light AUDI A7 2013 Owners Manual
Page 236 of 310
234 Checking and filling
temperatures stay below freezing point for long periods.
Detergent additives in the oil w il l make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run
ning for a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than
recommended.
Damage or malfun ctions due to lack of
maintenance
It is essential that you change your oil at the
recommended intervals using only engine o il
that complies with Audi oi l standard
VW 502 00. Your Limited New Vehicle War
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
due to fail ure to fo llow recommended mainte
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty &
Maintenance booklet . Your dealer will have to
deny warranty coverage unless you present to
the dea ler proof in the form of Service or Re
pa ir Orders that all scheduled ma intenance
was performed in a timely manner.
Eng ine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In order to provide effective lubrication and
cool ing of internal engine components, all in
ternal combustion eng ines consume a certain
amount of oil. Oil consumption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typically, engines
with a specif ied break-in period (see
¢ page 204) consume more oil during the
break-in period than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized.
Under norma l conditions, the rate of oil con
sumption depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road condit ions . Further fac
tors are the amount of oil d ilution from water
condensat ion or fuel residue and the oxida
tion level of the oil. As any engine is subject to wear as mi
leage builds up, the oil consump
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
With all these variables coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regu lar and frequent checking of the o il lev
el, see Note.
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
in the instrument cluster
II lights up, you
sho uld check the oil leve l as soon as possible
c:> page 235. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience
c:> page 235.
A WARNING '"---
Before you check anythi ng in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
c:> A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 230.
(D Note
Driving with an insufficient o il level is like
ly to cause severe damage to the engine.
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warning display . is
not an indicator of the oil level. Do not
rely on it. Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at regular intervals, pref
erably each time you refuel, and always
before going on a long trip.
- If you have th e impression your engine
consumes excessive amounts of oil, we
recommend that you consult your Audi
dealer to have the cause of your concern
properly diagnosed. Keep in mind that
the accurate meas urement of oil con
sumption requ ires great care and may
take some t ime. Your Audi dealer has in
structions about how to measure oil con
sumption accurately.
-
Page 240 of 310
238 Checking and filling
the level may be slightly above the "max"
marking.
The location of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus
tration
¢ page 232.
To obtain an accurate reading, the engine
must be switched off.
The expansion tank in your vehicle is equipped
with an electric coolant level sensor.
When the coolant level is too low, the warning light in the Auto-Check System¢
page 16 will
illuminate until you add coolant and the level
has been restored to normal. Even though
there is an electric coolant level sensor , we
still recommend you check the coolant level
from time to time.
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cooling
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cool
ing system should be inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer.
It is not
enough merely to add coolant.
In a
sealed system, losses can occur only if
the boiling point of the coolant is exceeded as
a result of overheating.
_& WARNING
The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of scald
ing from hot coolant by following these
steps. -
- Turn off the engine and allow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering the
cap with a large, thick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in
a counter-clockwise direction while ap
plying light, downward pressure on the
top of the cap .
- To avoid being burned, do not spill anti freeze or coolant on the exhaust system
or hot engine parts. Under certain condi
tions, the ethylene glycol in engine cool
ant can catch fire .
(D Note
Do not add any type of radiator leak seal
ant to your vehicle's engine coolant. Add
ing radiator repair fluid may adversely af
fect the function and performance of your
cooling system and could result in damage not covered by your New Vehicle Limited
Warranty .
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check anything in the engine com
partment,
always read and heed all WARN
INGS ¢&. in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 230.
.. Turn off the engine .
.. Let the engine cool down.
.. Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
tank ¢
fig. 192 and carefully twist the cap
counter-clockwise ¢,&. .
.,. Add coolant.
.. Twist the cap on again
tightly.
Replacement engine coolant must conform to
exact specifications ¢
page 23 7, Coolant. We
recommend using only coolant additive G12+
+, G13 or in an emergency G12+. Do
not use a
different additive. In an emergency use plain
water until you can get the correct additive
and can restore the correct ratio. This should
be done as soon as possible .
If you have lost a considerable amount of
coolant , then you should add cold antifreeze
and cold water only when the engine is cold.
Always use
new engine coolant when refilling.
Do not fill coolant above the "MAX" mark. Ex
cess coolant will be forced out through the
pressure relief valve in the cap when the en
gine becomes hot.
_& WARNING
-= -- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of ..,_
Page 241 of 310
scalding from hot coo lant by following
these steps.
- Turn
off the engi ne and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escapi ng fl uid and steam by cover ing
the cap with a large, thick rag .
- Turn the cap slowly and very ca refully
i n a cou nte r-clockw ise dir ect ion while
a pply ing lig ht, downwa rd p ress ure on
the top of the cap.
- To avo id being burned, do no t sp ill an
tifree ze o r coolan t on t he exh aust sys
tem or ho t engine parts . Un der certain
conditions, the ethylene glyco l in en
gine coolant can catch fire .
- Antifree ze is poisono us. Always store an
tifreeze in its or iginal co ntainer and we ll
o ut o f the reac h of children.
- If you drain the coolant , it must be
caught and safely stored in a p roper con
tainer clear ly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant po llutes the env ironment and
could ca use a n engine fire . Excess coo l
ant wi ll be forced out through the pres
sure re lief va lve in the cap when the en
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added , the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze¢
page 237 must be re
stored as soon as possib le .
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be re used . Al
ways dispose of used c oolant while observ
ing all envir onmental regulations .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automa tically by
itself
An auxiliary e lectric radiator fa n switches on
and
off depending on coolant temperature
and other ve hicle operating conditions.
Checkin g and fillin g 239
After you switch the engine off, the auxi liary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even w ith the ign ition off. It can even switch
o n again later by itself¢.& , if
- the temperature of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build- up from the engine in
the engi ne compartment, or
- the engine compa rtment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
&_ WARNING
--To reduce the risk of persona l in ju ry nev-
er touch the radiator fan .
- The a uxiliary electric fan is tempe rat ure
contro lled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not ru nning.
- The a uxiliary radiator fan sw itches on a u
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reaches a certai n temperature and will
cont inue to ru n until the coo lant temper
atur e drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
N
N
N
.,; 0:, a,
Fig. 193 Engin e co mpa rt m ent: cove r on t he bra ke fluid
reservo ir
Before you check anything in the eng ine com
partment,
alw ays r ead and heed all WARN
INGS c:> A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 230 .
.. Read t he brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir
c:> fig. 193, c:> fig. 189. The
brake fluid level must be between the "MIN"
and "MAX" markings. .,..
Page 242 of 310
24 0 Ch eck ing and filling
The location of the brake fluid reservo ir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
¢ page 232.
The fl uid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads. This is not cause for alarm.
I f the brake fluid level falls
considerably be
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/ind i
cator light
1111 (U .S . models)/ . (Canadian
models) will come on¢
page 15. Do not con
tinue to operate the vehicle. The comp lete
brake system shou ld be thoroughly checked
by an au thorized Audi dealer or other quali
fied facility and the cause corrected . If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warn ing/
indicator light w ill illuminate . Contact an au
thor ized Audi dealer
imm ediatel y.
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
h igh , corros ion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime . The bo iling po int of the
brake fluid w ill also decrease considerably and
dec rease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
ev ery two year s. Always use new b rake fluid
which conforms to Fede ral Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS
116 DO T 4".
The brake flu id reservoir can be difficult to
r each, therefo re , we recommend that you
have the brake fl uid changed by yo ur author
ized
Audi d ealer. Your dea ler has the correct
too ls, the right brake fluid and the know -how
to do this for you .
A WARNING
-Brake fluid is poisonous . It must be stor
ed only in the closed orig inal container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake fa ilure can result from old or inap
propriate brake fluid. Observe these pre
caut ions: -
Use only brake fluid that meets SAE
specification
J 1703 and conforms to
Federa l Motor Vehicle Standard
116.
Always check with your authorized Audi
dealer to make sure you are using the
correct brake fluid . The correct type of
brake f lu id is also ind icated on the
brake flu id reservoir.
- T he brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the bra kes ca n cause a vapo r lock if
the b rake fluid is left in the system too
l ong . This can seriously affect the effi
c iency of the brakes as well as your
safety. This co uld resu lt in an accident.
(D Note
Bra ke fluid will damage the paint of you r
vehicle .
(® For the sake of the environment
Because of the p rob lem of p roper disposal
of b ra ke fluid as well as the spec ial too ls
r equired and the necessary expertise, we
re commend that you have the brake fluid
changed by yo ur authorized Aud i dea ler.
Battery
General information
U nder normal ope rat ing cond itions , the bat
tery in yo ur Audi does not need any ma inte
nance. With
high o utside tempe ra tu res or
l ong daily drives we recommend that you have
the e lectrolyte level checked by a service fa
cility. The electrolyte leve l should a lso be
checked each t ime the battery is charged
<=> page 243.
Have th e battery checked when yo u take your
veh icle in for service. You are well advised to
replace a battery that is o lder than S years .
With certain types of airbag deployment, the battery is disconnected from the veh icle elec
trical system for safety reasons<=>.&
in Re
pair , care and dispo sal of the airbags on
page
165.
Page 243 of 310
Disconne cting the batt ery t erminals
Some vehicle functions (power w indow regu
l ators, for example) are lost if the battery ter
minals are disconnected . These functions have
to be re learned after the battery terminals are
connected again. To prevent this, the battery
should only be disconnected from the vehicle
electrical system when absolutely necessary
for repairs .
Vehicles not driven fo r lo ng period s
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, electrical compo
nents are gradually cut back or switched off .
This reduces energy consumption and main
tains starting capab ility over a longer per iod
c> page 202 . Some of the convenience func
tions may not operate, such as the inte rior
lights or power seat adjustment. The conven
ience functions will be ava ilable again when
you switch on the ignition and start the en
g ine.
Winter operation
D uring the winter months, batte ry capacity
tends to decrease as tempe ratu res d rop . This
is because more power is also consumed while
starting , and the headlights, rear window de
fogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, par
ticularly in city t raffic or when traveling on ly
short distances. Let your a uthorized Audi
dealer check the capacity of the vehicle bat
tery before winter sets inc>
page 243. A well
charged battery w ill not only prevent starting
prob lems when the weather is cold, but will
also last longer .
@ Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for severa l
weeks at extremely low temperatu res, the
veh icle battery should be removed and
sto red where it will not freeze. This will
prevent it from being damaged and hav ing
t o be rep la ced.
Checkin g and fillin g 241
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is located in the luggage compart ment under the floor. Before you check any
th ing in the luggage compartment,
read and
he ed all WARNINGS
<=> ..&_ .
Always heed the safet y warnings , when work
i ng on the vehicle batte ry or the vehicle e lec
trical system to prevent inju ry.
The following WARNINGS ar e very
important when wor king on the battery:
Always heed the following WARNING SYM BOLS and safety pre cautions when working
on the battery.
Always wear eye protection.
Battery acid contains sulfuri c acid .
Always w ear glove s and eye protec
tion.
No
- sparks
- flames
- smoking .
1
When a batter y is charged, it produ
ce s hydrogen g as which is e xplo sive
and could cause per sonal injury .
---·-
®
Always keep the battery well out of
reach of children .
A WARNING
Whenever working on the battery o r on
the electrical system, there is the risk of injury, accident and even fire. Read and
heed the following WARNINGS :
- Always wear eye protection. Do not let
-
battery ac id or any lead particles get on
your skin or clothing. Shield your eyes. Exp losive gases can cause blindness or
other inju ry.
- Battery acid conta ins sulfuric acid. Sulfu
ric acid can cause blindness and severe
bu rns.
•
•
Page 244 of 310
242 Checking and filling
-Always wear gloves and eye protection.
Do not tilt the battery because acid
could leak out of the ventilation open ings.
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or
on your skin, immediately rinse with
cold water for several minutes and get
medical attention .
- If you should ingest any battery acid,
seek medical attention immediately.
- Do not expose the battery to an open
flame, electric sparks or an open light .
- Do not smoke.
- Do not interchange the positive and neg-
ative cables .
- When working on the battery , be sure
not to short-circuit the terminals with
tools or other metal objects. This would
cause the battery to heat up very quickly,
which could lead to damage or explosion
and personal injury .
- When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal injury .
- Always keep the battery well out of the reach of children .
- Before work is done on the electrical sys
tem, disconnect the negative ground ca ble.
- Before performing any work on the elec
trical system, switch off the engine and
ignition as well as any electrical equip
ment. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected. If you are just go
ing to replace a light bulb, then it is
enough to switch off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other
wise you will set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first
disconnect the negative cable and then
the positive cable.
- Before reconnecting the battery, make sure all electrical consumers are switch
ed off. Reconnect the positive cable first
and then the negative cable. Never inter
change the cables - this could start a fire! -
Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out
battery . It could explode! If a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced. A dis charged battery can freeze over at 32 °F
(0 °C) .
-Make sure the vent hose is always attach
ed to the opening on the side of the bat
tery .
- Never use batteries which are damaged .
There is the danger of an explosion! Al
ways replace a damaged battery.
A WARNING ....__
California Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac
cessories contain lead and lead com
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc
tive problems . Wash hands after han
dling.
(D Note
- Do not disconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is on or when the en
gine is running, otherwise , you will dam
age electronic components in the electri
cal system.
- If your vehicle is going to stand for a
long period of time without being driven,
protect the battery from "freezing", oth
erwise it will be damaged and will then
have to be replaced.
- When opening the doors, the windows
lower approximately 10 mm automati
cally. This function is not available when
the battery is disconnected, which
means there is a risk that the door seal
or the window could be damaged .
Page 246 of 310
24 4 Ch eck ing and filling
Never use a fast charger as a booster to
start the engine. This will seriously dam
age sensitive electronic components, such
as control units, relays, rad io, etc., as well
as the battery charger.
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifi
cations and dimensions as the original equip
ment battery .
Intelligent energy management in your veh i
cle is respons ible for d istributing the electr i
cal energy throughout your vehicle
c::> page 202. The intell igent energy manage
ment system w ill keep the engine battery
cha rged bette r than vehicles w ithout t his sys
tem. To make sure the additional e lectrica l en
e rgy is availab le once again after you have
changed the battery, we recommend that you
install batteries of the same type and man u
facture only (the same as those installed at
the time your vehicle was delivered). Specifi
cations are listed on the battery hous ing. Your
author ized dealer must code the battery in
the energy management system to enable you
to use the energy management funct ions cor
rectly after replac ing the battery .
The new battery must have the same capacity ,
voltage (12-volts), amperage, const ruct ion
and p lug sealing.
When insta lling the battery, make sure the ig
n ition and all e lectr ica l consumers are sw itch
ed off .
{[) Note
Make sure the venti lation hose on the s ide
of the battery is connected, ot herwise
fumes or battery ac id can leak out.
- Vehicles with the Start-Stop-System* are
equipped with a special cycle-proof AGM
batte ry. Insta lling a differe nt type of
batte ry can ca use p rob lems in the vehi
cle elect rical system. When rep lacing the
vehicle bat tery, always ins ta ll one wi th the same specifica
tions as the o rigina l
battery .
~ For the sake of the env ironment
B ec ause o f th e p rob lem of p roper disposal
of a battery, we recommend your author
ized Audi dealer change the battery fo r
you. Batteries contain sul fur ic acid and
l ead and must always be disposed of prop
erly in compl iance with all environmental
regulations. Disposing of veh icle batter ies
i mproperly is very dange rous to the envi
r onment.
Windshield/headlight
washer container
Fi g. 195 Eng in e compa rt m ent: cove r on t he w inds hield
and head lig ht* was her flu id reservo ir
T he washer fluid co nta iner is mar ked w ith the
symbol$ on its cap
c::> fig. 195, c::> fig. 189.
.,. Before yo u check anything in the engine
compa rtment,
alwa ys read and heed all
WARNINGS
c::> A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 230 .
.. Lift the fi ller cap tongue to add washer flu
id . You can fi ll the containe r to the top .
.. Press the cap back onto the filler neck after
filling the container .
You can find the reservoi r
capacity in the table
in
c::> page 287.
C lean water should be used when filling up . If
possible, use soft water to prevent scaling on
washe r jets. Always add a g lass cleaner so lu
t ion (with frost protection in the winter).
Page 253 of 310
Tires and wheels 251
Bear in mind that the tire pressure monitoring
system* can only monitor the tire pressures
you have stored. The system does not recog
ni ze the load cond it ion of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressure monitor
ing system* will be impaired if you store nor
mal load pressures but then operate the vehi
cle at its maximum load
c;, & .
See the illustration c;, fig. 196 for the location
of the label on driver's side B-pillar (co lor of
the actua l labe l and exact location on the ve
hicle will vary slightly).
Tire designation
Note that the following table is accurate at
the time of going to press and is subject to change. In the event of d iscrepancies, the t ire
pressure label is located on the driver's side B
pillar always takes precedence.
The table below lists the recommended cold
tire inflat ion pressures for the Audi mode l
covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehi
cle's capacity weight and the t ire sizes instal
led on the respective models as orig inal
equipment, or as a factory option.
Tire pressure
Model/
Engine normal load condition full load condition
fronta> reara>
front rear
PSI kPA PSI
A7: 235/55 Rl 7 99Y
3.0 liter High Performance
6-cylinder
S7:
4.0 liter a-cylinder 255/45 R18 99H
All Season
255/45 R18
99Y
High Performance
255/40 R19 l00H XL
All Season
255/40 R19100YXL
High Performance
265/35 R20 99H XL
All Season
265/35 R20 99Y XL
High Performance
255/40 R19
l00Y XL
High Performance
265/35 R20 99Y XL
High Performance
32 220
32 220
32 220
35 240
36 250
240
36 250
39 270
41 280 29 200
35 240 38 260
29 200 35 240 38 260
29 200 35 240 38 260
32 220 38 260 41 280
32 220 38 260 41 280
32 220 38 260 4
1
280
32 220 38 260 41 280
33 230
42 290
42 290
35 240
44 300 44
300
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
al no rmal load condition c:;,page 250.
The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
located on a label on the driver's side B-pillar.
Because technical changes may be made to
vehicle equ ipment dur ing the model year, al
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure label on your vehicle w ith the tires on your vehicle.
Make sure that the tir e
s ize informat ion on the vehicle label is the
same as the size of the tires on the vehicle .
'
I
'
I
•
•
Page 255 of 310
used today are underinflated j ust by looking
at them.
Therefo re, be sure to check tire pressures at
l eas t once a mon th and always before going
on a long trip. Make sure to take the number
of people and the amount of luggage into ac
count when adjusting tire pressure for a trip -
even one that you would not consider to be
"long." See¢
page 254 , Tires and vehicle
load limits
for more important information .
A lways use an accurate tire pressure gauge
when check ing and adjusting inflation pres
sures . Check all of the tires and be sure not to
forget the spare t ire . If the pressure in any tire
i s too high when the tire is "cold," let air out
of the tire slowly with the edge of the t ire
gauge and keep checking the pressure until
you reach the p ress ure th at is cor re ct for the
l oad (passengers and luggage) and kind of
d riving you plan to do .
I f the p ressu re in any tire is too low , note the
d ifference between the pressure in the cold
tire and the pressure yo u need and add the ai r
that you need to reach the correct pressure for
the vehicle load (passengers and luggage) for
the tires on your vehicle as listed on the on
your veh icle and in this manual and the kind
of dr iving you p lan to do.
Never e xceed the m aximum inflation pre s
su re li sted on th e tir e sidewall for any rea
son.
Remember that the vehicle manufacturer, not
the tire manufacturer, determines the co rrect
tire p ressure for the tires on your vehicle .
It is important to check the tire pressure when
the tires are cold .
- Read the requ ired ti re p ressu re from the tire
pressure label. The ti re pressu re labe l is lo
cated on the drive r's side 8-p illar.
- T urn the valve stem cap counter-clockwise
to remove it from the tire valve .
- Place the air pressu re gauge on the valve.
- T he tire pressures should only be checked
and adjusted when the tires a re cold . The
Tire s an d wheel s 253
slightly raised pressures of warm tires must
not be reduced.
- Adjust the tire pressure to the load you are
car rying.
- Reins tall the valve stem cap on the va lve.
When should I check the tire pr essure?
The correct tire pressure is especially impor
tant at h igh speeds . T he p ressure should
therefore be chec ked at least once a month
and always before sta rting a jo urney. Do not
f orge t to chec k the ti re p ressu re fo r the spare
whee l¢
page 268.
When should I adjust the tire pressures ?
Adjust the tire pressure to the load you are
carrying. After chang ing a whee l
or replacing
whee ls yo u have to adj ust the ti re press ures
on all whee ls. In addition, yo u m ust then
store the new tire pressures in the tire pres
s u re monitoring system*¢
page 264.
A WARNING
-
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinfla
tion can lead sudden tire fa ilure, loss of
control, collision, serious personal injury
or even death.
- When the warning symbol
[IE appears in
the instrument cluster, stop and inspect
the t ires.
- Incorrect tire pressure and/or underinfla
tion can cause increased tire wear and can affect the handling of the vehicle and
stopping ability .
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underin
flation can a lso lead to sudden t ire fail
ure, including a blowout a nd sudden de
flation, ca using loss of veh icle cont ro l.
- The drive r is respons ib le for the correct
tire pressures for all tires on the ve hicle.
T he appli cable pressure values are locat
ed on a sticker on the dr iver's s ide B-pil
lar .
- On ly when all tires o n the vehicle are fil
led to the correct pressu re, the t ire pres
sure monitor ing * system can work cor
rectly. •
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Page 267 of 310
When the malfunction indicator is illuminat
ed, the system may not be able to detect or
signal low tire pressure as intended. TPMS
malfunctions may occur for a variety of rea
sons, including the installation of replace ment or alternate tires or wheels on the vehi
cle that prevent the TPMS from function ing
properly . Always check the TPMS malfunction
tellta le after replacing one or more tires or
wheels on your vehicle to ensure that the re
placement or alternate tires and wheels allow
the TPMS to continue to function properly.
Tire pressure indicator appears
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monitoring system
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too
low or if there is a system malfunction.
Fig. 201 Display : underinflatio n warning
Fig. 202 Display : Syste m malfun ctio n
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure moni
toring system compares the tire tread circum
ference and vibration characteristics of the in
dividual tires . If the pressure decreases in one
or more tires , th is is indicated in the instru
ment cluster with a warning symbol
RE and a
message¢
fig . 201.
The tire pressure monitoring system must be
reset via MMI each time the pressures are ad-
Tires and wheels 265
justed (e.g. when switching between partial
and full load pressure) or after changing or re
plac ing a tire on your vehicle¢
page 266. The
TPMS indicator only monitors the tire pres
sure that you have previously stored. You can
find the recommended tire pressures for your
vehicle on the label on dr iver's side B-pillar
<=:>page 250 .
Tire tread circumference and vibration charac
teristics can change and cause a tire pressure
warning if :
- the tire pressure in one or more tires is too
low,
- the tire has structural damage,
- the tire pressure was changed, wheels rotat-
ed or replaced but the TPMS was not reset
¢page 266 .
Warning symbols
RE Loss of pressure in at least one tire¢.&. .
Check the tire or tires and replace or repair if
necessary. The indicator light
RE in the instru
ment cluster also illuminates
¢ page 12.
Check/correct the pressures of all four tires
and reset TPMS via MMI.
11;;~, ( T ire Pressure Monitoring System) Tire
pressure! System malfunction.
If11NIS, appears after switching the ignition
on or while driving¢
fig. 202 and the indica
tor light
RE in the instrument cluster blinks
for approximately one minute and then stays
on, there is a system malfunction.
Attempt to store the correct tire pressure
¢
page 266 . If the indicator light does not
turn off or if it turns on shortly thereafter, im
mediately drive your vehicle to an authorized
Audi dealer or authorized repair facility to have the malfunction corrected .
A WARNING
-If the tire pressure ind icator appears in
the instrument cluster display, one or
more of your tires is significantly under
inflated. Reduce your speed immediately
and avoid any hard steering or braking
maneuvers. Stop as soon as possib le and .,.