2018 AUDI A7 manual transmission

Table of contents
About this Owner's Manual. . . . . .
5
Cockpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Cockpit overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Controls at a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Instruments and indicator lights 9
Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Indicato r lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 0
Driver information system . . . . . . 20
Ove rview ....... ... .. ..... ... .. .. .. .
Operation . ........ .. ..... ... .. .. .. . 20
2 1
On-board computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Eff iciency program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
T ime/date display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
B oost, shifting and eng ine o il
temperature indicato rs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
H ead -up displ ay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24
Starting and driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Opening and closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Cent ral lock ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
L uggage compartment lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Chi ld safety loc k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Power windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Sunroof. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Garage door opener (Homelink) . . . . . . . . 3 7
Lights and Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Exterior lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Interior lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
42
V1s1on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
W indshield w ipe rs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Seats and storage ............... . 47
Gene ral information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Fr ont seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
H ead restra ints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
M emory fu nction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
Ashtray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Cigarette lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1
12
Volt sockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Luggage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
2
Warm and cold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Climate contro l system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Steering w heel heat ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Driving ... .. .. .... .. ... .. ..... ... .. 6 4
Genera l information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Start ing and stopping the eng ine . . . . . . . 68
Start/Stop system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
E lectromechanical parking brake . . . . . . . 72
Start ing to drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
A utomat ic transmission 74
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
D riving with a tra ile r 81
Driver assi stance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Assistance systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Speed warning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Cru ise cont ro l sys tem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 4
Lap timer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Audi adaptive cruise contro l . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Audi pre sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Audi active lane assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Audi s ide ass ist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
N ight vision assist w ith pedestrian and
wild animal detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
102
Audi drive select (d rive setti ngs) . . . . . . . . 105
Parking systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Genera l information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Parking system plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Rearv iew camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Per ipher al came ras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Adjus ting the d isp lay an d the warn ing
tones.. ... .. .. .... .. ... .. ..... ... ..
118
Error messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Trailer hitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Intelligent Technology . . . . . . . . . . 12 0
Electronic stabilization control (ESC) . . . . 120
Brakes .... .. .. .. .. .. ............. .. 122
E lectromechanical steering, dynamic
steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
124
All wheel drive (quatt ro) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Rear spoiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \,;J ' h). To stop the engine, press and hold the
I START ENGINE STOPI button and also press the
brake pedal.
A WARNING
- Never turn off the engine before the vehicle
has come to a complete stop. The full func­
tion of the brake booster and the power
steering is not guaranteed. You may need to
use more force when braking or steering.
Because you cannot brake and steer as you
usually would, this could lead to accidents
and serious injuries.
- Always take the key with you whenever you
leave your vehicle. Otherwise, the engine
could be started or electrical equipment
such as the power windows could be operat­
ed. This can lead to serious injury.
- For safety reasons, always park the vehicle
with the selector lever in the P position.
Otherwise, there is the risk that the vehicle
could roll unintentionally.
@ Note
If the engine has been under heavy load for
an extended period of time, heat builds up in
the engine compartment after the engine is
switched off and there is a risk of damaging
the engine. For this reason, let the engine run
at idle for approximately two minutes before
shutting it off.
(D Tips
For up to 10 minutes after stopping the en­
gine, the radiator fan may turn on again auto­
matically or it may continue to run (even if
the ignition is switched off) for the following
reasons:
- The coolant temperature is increasing due
to trapped heat.
- If the engine is warm and the engine com­
partment also heats up from strong sun­
light.
- Applies to: vehicles with particulate filter:
The emissions control system is heated
through the regeneration process, even if
the engine has not reached its operating
temperature yet.
Driving
Messages
Turn off ignition before leaving car
This message appears and a warning tone sounds if you open the driver's door when the ignition is
switched on.
Press brake pedal to start engine
This message appears if you do not press the
brake pedal when starting the engine.
fll Is key in the vehicle?
This indicator light turns on and this message ap­
pears if the ignition key was removed from the
vehicle when the engine was running. If the igni­
tion key is no longer in the vehicle, you cannot
switch on the ignition or start the engine once
you stop it. You also cannot lock the vehicle from
the outside.
Shift to P, otherwise vehicle can roll away.
Doors do not lock if lever is not in P.
This message appears for safety reasons if the
transmission is not in the P position when you
switch the ignition off. Move the selector lever to
the P position. Otherwise the vehicle is not pro­
tected from rolling and it cannot be lock ed.
II Key is not recognized. Hold back of key
against marked area. See owner's manual
If the indicator light turns on and this message
appears, there is a
malfunction ~ page 70.
Turn off ignition before leaving car. Battery is
discharging
This message appears if the driver's door is opened while the ignition is switched on. Always
switch off the ignition if you are leaving the vehi­
cle. Also see
~ page 71 .
Shift to P and turn off ignition before leaving
car, otherwise vehicle can roll away
This message appears if the driver's door is
opened while the ignition is switched on and the
selector lever is not in the P position . Move the
selector lever into the P position and switch the
ignition off when you exit the vehicle . Otherwise
the vehicle could roll. Also see
~ page 71 .
69

Drivin g
held with the br ake pedal. T he parking brake
eliminates the tendency to creep when a se­
lector lever pos ition is engaged . As soon as
you press the accelerator pedal, the park ing
brake releases automat ically and your vehicle
starts to move
¢ page 74 .
(D Tips
- Occasiona l noises when the parking brake is
set and re leased are normal and are not a
cause for concern .
- The park ing brake goes through a se lf-test
cycle at regular intervals when the veh icle is
stopped . Any noises associated w ith this are
no rmal.
- If there is a power fa ilure, the parking brake
will not set if it is released, and it will not r elease if it is
set¢ &. See an authorized
A udi dealer or authori zed Audi Servi ce Fa­
cility for ass istance.
Starting to drive
Va rio us conven ience and safety fu nctions may be
av aila ble when the vehicle begins d riv in g, de ­
pending on vehicle eq uipment.
Starting on hills with the parking brak e set
Requ irement: the dr iver's door must be closed
and the dr iver's safety be lt must be fastened .
.. To start driving comfortab ly when on a hill , se t
the parking brake and begin dr iv ing as usual.
T he brak ing force of the park ing brake does not
re lease automatically until t he wheels b uild up
eno ugh dr iv ing fo rce .
Starting on hills with hill hold assist
Hill hold ass ist makes it eas ier to start on hills.
Req uirement: the driver 's door must be closed
and the eng ine must be r unning.
.. T o activate hill hold assist, press an d hold the
brake peda l for seve ral seconds. The ve hicle
must be in an up hill direction of travel.
Afte r releasing the br ake pe dal, the br aking pow ­
er is ma intained for a brie f
moment¢ A to p re ­
vent the vehicle from rolling back when starting .
74
During this time, you can easily begin to move
yo ur vehicle .
A WARNING
Applies to: ve hicles with hill hold assist
- If you do not beg in driving immed iate ly or
the engine stalls after releasing the brake
pedal, your veh icle may beg in to roll back­
ward. Press the bra ke peda l or se t the park­
ing b rake immedi ately.
- The inte lligent technology of hill ho ld assist
cannot ove rcome the limitat ions imposed by
natural phys ica l laws. The increased com fort
offered by hill hold assist should not cause
you to take safety risks.
- Hill hold ass ist cannot hold the vehicle in
place on all hills (for examp le, if the ground
is s lippery or icy).
- To reduce the risk o f an accident, always
make sure the vehicle is situated safely
while stationary.
Automatic transmission
Introduction
The au tomatic transmissio n is controlled elec­
t ronically. The transmission shifts up or down au ­
tomat ic al ly depen ding on which dr ive p rogr am is
selected .
When a
moderate driving sty le is used, the
t ransm iss ion selects the mos t econom ica l dr iv ing
mode. The tra nsmission upshi fts at a lowe r RPM
and downs hifts a t a higher RPM to improve fue l
efficiency.
The transmission sw itc hes to a sporty mode after
a kick- down o r when the dr iver uses a
s porty
dri ving style
characterized by quick acce lerato r
pedal movements, heavy acceleration, frequent
c h anges in sp eed and t raveling at the maximum
speed .
I f desired, t he driver can also selec t the gears
manually (tipt ronic mode ) ¢ page 78.
Applies to: vehicles wit h S t ronic transmiss ion
The S tron ic is a d ua l- cl utc h t ran smission. Power
i s transfer red using two clutches that work inde -
pendent ly from one another . They rep lace the
..,_

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \.J ' Stopping/parking
If t he se lecto r lever is not in t he P posi tion when
you open the driver 's door, the vehicle could rol l.
The message
V ehicle ma y roll! Selector le ver not
in P
appears . A warning tone will a lso sound .
.,. Press and hold the brake pedal¢.&_ .
.,. Set the parking brake.
.,. Se lect the P selector lever position.
Unde r ce rtain c ircumstances, s uch as dr iv ing in
the mountains, i t may be useful to switch tempo­
rari ly to the manua l shift program in order to
manually adjust the gears to the driving condi­
tions
¢ page 78.
On inclines, activate the park ing brake fi rst and
then move the selector lever to the P position
¢ page 72 . Th is prevents the locking mechanism
from being loaded too heavi ly and wi ll make it
eas ier to move the se lector lever out of the P po­
sition .
A WARNING
-The veh icle can roll even if the ignition is
switched off .
-Never leave your vehicle with the engine
runn ing wh ile in gear .
-Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever pos ition wh ile
the vehicle is stationary and the engine is
ru nning .
-
-Please note that a sma ll amount of power is
t ransmitted if the vehicle is stopped tempo­
ra rily while in t he D/S or R selector lever po ­
s iti on. To redu ce the r isk of an accident, yo u
mus t continue press ing firmly on the brake
peda l w hil e the vehicle is stopped so that it
does not roll.
-Never engage the R o r P se lec to r level posi­
tions while driving .
It could cause a crash.
-Be fore dr iv ing dow n a steep s lope, red uce
yo ur speed and shift in to a lower gear with
"ti ptro n i c" .
-Do not ride the brakes o r press the brake
peda l too often or too long w hen driving
down hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substantially re­
duces braking performance, increases brak-
Driving
ing distance or causes comp lete fai lure of
the brake system.
-If you m ust stop on an incline, a lways ho ld
the vehicle in place wit h the foot brake or
parking brake to prevent it from rolling
back .
-Never hold the vehicle on an incline with a
slipp ing clutch. The clutch opens automati­
cally when it becomes too hot from the
overload .
The@] indicator light turns on
a nd a message
appears~ page 79 when
the clutch is overloaded .
@ Note
-When stopping on an incl ine, do not try to
hold the ve hicle in place by pressing the ac­
celerator peda l wh ile a d riving gear is se­
lected. This ca n cause t he transmission to
over heat a nd can damage it. Se t the park ing
bra ke or p ress the brake pedal to p revent
t he vehicle from rolling.
-Allowing the vehicle to roll when t he engine
is stopped will damage the transmission be ­
cause it is not lubricated.
(D Tips
Fo r sa fety reasons, the park ing bra ke is re ­
l eased a utomatica lly on ly when t he driver 's
safety be lt is fastened.
Hill descent control
The hill descent control system assists the driver
when driving down hills .
Hill descent control is act ivated when the selec­
tor leve r is in the D or S position and yo u press
the brake peda l. The transmission a utomatica lly
selects a gear that is suitable for the hi ll. Hill de ­
scent control tries to maintain the speed ach ­
ieved at the time of braking, w ith in physical and
technical lim itations . If may still be necessary to
adjust the speed w ith the brake pedal.
Hi ll descent control switches off once the hill lev-
els out or you press the accelerator pedal.
.,..
77

Driving
On vehicles with a cruise control system*
¢ page 84, hill descent control is also activated
when the speed is set.
A WARNING
Hill descent control cannot overcome physical
limitations, so it may not be able to maintain
a constant speed under all condit ions. Always
be ready to apply the brakes.
Shifting manually (tiptronic mode)
The tiptronic mode allows the driver to shift the
gears manually.
)
r
Fig. 83 Center console : sh ifting manual ly w ith the se lector
l ever
F ig. 84 Stee ring wheel: shifting manually w ith t he s hift
paddles*
Shifting with the selector lever
You can shift into tiptronic mode while stationary
and while driv ing .
"To shift into tiptronic mode, push the selector
lever from the 0/5 sett ing to the right. As soon
as the transmission switches over, the
M selec­
tor lever position will appear in the instrument
cluster disp lay.
.. To sh ift up a gear, tap the se lector lever for­
ward
0 ¢ fig. 83.
78
" To shift down a gear, tap the selector lever back
o.
Shifting with the shift paddles*
You can operate the shift paddles in the 0/5 or M
selector lever positions.
" To shift up a gear, tap the shift paddle 0
¢ fig . 84 .
"To shift down a gear, tap the 0 shift paddle.
The transmission automatically shifts up or down before cr itical engine speed is reached .
Applies to: RS mo dels: when accelerating , the
transmission does
not automatically shift to the
next gear shortly before the maximum permitted
engine RPM is reached. Shift to the next highest
gear at the right time.
The transmission only allows manual shifting
when the engine speed is w ith in the permitted
range.
Kick-down
Kick -down enables maximum acceleration .
When you press the accelerator pedal down be­
yond the resistance point, the automatic trans­ mission downshifts into a lower gear, depending
on veh icle speed and engine RPM .
It shifts up in­
to the next higher gear once the maximum speci­
fied engine RPM is reached .
In tiptronic mode, the transmission does
not au­
tomat ically shift down into a lower gear . If you
must accelerate, for examp le to pass a vehicle,
you must shift manually .
A WARNING
-
Please note that the wheels could spin on
slick or slippery roads when kick-down is ac­
tive.
Overboost
Appl ies to : RS 7 Sportback pe rformance
The maximum engine torque is temporarily in­
creased in overboost . Overboost is activated
when nearing full throttle in the S position and
when the engine is at operating temperature.
II>

a co .... N
" N
Reading lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Rear fog lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Rear light
Indica tor light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Rear shelf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Rear spoiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Rearview camera
refer to Parking sys tems ....... .. . 109, 110
Rearview mirror dimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Rear window defogger (4-zone deluxe auto ­
matic climate control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Rear window defogger (deluxe automatic cli­
mate control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Recirculation mode (4-zone deluxe automatic
climate control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Recirculation mode (de luxe automatic climate
control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Recuperation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Refueling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Fu el filler door emergency release
192
Remote control
refer to Remote control key . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Remote control key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Personalizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Replacing the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Unlock ing/locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Remote control operation Garage door opener (Home link) . . . . . . . . . 37
Removing the sid e trim pane l in the luggage
compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Repair manuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Repairs Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Replacement key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Replacing windshield wiper blades . . . . . . . . 46
Reporting Safety Defects ........ .. . 136, 137
Reset button (trip odometer) . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Resetting the trip odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Residual heat (4 -zone deluxe automat ic cli-
mate control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Retractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Reverse gear (automatic transmission) . . . . . 75
Rims . .. .. .. .. ............... .. .. .. . 220
Road carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
.... 0 ~ Roof load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54, 254
' Index
Roof rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
also refer to Roof rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
s
Safe driving habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Cargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Correct seating pos it ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Safety be lt position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Safety belt height adjustment . . . . . . . . . 143
Safety belts worn by pregnant women . . . 143
Safety belt pretensioner Service and disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Saf ety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138, 141
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Danger to passengers who do not wear a
safety belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Fastening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Height adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Improperly worn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Indicator light (front) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Not worn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Safety belt position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Safety instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Securing child saf ety seats . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Special considerations fo r pregnant wom-
en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Unfastening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Warning/indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Worn properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Safety be lt warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Safety instructions for side curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
for using child safety seats . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4
for using safety b elts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Monitoring the Advanced Airbag System 160
Sav ing fuel
Cylinder on demand system . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Efficiency program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Recuperation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Screwdriver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Seat adjustment Head restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
267