2018 AUDI A7 steering

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 .
124
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>-

Driving sa fety
,.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions.
,.. Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two hours at a stretch.
,.. Do NOT drive when you are tired, under pres­
sure or whe n you are stressed .
A WARNING
Impaired driv ing safety inc reases the risk of
ser ious persona l inju ry and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
Correct passenger
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver sea ting po sition is impor tan t
for safe, relaxed driving .
Fig. 14 0 Correc t seat ing posit ion
F or your own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the driver 's seat to the following
position :
,.. Adjust the dr iver's seat so tha t you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor whi le
keeping your knee(s) s light ly
bent ¢ ,A.
,.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contact with it when you drive.
,.. Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a dis­
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm ) between the
stee ring wheel and your breast
bone ¢ fig. 140 .
If not possib le, see you r autho rized Aud i dea l­
ersh ip about adaptive equipment .
130
,.. Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering
wh eel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at your face.
,.. Grasp the top of the steering wheel with your
elbow(s) slightly bent.
,.. F or ad justab le head rest raints: Adjust the head
restraint so t he upper edge is as even as possi­
ble with the top of your head . If that is not pos­
sible, t ry to adjust the head restraint so tha t it
is a s close to this pos it ion as poss ible . M ove the
he ad restraint so tha t it is as close to the back
o f the head as possible.
,.. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
¢ page 141 .
,.. Always keep both feet in the footwell so that
you are in contro l of the veh icle at all times .
Fo r detail ed information on how to adjust the
dr iver's seat,
see ¢ page 47.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted , out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in-
jured by an airbag as it unfo lds . To help re-
duce the risk of serio us pe rsonal i njury:
-Always adjust the driver's seat and the steer ing whee l so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between you r breastbone
and the steering wheel.
- Always ad just the driver's seat and the
steer ing whee l so that the re are at least
4 inch es (10 cm) between the knees a nd the
lower part of the ins trumen t panel.
-Always hold t he s teering wheel on the out­
side of t he steering wheel r im with yo ur
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi­
tions to help reduce the risk of personal in­
jury if the dr iver 's airbag inflates.
-Never hold the stee ring wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with you r hands at
other positions inside the steer ing whee l
rim o r on the steering wheel hub. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause
serious injuries to the hands, arms and head
-
if the driver's airbag inflates . .,_

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \,;J ' -Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supplemen­
tal driver's airbag to protect you in a colli­ sion .
- Always sit in an upright position and never
lean against or place any part of your body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located .
- Before driving, always adjust the front seats
properly and make sure that all passengers
are properly restrained .
- For adjustable head restraints : before driv ­
ing, always also adjust the head restraints
properly .
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is moving . Your seat may move unexpectedly
and you could lose control of the vehicle.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child seats
~ page 170. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
i::> page 146 .
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position is
important for safe, r elaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend that you adjust th e seat for the front passenger
to the following position:
.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position and your back comes in full
contact with it wh enever the vehicle is moving.
.. For adjustable head restraints: adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi­
ble with the top of your head. If that is not pos­
sible , try to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this position as possible
~ page 132. Move the head restraint so that it
is as close to the back of the head as possible.
Driving safety
.. Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the
front passeng er seat.
.. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
i::> page 141 .
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front pass enger's s eat, see
i::> pag e 47.
A WARNING
= -
Front seat passengers who are unbelted, out
of position or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured or killed by the airbag as it
unfolds . To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright po­
sition and never lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be seri­
ously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
g reat force in the blink of an eye.
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front pas­
senger's breastbone and the instrument panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front passen­
ger's knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat .
- Before driving, always adjust the front pas­
senger seat properly.
- For adjustable head restraints: before driv­
ing, always also adjust the head restraints
properly .
- Always keep your feet on the floor in front
of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, in­
strument panel, out of the window, etc. The
airbag system and safety belt will not be
able to protect you properly and can even in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
~
131

a co ,...,
N
" N ,...,
0 00 <.,;) ' -Failure to pay attention to the warn ing light
that come on, could lead to personal 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. 143 Unbelted occupants in a vehicle heading for a wall
Fig. 144 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 ca ll this energy "k inetic 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. 143, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall¢
fig. 144.
Safety belts
T he same p rinciples apply to people s itting in a
vehicle that is invo lved in a fronta l co llision. Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to SO 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. 14S A driver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
Fig . 146 A rear passe nger 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 violently into the steering wheel,
IJI,,-
139

Airbag system
Airbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop­ er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
.,. Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
properly~ page 130,
.,. Adjust the front passenge r's seat properly
~page 47 ,
.,. Wear safety belts properly~ page 140,
.. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect chi ldren
~page 170 .
In a coll is ion, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force. The
supp lemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driver or the front seat passenger is not seated
properly. Therefore in order to he lp the airbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a dr iver and as
a passenger to sit properly at all t imes.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the air bag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protect ion
in certain frontal
coll isions¢ page 130, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
¢ page 47.
It's especially important that children are proper­
ly restrained
¢ page 170.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the ind iv idual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system.
Proper seating posit ion is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or cond ition that
prevents you from s itting properly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
146
reaching the pedals, or if you have concerns with
regard to the function or operation of the Ad­
vanced Airbag System, please contact your au­
thorized Audi dea ler or qualified workshop, or
ca ll Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for poss ible modifications to your vehicle .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov­ ers, and infla te between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger. The a irbags w ill deflate im­
med iate ly after deployment so that the front oc­
cupants can see through the windsh ield aga in
without interruption.
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
a irbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be
in the ir way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant's forward move­
ment. Together they help to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting parts of
the ins ide of the vehicle while reduc ing the forces
acting on the occupant dur ing the crash . In th is
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and upper body in the crash . Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions. The triggering of t he a irbag system de­
pends on the veh icle deceleration rate caused by
the collis ion and registered by the electronic con­
trol unit. If this rate is be low the refe rence value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even tho ugh t he car may be
badly damaged as a resu lt of the co llision . V ehi­
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi­
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an a irbag should inflate or not.
Since the circumstances wi ll vary considerab ly
between one co llision and another, it is not possi ­
ble to define a range of veh icle speeds that will
cover every poss ible kind and angle of impact
that w ill always trigger the airbags. Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the object which the ca r hits, the angle of
im pact, vehicle speed, etc. The front airbags will
..,.

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \.J ' also not inflate in side or rear co llisions, or in
ro llovers .
Always re memb er: Airbags will deploy only o nce,
and on ly in ce rtain k inds of coll is ions. Yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first coll is ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
<=:> page 138 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l o r i n­
st rument panel w ill decrease the effe ct ive­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never si t close r than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the stee ring w heel or instr ument panel.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the s teeri ng wheel, invest i­
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may be
availab le to he lp you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All ve hicle occupants and especia lly children
must be restrained proper ly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestra ined o r imp roperly restrained
c hild is also at greate r risk of inju ry o r death
t h rough contact with an inflating airbag.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rwa rd, s it­
ti ng s ideways or o ut of pos it ion in any way,
yo ur risk of i njury is m uch higher.
- Yo u will also receive se rious injur ies and
c ou ld eve n be killed if you are up aga inst the
air bag o r too close to it w hen it in flates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
-
Airbag syste m
-To reduce the r is k of injury when an airbag
inf lates, always wear safety belts prope rly
<=:> page 141, Safety belts.
- Always make certain that children age 12 or
younge r always ride in the rear seat. If chil­
dren are not properly restrained, they may be severely injured or killed when an airbag
i n flates.
- Never let c hildren r ide unrestra ined or im­
properly restrained in the vehicle . Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride w ith the backrest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument pane l
<=:> page 130.
-Always sit upright w ith your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep bot h feet
on the floor in front of t he seat to help pre­
vent ser ious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine t he fron t passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects . Items can also move into
the area of the s ide airbag or the front air­
b ag d uring brak ing o r in a sudden ma neu ­
ve r. Obje cts near the a irbags can be come
p rojecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inf lates .
A WARNING ,..__ -
Airbags that have deployed in a cras h m ust be
replaced.
- Use on ly original eq uipment airbags ap ­
proved by A udi and insta lled by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
d iagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assure system
effect iveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in you r vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be s ure to read the impo rtant info rmat io n and
heed the WARN INGS for important deta ils
147

Airbag system
-An improperly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child
-even
with an Advanced Airbag System .
-Always carefully follow the manufacture r's
instructions provided with the child seat or
carrier .
-Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacit ive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signa l that it is occupied by some­
one who is heav ier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of addi­
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is different from the way it would
have worked without the object on the seat .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants.
Fig. 153 L ocation of d river airbag : in stee ring w heel
150
Fig. 154 Locat io n of fro nt passenge r's airbag : in th e in ·
s trumen t pan el
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at
the time your vehicle was manufactured .
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub
q fig. 153 and the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument panel
q fig. 154 . The
general location of the airbags is marked
"AIR·
BAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detailed
information about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS
-they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children.
A WARNING
-Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
-Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supplemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your veh icle 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 dr iver's airbag inflates. ~

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \,;J ' -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.
A 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.
- 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.
Airbag system
A WARNING
r--
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" option 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 seating position.
- 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 (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehi­
cle was manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
for the driver's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes . The airbags in­
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de-
celeration is high enough.
.,.
151