minimal as possible when
the driver is maneuvering the ve hicle. At low and
average speeds, dynamic steering * additionally
provides more responsive steering performance.
Sport differential *
As a compone nt o f the all whee l dr ive sys tem
(qua ttro)
q page 124, the sport different ia l dis -
tributes the driving power to the rear axle
.,.
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Parking syste m s
Parking systems
General information
A pplies to: ve hicles w ith pa rk in g system plus/rearview cam­
era/peripheral camera
Depending on your vehicle 's equipment , various
parking aids will help you when parking and ma­
ne uvering.
The
p ark in g sys tem plu s assists you when park­
ing by aud ibly and visua lly indicating objects de­
tected
in front of and behind the veh icle
Q page 109.
The rea rv iew c am era shows the area beh ind the
veh icle in the Infotainment system d isp lay. The
lines in the rearv iew came ra image he lp you to
pa rk or maneuve r
Qpage 110.
The peripher al c am era s assist you with parking
and maneuvering . You are aided by var ious cam­
eras depend ing on the vehicle equipment leve l
Qpage 113. The pa rk ing system pl us functions
are also available
Q page 109 .
& WARNING
-Always look for traffic and check the area
around your vehicle by looking at it direct ly
as well. The parking system cannot replace
the driver's attent ion. The driver is always
respons ible when enter ing or leav ing a park­
ing space and dur ing s imilar maneuvers.
- Please note that some surfaces, such as
clothing, are not detected by the system .
-
-Sensors and cameras have blind spots in
wh ich people and objects cannot be detect­
ed . Be especially caut ious of small children
and animals .
- The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the radiator gr ille, bumper,
wheel housing and the underbody . The park­
ing system may be impa ired as a result.
Have a n author ized A udi dealer or au thor ­
ized Audi Service Facility check their func ­
tion .
- Make s ure the senso rs ar e not obst ructed by
stickers, deposits or other materia ls. If they
are, the sensor function could be impaired.
For additiona l information on cleaning, see
Q page 228.
108
@ Note
-Some objects are not detected or disp layed
by t he system under certain c ircumstances:
- objects such as barrier cha ins, tra iler draw
ba rs, ve rtical po les o r fences
- objects above the sensors such as wall ex ­
tensions
- objects with certain s urfaces or structures
such as cha in li nk fe nces or powder snow
- If you continue driving closer to a low ob­
ject, it may disappear from the sensor range . Note that you will no lo nger be
wa rned about th is obstacle.
- Keep enough distance from the curb to re­
duce the risk of damage to the rims .
(D Tips
-The system may prov ide a war ning even
though there are no obstacles in the cover­
age area in some situations, such as :
- certain road surfaces or when there is tall
grass
- exte rna l ul trasonic sources such as from
cleaning vehicles
- in heavy rain, snow, o r th ick vehicle ex­
h a u st
- We recommend th at you practice p arki ng in
a traffic -free loca tion or parking lot to be ­
come fami liar with the system . When doing
this, there s hou ld be good light and weath ­
er conditions.
- You can change the vo lume and pitch of the
signa ls as well as the d isp lay
Q page 118.
- Please refer to the instructions for towing a
trai ler located in
Q page 118.
-What appea rs in the infotainment d isplay is
somewhat time -de layed.
- Th e sensors m ust be ke pt clean and free of
snow and ice for the parking aid to operate .

Parking systems
Rearview camera
Introduction
Applies to: vehicles with rearview camera
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F ig. 117 Illustration: cross parking
Fig. 118 Illustration: parallel parking
The rearview camera gives you two views: you can
use
Cross parking to park in a parking space or a
garage, for example¢
fig. 117 . You can use par­
allel parking
if you would like to park on the side
of the road
¢fig. 118.
General information
Applies to: ve hicles with rearview camera
F ig. 119 Area
covered (!) and area not covered@by the
re arv iew camera .
110
Fig. 120 Luggage compartmen t lid : location of the rear­
v iew camera
The rearview camera is located above the rear li­
cense plate bracket. Make sure that the lens for
the parking system
¢ fig. 120 is not covered by
deposits or any other obstructions because this
can affect the function of the parking system . For
information on cleaning, see ¢
page 228.
The rearview camera coverage area includes (D
¢ fig. 119. Only this area is shown in the Info­
ta inment display . Objects that are in
area @,
which is not covered, are not displayed .
.&, WARNING
-Always read and follow the applicable warn­
ings¢.&. in General information on
page 108.
- If the position and the installation angle of
the rearview camera was changed, for ex­
ample after a collision, do not continue to
use the system for safety reasons. Have it
checked by an authorized Audi dea ler or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility.
- Only use the rearv iew camera to assist you if
it shows a good, clear picture. For example,
the image may be affected by the sun shin­ ing into the lens, dirt on the lens, or if there
is a malfunction.
- Use the rearview camera only if the luggage
compartment lid is completely closed. Make
sure any objects you may have mounted on
the luggage compartment lid do not block
the rearview camera.
- The camera lens enlarges and distorts the field of vision . The object appears both al­
tered and inaccurate on the screen.
- In certain situations, people or objects in
the display appear closer or farther away :

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the brakes in wet weather.
The braking effect can also be reduced if you are
driving on salted roads and you do not apply the
brakes for long periods of time. The layer of salt
on the brake rotors and pads must be worn off
first when the brakes are applied.
Due to its surface, the ceramic brake rotor* ab­
sorbs moisture in certain situations. Therefore,
there will temporarily be less braking force than
when the brakes are dry. You can compensate for
this by pressing the brake pedal harder.
Corrosion
Leaving the vehicle parked for long periods of
time, low mileage and avoiding heavy braking
can contribute to corrosion on the brake rotors
and to dirty brake pads.
If you usually avoid heavy braking or if there is
corrosion present, occasional heavy braking at
high speeds is recommended to clean the brake
rotors and
pads ¢.&. .
Brake system malfunction
If you notice that the brake pedal travel has sud­
denly increased, then a brake circuit in the dual­
circuit brake system may have malfunctioned. Drive to an authorized Audi dealer or authorized
Audi Service Facility immediately to have the
problem corrected. On the way there, drive with
reduced speed and keep in mind that you will
need a longer distance to stop and you will need
to press the brake pedal harder .
Low brake fluid level
When the brake fluid level is low, malfunctions in
the brake system may occur . The brake fluid level
is electronically monitored .
Brake booster
The brake booster amplifies the pressure you ap­
ply to the brake pedal. It only works when the en­
gine is running.
A WARNING
-Only apply the brakes for the purpose of
cleaning the brake system when road and
-
Intelligent Technology
traffic conditions permit. You must not en­
danger other road users. This increases the
risk of an accident.
- Never let the vehicle roll while the engine is
stopped because this increases the risk of an
accident.
- New brake pads do not achieve their full
braking effect during the first 250 mi
(400 km) . They must be "broken in" first.
The break-in period can be considerably lon­
ger for vehicles with ceramic brake rotors*.
However, you can compensate for the
slightly reduced braking force by pressing
firmly on the brake pedal. Avoid heavy brak­
ing during the break-in period.
- Certain weather and operating conditions
such as driving through water, driving in
heavy rain or driving after washing your ve­
hicle can impair the effectiveness of the
brakes. In the winter, ice may build up on
the brake pads, rotors and drums. Check
these components by braking carefully. Ap­
plying the brakes carefully several times
dries the brakes and removes ice build-up .
- The efficiency of the brakes can also be im­
paired by driving for long stretches on roads
covered with salt without using the brakes.
You can remove salt deposits from the
brake rotors and pads by carefully applying
the brakes several times.
- If the front spoiler is damaged or you install
another spoiler, make sure the front wheel
brakes are ventilated properly. Otherwise,
the brake system could overheat, which re­
duces their effectiveness.
- Failure of a brake circuit impairs braking
performance, which increases braking dis­
tance. Avoid driving the vehicle and have it
towed it to the nearest authorized Audi
dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility.
- If the brake booster is not working, you will
have to press much harder on the brake
pedal to compensate for the lack of the
booster .
@ Note
-Never let the brakes "rub" by pressing the
pedal lightly when braking is not actually
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Intellig ent T echn olo gy
necessary. This causes the brakes to over­
heat and increases braking distance and
causes wear.
- Before driving downhi ll a long distance on a
steep hill, decrease your speed and select a l ower gear. This makes use of the engine
braking effect and relieves the brakes. If
you need to brake additionally, brake in in­
tervals and not continuously .
(D Tips
-If the brake booster is not working, you
must press the brake pedal with much more
force than normal.
- If you retrofit your vehicle with a front spoil­
er, wheel covers or s imilar items, make sure
that the a ir flow to the front wheels is not
i nterrupted. Otherw ise the brake system
ca n become too hot.
Electromechanical
steering, dynamic
steering
The electromechanical steering supports the
driver's steering movements .
Power steering adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed .
Indicator light s and me ssages
• Do not d rive vehicle: St eering d efecti ve
If t his ind icator light tu rns o n and stays o n and
this message appears, t he power steer ing may
have fai led.
Stop the veh icle in a safe locat io n as soon as pos­
sib le. Do
n ot continue dr iving. See an author ized
Aud i dea ler or authorized Aud i Serv ice Facility for
assistance.
l;:r-ij St ee ring : Sys tem f ault You can con tinu e
dri ving
If the ind icator light turns on and the message
appears, the steering wheel may be more diff i­
cult to move or mo re sensit ive tha n usual. The
steer ing whee l may a lso be at an angle when
driving straight .
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Drive slowly to an authorized Audi dea ler or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility to have the mal ­
funct ion corrected .
'I-ij Dyn ami c ste ering : Initializing
If the indicator l ight is blinking and this message
appears, dy namic stee ring* is be ing initialized.
The steer ing whee l will be easy to move afte r
start ing t he engine . Re -init ialization mig ht be
necessary if the steering wheel was moved hard
to the left and right while the vehicle was not
moving . The d isp lay turns off if the init ia li zation
was successful.
(D Tips
- If the . or 'Tfl indicator light only stays on
for a short time, you may cont inue driving .
- Th e dynamic steering stability systems
<=>page 120 are not avai lab le in the event of
a system malfunction.
- For additiona l information on dynamic
steering, see
<=> page 105.
All wheel drive (quattro)
Applies to: vehicles with all wheel drive
In all wheel drive, all four wheels are powered.
G en eral information
In all whee l dr ive, the dr iv ing power is divided be ­
tween all four whee ls. This happens automatical­
l y depending on your driving behavior as we ll as
the current road conditions . Also see
c> page 120, Electronic stabili zation control
(ESC).
A center differential distributes the driving power
variab ly to the front and rear ax le. It works to­
gether w ith selective whee l torque contro l, wh ich
activates when driving through curves
<=>page 120 . With the sport d ifferent ial*, power
distribution to the rear wheels is variable and can
be adjusted with d rive select
c> page 105 .
The all wheel drive concept is designed for high
engine power . Your vehicle is except ionally pow­
erful and has excellent driving characteristics
both under normal driving conditions and on
snow and ice. A lways read and follow safety pre-
ca utions
c> .&. . II>-

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0 00 <..:l ' Winter tires
By using all wheel d rive, yo ur vehicle has good
forward motion with standard t ires in winter con­
ditions. However, in winter we recommend using
wint er or all season t ires on all four wheels, be­
cause this will improve the braking effect.
Snow chains
If
t h ere are snow cha in laws, snow chains must
a lso be used on vehicles with a ll wheel drive
¢ page 221, Snow chains.
Replacing tires
For vehi cles w ith all whee l dr ive , only whee ls w ith
the same rolling circumferen ce s hou ld be used .
Avoid using tires with different tread depths
¢ page 212, New tires or wheels .
Offroad vehicle?
Your Audi is not an offroad vehicle -there is not
enough g round clearance. For this reason, avo id
d ifficult terrain .
_& WARNING
-Also, in vehicles with a ll wheel drive, adapt
yo ur dr iv ing style to the cu rrent road and
traff ic conditions . Do not let the increased
sa fety provided tempt you into taking risks ,
because th is increases the r isk of an acci­
dent .
- The braking ability of your veh icle is limited
to the tract ion of t he wheels . In this way, it
is not diffe rent from a two whee l dr ive vehi ­
cle. Do not be tempted to accelerate to a
hig h speed when t he road is slippe ry, be­
ca use this increases the risk of a n accide nt .
- Note that on wet streets , the fro nt wheels
can "hyd roplan e" if d riving at speeds that
are too hig h. Unlike front whee l drive
vehicles, t he eng ine does not rev highe r su d­
den ly when the vehicle begins hydroplaning .
For this reason, adapt your speed to the
road conditions to reduce the risk of an acc i­
dent.
Intelligent Technology
Rear spoiler
T he extendable rear spoiler increases driving sta­
bilit y.
Fig. 1 39 Cen ter conso le : b utton for t he rea r spo iler
T he rear spo iler retracts and extends. Var ious op­
erating modes (automatic o r manua l mode) can
be a ctivated .
Automatic mode (normal op eration)
- Extends automatically: when the vehicle speed
exceeds approx imately 80 mph ( 130 km/h) .
- Retracts automat ica lly: when the veh icle speed
drops be low approx ima tely SO mph (80 km/h) .
Manual mode
- Extend ing manua lly: br iefly tap the button to
fully extend the rear spo iler.
- Retracting manually: when dr iving at speeds
be low approximately 10 mph (20 km/h), press
and hold the button to retract the rear spoiler.
When at speeds between 10 mph (20 km/h)
and 80 mph (130 km/ h), the rea r spo ile r will
comp letely retract whe n you tap the butto n.
Indicator lights
,A I. Rear spoiler: System f ault!
The rear spoiler may not have extended due to a
malfunction . This cou ld change the vehicle 's driv ­
i ng character istics at high speeds. Do not dr ive
faster than 85 mp h (140 km/h) . Drive to an au­
thorized Audi dea ler or authori zed Audi Service
Facility immed iate ly to have the malfu nction cor ­
rected . T he color of the indicato r light depends
o n the vehicle speed .
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Intelligent Technology
-How fast the vehicle was traveling.
These data can help prov ide a better unde rstand­
ing of the circumstances in which crashes and in­
juries occur. NOTE: EDR data are recorded by your
vehicle only if a non-trivia l crash situation occurs;
no data are recorded by the EDR under norma l
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 invest igat ion.
To read data recorded by an EDR, special equip­ ment is required, and access to the veh icle or the
EDR is needed . In add it ion 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 th e veh icle or the
EDR.
Some state laws restr ict the retrieval or down­
loading of data stored by ED Rs insta lled in a vehi ­
cle for the express purpose of retrieving data af ­
ter an accident or crash event without the own ­
er's consent .
Aud i w ill not access the EDR and/o r similar data
or give it to othe rs -
- unless the vehicle owner (or lessee if the veh i­
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 lawsu it through the judicial
discovery process.
- Audi may also use the data for research about vehicle opera tion and safety performance or
provide the data to a third party for research
purposes without identifying the specific vehi­
cle or information about the identity of its own­
er or lessee and only after the recorded vehicle
data has been accessed.
Vehicle control modules
Your veh icle is also equipped with a number of
electron ic control modules for various veh icle
systems, such as engine management, emission
cont rol , airbags, and safety belts.
128
These electronic contro l modules record data
during normal vehicle operation that may be
needed by trained techn ic ians for diagnostic and
repair purposes. The recording capab ility of these
modules is lim ited to data (no sound is record­
ed) . Only a small amount of data is actually re­
corded over a very limited per iod of time, or stor­
ed when a system fault is detected by a contro l
module . Some of the data sto red may relate to
vehicle speed, direction , or braking, as well as re­
straint system use and performance in the event
of a crash. Stored data can also on ly be read and
down loaded with specia l equipment that is di­
rectly connected to the vehicle.
(D Tips
Your vehicle may be equipp ed wit h Audi con ­
nect. Your use of certain Audi connect fea­
tures requires wire less services that are pro­
v ided by a third party wireless telecommuni­
cations provider . For details regarding how in­
formation obtained through Audi connect is
collected, processed, transmitted, used, and
sha red, please see your contract with the
wireless telecommunications provider.

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-A fine dust is released when the pyrotechnic
safety be lt pretens ioners deploy . This is nor­
mal and is not caused by a fire in the vehi­
cle.
- The re levant safety requirements must be
observed when the veh icle or components
of the system are scrapped. A qualif ied
dealersh ip is familiar w ith these regulations
and will be pleased to pass on the informa­
tion to you.
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
The safety be lt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi. Installing, removing,
servicing or repa iring of belt pretensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from work ing correctly in a collision .
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system w ill not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
env ironment.
A WARNING
-
Improper care, serv icing and repa ir proce­
dures can increase the r is k of personal injury
and death by preventing a safety be lt preten­
sioner from activating when needed or acti­
vating it unexpectedly:
- T he be lt pretensione r system can be act ivat­
ed only once . If belt pretensione rs have
been activated, the system must be re­
placed.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of the safety be lt system .
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Specia l
procedures are required for removal, insta l­
lation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au­
thorized Aud i dea ler or qualified technician
who has an Audi approved repair manual,
train ing and spec ial equ ipment necessary .
Safety be lts
{® For the sa ke of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and pretension­
ers might be classif ied as Perchlorate Materi­
al -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­ rate . When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modules safe­
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regu lations must be ob­
se rved. Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar
with these requirements and we recommend
that you have your dealer perform this service
for you .
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