AUDI A7 2012 Owner's Manual

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 19
malfunction in the EDL system¢ page 18 4.
See your authorize d Audi dealer as soon as
possible.
A WARNING
- If
the m (USA mode ls)l li] (Canada
mode ls) warn ing light does n ot go out,
or if it comes on while driving, the ABS
system is not working properly . The vehi­
cle can then be stopped only with the
standard bra kes (without ABS). You will
not have the protection ABS provides.
Contact you r Audi dealer as soon as pos­
sible.
- USA models: If the - warning l ight,
the
Ii] warning light and the m warn­
ing light come on together, the rea r
wheels co uld lock up first unde r hard
braking. Rear wheel lock-up can cause
loss of vehicle control and an accident .
Have your vehicle repaired immediately
by your autho rized Aud i dea ler or a quali ­
fied workshop . Drive slowly and avoid
sudden, hard bra ke applications.
- Canada models: If the b rake warn ing
light ., the
DJ warning light and the
ABS wa rning light
rl] come on together ,
the rear w heels could lo ck up fi rst under
h ard bra king . Rear wheel lock-up can
cause loss of vehicle control and an acci­
dent. Have yo ur vehicle repaired immed i­
ately by your authorized A udi dealer or a
qualified workshop. Dr ive slowly and
avo id sudden, hard brake applicat ions .
(0) Worn brake pads
£1 Bra ke pad s!
If the warn ing light illum inates, immediately
contact your authori zed A udi dealer or quali­
fied workshop to have all brake pads inspect­
ed. O n USA models the warning light
£1
comes on together with t he war ning light
- · Both sets of brake pads on an axle
mus t always be replaced a t the same time.
1) - : USA m odels on ly
A WARNING
Driving w ith bad brakes can cause a colli­
sion and ser ious personal in ju ry .
- If the warn ing light
£1 and the warning
light
11111> with the message Brake
pads!
comes on in the instrument cluster
disp lay, imm ediately contact your au­
thori zed A udi dealer or qualified work­
shop to have all b rake pads checked or
replace d if necess ary.
EPC Electronic power control
This warning/indicator light monitors the
electronic power control.
The ~ warning/ind icator light (E lectronic
Power Cont rol) illuminates when you switch
the ignit io n on as a fu nction chec k.
(D Tips
If this war ning/ indicator l ight illum inates
while yo u are d riving, then there is a mal­
funct io n in the engine electronics. Have
the malf unct ion corrected as soon as pos­
si bl e by your au thori zed A udi dealer or
q ualified repa ir facility .
Ci Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL)
The Malfunction Indicator Lamp ( MIL) is pa rt
of the On -Board Diagnostic (OBD II) system.
The symbol
fllllijj lights up when the ign ition is
switched on and will tur n off after the engine
has started and has settled at a consta nt idle
speed . This indicates that the MIL is work ing
properly.
The warning lig ht illuminates w hen there is a
malfu nction in the e ng ine electron ic system .
Contact your aut horized Audi dealer and have
the malfunction cor rected.
An improperly closed fuel filler cap may a lso
cause the MI L light to illuminate ¢
page 213.
For more information ¢page 27.

20 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
!?' Engine speed limitation
Ap plies to vehicles: wit h eng ine spee d limi tation
(ii Engine speed maximum XXXX RPM
The engine speed is automatically limited to
the speed displayed in the driver information
system. This protects the engine from over­
heating.
The engine speed limitation deactivates once
the engine is no longer in the critical tempera­
ture range and you have released the accelera­
tor pedal once.
If the engine speed limitation was activated by an engine control malfunction, the indica­
tor light~ also turns on. Make sure that the
speed does not go above the speed displayed .
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
~ . Engine oil level
II! Add oil, max. x qt (l) . You may continue
driving
When the symbol II and driver message ap­
pear, add the amount of oil appearing in the
display at the next opportunity
c:> page 221.
~ .... Engine oil sensor
• Oil level! Sensor defective
If the symbol illuminates, contact your au­
thorized Audi dealer and have the oil sensor inspected. Until you have this done, check the
oil level each time you refuel just to be on the
safe side<=>
page 221.
Bil Fuel level indicator
Ji Please refuel
If the indicator light turns on for the first
time and the message appears, there are
about 2.6 gallons (10 liters) of fuel left in the
tank . Time to refuel
<=> page 212.
Ji Tank system malfunction! Contact dealer
If the indicator light turns on and this mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
tank system.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
o Windshield washer fluid level
B Please refill washer fluid
If the symbol illuminates, add windshield
washer fluid to the washer system/headlight
washer system*
c:> page 230.
~ Windshield wipers
,,., Windshield wiper defective
There is a malfunction with the windshield
wipers.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected .
~/0$ Defective light bulb warning
fa-If the indicator light turns on, a bulb has
failed. The message indicates the location of
the bulb.
[I-if a rear fog lamp has failed, the indicator
light turns on to indicate the location on the
vehicle .
Vehicle lights: malfunction
If the message appears, there is a malfunc ­
tion in the headlights or light switch .
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected .
A WARNING
-
-Light bulbs are pressurized and could ex-
plode while they are being changed caus­
ing serious personal injury.
- Work with due care when handling the
high-voltage section of gas discharge
(xenon) lights. Failure to do so could re­
sult in death or serious injury.

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 21
@ Tips
Have the bulb replaced or the connection
repaired by your authorized Audi Service
department.
~()) Headlight range control
II Headlight range control: defective!
If
the symbol illuminates, the headlight range
contro l is no longer working properly . Have
the system checked and repa ired at your Aud i
dealer .
l§O Adaptive Light
Applies to vehicles: with Adapt ive Light
rlJ Audi adaptive light: system fault
If the indicator light turns on and this mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
adapt ive light system. The headlights still
function .
Go to an authori zed dea lership to have the
headlights or the control unit for the Adapt ive
Light repaired .
~D Light/rain sensor
f'al Automatic headlights/automatic wipers:
system fault
If
the indicator light turns on and th is mes­
sage appears, the light/ra in sensor is not
functioning correctly .
For safety reasons the low beams are turned
on permanent ly w ith the switch in
AUTO.
However, you can continue to turn the lights
on and off using the light switch. You can still
control all funct ions that are independent of
the rain sensor through the windshield wiper
l eve r.
Contact your author ized Audi dealer as soon
as possible to have the prob lem cor rected.
¢ Q Turn signals
The indicator light blinks when you use either
turn signal .
Whenever you use the left II or the right rl
turn signal, the indicator light blinks. When
you use the emergency flashers, both indica­
tor lights flash .
If one of the turn signa l light bulbs burn out,
the turn signal will blink twice as fast as nor­
mal. Carefully dr ive to your authorized Audi
dealer immed iately to have the malfunction
corrected. The ind icator light does not indi­
cate a malfunction if a turn signal on the tra il­
er or on the vehicle fails in trailer towing
mode.
(D Tips
For more information on the turn signals,
refer to
¢ page 43.
CRUISE/' (-) Cruise control
The warning/indicator light mi1'lm (USA mod­
els)/ll (Canada models) illuminates when
the cruise control is activated¢
page 77.

22 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Driver information
display
Overview
Fig. 4 Driver informat ion system in the instrument
cluste r
Fig. S Display: example of the informat ion line
The driver information system contains infor­
mation @ that is displayed on tabs @
c:;, fig. 4. The following content is possible de­
pending on vehicle equipment:
@
Tab
1
2
3
®
Content
Vehicle functions :
On-board computer c::>page 23
Efficiency program* c> page 24
Digital speedometer
Cruise control*
c:;, page 77
Adaptive cruise control and Audi braking guard*
c::> page 79
Display darkened
Indicator lights and messages
Warning when a door, the hood or the rear lid is not closed
Service interval display
c:;, page 25
Speed warning system c:> page 77
Night vision assistant*
c:> page 98
-@ ®
Tab Content
4 Audio/video
5 Telephone*
6 Navigation*
The second and third tabs are only visible ifat
least one indicator light or message is shown
or if that system is switched on.
The status line © is located in the bottom
part of the display ¢
fig. 4. It displays the ex­
terior temperature, time, selector lever posi­
tion, trip odometer and odometer.
For some vehicle functions, you can access the
trip information from the temporary memory
c:> page 23 in the line (D c::> fig. 5.
A WARNING
--
-Never rely exclusively on the outside
temperature display to determine if a
road surface is icy or not. Keep in mind
that road surfaces , especially bridges
and overpasses, could be ice covered and
slippe ry even at an outside temperature
above 41 °F (+S °C).
- Always remember, even if the "snow­
flake" symbo l (ice warning) does not ap­
pear in the d isp lay, black ice cou ld be on
the road.
- Always reduce your speed and drive with
specia l care in cold weather conditions
when the chance of encountering icy
road surfaces increases.
(D Tips
- At temperatures below 14 °F (+ 5 °C) a
snowf lake symbol appears ahead of the
temperature display. It is intended to re­
mind the driver to pay special attention
to
ice on the road c:> .&.. If the vehicle is
stationary, or if you are driving at a very
low speed, the temperature shown in the
display might be slightly h igher than the
actual outside temperature. This is
caused by the heat being radiated from
th e engine.

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 23
- You can se lect the units used for temper ­
ature, speed and other measurements in
the M MI.
- Fo r information on the a udio/video and
navigation * functions, refe r to the sepa­
r ate MMI owner's manual.
Operation
The driver information system is operated us­
ing the buttons on the multifunction steering
wheel.
Fi g. 6 M ult ifu nct io n steer ing w hee l: operat ing t he d riv­
er informat ion system
F ig. 7 Drive r informat ion syst em: op eni ng t he ve hicle
funct io ns m en u
Operating concept
.. Switc h the ign ition on.
.. To sw itch between the tabs, press the rock­
er switch
(D to the left or rig ht c:> fig . 6.
.. To acc ess addit ional info rmation below or
abov e, rotat e the thumbw heel @dow n or
u p.
.. To confi rm a se le ction, pre ss the thu mb ­
whee l@ .
.. Press the~ button @to open a s ubmen u
fo r an active tab .
.. Press the button © to access a function fo r
t h e programmable steering w heel b utton*.
Accessing Vehicle functions
.. Sele ct th e first t ab wit h th e ro cker swi tch
(D .
.. Press t he button ~@. T he Vehicle func­
tions
menu a ppears <=> fig. 7.
.. To se lect a menu item, turn and press the
thumbwhee l@ .
Resetting values to ze ro
.. Select the on-board computer / Efficiency
program
menu item in the Vehicle func­
tions
men u .
.. Yo u can now select between t he long-term
memory and s hort-term memory .
.. To reset the values in a memory, p ress and
hold t he thumbwheel @for one second .
Assigning a funct ion to the
programmable steering wheel button*
.. Select: I CA RI function b utton > (Car) * sys­
tems
control button > Vehicle settings >
Program steering wh eel button .
The last fu nction selected disp lays w hen you
switc h the ig nition on .
On-board computer
You can ca ll up the following info rmation in
the on-board computer:
- Date
- Dr iv ing t ime ( h) from the short-term me mo-
ry
- Average consumption in MP G (l/1 00 km)
from the shor t-te rm memory
- Ave rage spee d in mph ( km/h) from the
s h ort -term memory
- Dis tanc e driven i n m iles (km) fr om the
s hort-te rm memory
- Cur ren t fu el cons umption in MPG ( l/100
k m )
- Short-term memory overview
- Long-term memory ove rview
The short -te rm memory collects driv ing infor ­
mation from the time the ign it ion is switched .,..

24 Instruments and warning /indicator lights
on until it is switched off. If you con tinue dr iv ­
ing within two hours after switch ing the igni ­
tion off, the new values a re included when
calculat ing the current tr ip i nformat ion.
Unlike the short -term memory, the long -term
memory is not erased automatica lly. You can
select the time period for evaluat ing trip in­
formati on yo urself.
F or some veh icle functions, you can access the
tri p information from the tempora ry memory
in the line
(D ~ page 22, fig . 5.
Efficiency program
The effi ciency program can hel p yo u t o use
less fuel. It eval uates driving information in
reference to fue l co nsu mption and shows oth­
er equipment i nfl uencing consumption as we ll
as shift recommendations.
c:> page 24. Fue l
economy messages
c:> page 24 prov ide tips
for eff icient driving. The eff ic iency prog ram
uses dis tance and consumption data from tr ip
comp ute r
1.
To display the efficiency program , call up Ve­
h icle functions and select the menu option
Efficiency program . If the data are deleted in
the efficiency program, those values are also
reset in t rip compu ter .
@ Tips
-All sto red va lues w ill be lost if the veh i­
cle bat tery is disconnected .
- Fuel consumpt io ns (average and cur­
r en t), range and speed are display ed in
m etr ic units on Cana dian models.
Other equipment
Fig. 8 Tri p co mpute r: ot her eq uipme nt
Req uirement: The efficiency program m ust be
displayed
c:> page 24.
,. Tur n the thu mbw heel u ntil t he o ther e quip-
ment appe ars in the disp lay.
Oth er equ ipment t hat is cu rrently affecti ng
f uel con su mp tio n is liste d in t he e fficiency
progr am. The disp lay shows up to t hree o ther
items of e quip ment @. The eq uipme nt using
t h e most fuel is listed first. If more than three
items using fuel are switched on, the equip­
ment that is c urrently using the most fuel is
displayed .
A scale @also s hows the current tota l co n­
s u mption of all other equipment.
Fuel economy messages
Fig. 9 Disp lay: exa mple of a fuel eco nomy m essage
Fuel eco no m y me ssages are disp layed whe n
f uel consum ption is increased by cert ain con­
di tions. If you fo llow these fue l eco nomy mes ­
sages, you ca n red uce your ve hicle's consum p­
tion o f fuel. The messages appear a utomati­
ca lly and are only d isplayed in the efficiency
program. The fue l economy messages turn off
automat ica lly afte r a certain per iod of t ime .
,. To turn an economy message off immedi -
ately after it appears, press any button on
the mult ifunction steering whee l.
(D Tips
- Once you have turned a f uel economy
message off, it will o nly appear agai n af­
ter you turn the ign ition on again.
- The fuel economy messa ges are not dis­
played in every instance, but rather in in ­
tervals over a period of time .

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 25
Odometer
Fig . 1 0 Instrument cluste r: Odomete r an d reset b ut­
to n
The o dome ter shows yo u how many miles
(kilometers) yo u have driven. You ca n sw itch
the disp lay from m iles to kilome ters and vice
ve rsa v ia the M MI.
Upper odometer
Th e trip odom eter shows the distance d riven
since i t was last reset.
It can be used to meas­
ure short d istances. The las t digit ind icates
1/1 0 of a m ile (1 00 mete rs).
You ca n reset the trip o dom eter to ze ro by
pr ess ing t he Reset button~-
Lower odometer
T he lower odometer shows the total number
of mi les (kilometers) drive n.
Malfunction message
If t here is a ma lfunction in the instr ument
cluster,
DEF will appear in the trip odometer
d isplay area. Contact your authorized A udi
dealer to have t he p roblem corrected .
Time and date display
Fig. 11 Inst rumen t clust er: clock a nd date
You can set the time and the date disp lay in
the MMI. Refer to the M MI owner's man ual
for inst ructions.
When y ou open the dr iver's door, the da te a nd
time a ppear in the ins trumen t cluster d isp lay
for 30 seconds .
Service interval display
The service in terval display reminds you wh en
your next service is due.
Fig . 12 In st rument clus te r: Serv ice inte rv al d ispl ay
The schedule for t he next oi l change or inspec­
t ion is ca lculated automatically and disp layed
accord ingly. T he d isp lay works in two stages:
Service reminder
30 days be fore the next service is d ue, a serv­
ice reminder appears in the display when you
switch the ig nition on
c:> fig. 12.
After about 5 seco nds the display switches
back to norma l. The distance and time re­
main ing are updated each t ime the ignit io n is
switched on until the date due for service is r eached .
Service due
When the due date for se rvice is reached, t he
message
Service due! appears in the instru ­
ment cluster immed iate ly after you sw itch the
ignition o n. Add itio na lly, a warning to ne
sou nds . After about 5 seconds t he disp lay
switches bac k to normal.
Calling up the service schedules
If or when an oil change or inspection is due,
can be shown in the M MI display by selecting
the service interval d isp lay in the ca r menu. .,..

26 Instruments and warning /indicator lights
Selec t the I CAR I func tion b utton > Car sy s­
tems
co ntrol button > Servicing & checks >
Se rvice interval disp lays . In new vehicles, the
sched ule can only be called up after approxi­
mately 500 km.
Resetting the serv ice interval display
Your authori zed A udi dealer wi ll reset the cor ­
respo nding service sched ule after performing
the appropriate serv ice on yo ur vehicle . Yo u
a lso have the possibility to reset the oi l
change schedule after having performed an
oil c hange accord ing to Audi specifications.
Selec t the
I CAR I func tion b utton > Car sys­
tems
co ntrol button > Servicing & checks >
Service interval displays > Reset oil change
interval.
(D Note
If you disconnect the bat tery t ermi na ls, no
cal culat ions can be m ade for the serv ice
in terv al displ ay du ring t his time and no
service rem inder w ill ap pear . Remembe r
that obse rving the prope r serv ice interva ls
is vita lly im portant to extend ing the life of
y o ur veh icle , part icu larly the eng ine, and
maintaining its va lue . Even if the mileage
driven is low, the maxim um period of o ne
yea r from one se rvic e to the next must not
be exce eded.
@ Tips
- Do not reset t he display between oil
c hanges, otherw ise the display will be i n­
correct.
- The information in the Service Re minder
r ema ins sto red even when the vehicle
batte ry is discon nected. Head-up Display
A
pp lies to vehic les : wi th H ead-up Dis play
Fig . 13 Example : indica to rs in the Head -up D isplay
Fig. 14 I nstrument pa nel: k nob for the Head-up Dis ­
p lay
T he Head- up D isp lay projects certain wa rnings
o r se lecte d infor mation from the ass ista nce
systems* or naviga tion* on t he windshie ld.
T he disp lay appears wi thin the drive r's fie ld o f
vision .
Switching on/off
"' Press t he knob~ to switch the Head-up
Displ ay o n/off
c;, fig. 14 .
Adjusting the height
The heig ht of t he d is play can be adjusted to
the individual dr iver .
"' Make s ure you are seated correct ly
c:;,page 119.
"' Turn th e knob~ to adjust the disp lay.
Sett ings in the MMI
"' Select:
!CAR I function b utton > Car systems
cont ro l button > Driver assistance > Head­
up D isplay
> Head-up Display content or
Display br ightness . Ill>

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 2 7
Display content
In the MMI, you ca n specify which information
should be displayed :
- Cru ise cont ro l system*
- Nav igat io n info rmation *
- Audi adaptive cruise control*
- N ight vision assistant* (pedestr ian warn ing)
The speed display and some of the red indica­
tor lights cannot be hidden in the MMI.
Display brightness
You can adj ust t he display b rightness in the
M MI. The display brightness decreases auto­
ma tica lly as the amount o f light dec reases.
The basic leve l o f brightness is adjusted wi th
the instrument illumination ¢
page 44.
(D Note
To prevent s cratc h es on t he g lass co vering
t he Head -up Disp lay , do not place any ob ­
jects in the projection opening.
@ Tips
- Sun glasses w ith polar izat ion fi lters and
u nfav orable ligh ting condit ions can af ­
fect the disp lay.
- Vehicles wi th seat memory *: yo ur Head­
up D isplay sett ings a re stored automati­
ca lly and assigne d to the remote contro l
k ey that you are us ing.
- A specia l windshield is needed for the
Head-up Display functio n.
On-Board Diagnostic
system (OBD)
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL)
The Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) ISi in
the instrument cluster is part of the On-Board
Diagnostic (OBD II) system.
The warning/indicator light illumina tes when
the ignition is switched on and goes o ut after
the engine starts and the idle has stabi lized.
This indicates that the MIL is work ing proper­
ly.
If the light does not go out after t he engine
is started, or illuminates while you are driv ­
i ng, a mal function may e xist in the eng ine sys ­
tem.
If the light illumi nates, the catalytic con­
verter could be damaged .
Contin ue d riving
with reduced power (avoid­
i ng s usta ined h igh speeds and/or rapid accel ­
erations) and have the cond ition corrected .
Contact your a uthorized Audi dea ler.
If the light illuminates, the e lectronic speed
li miter may also be malfunct ion ing. For more
i nformation ¢
page 2 8, Electronic speed
limiter.
An improperl y closed fuel filler cap may also
cause the MIL light to illuminate
<=> page 213.
On-Board Diagnostics
Fig. 15 Location of Data Li nk Co nnector (D LC)
On-Boa rd Diagnost ics monitors the compo ­
nents of your em issio n cont ro l system . Eac h
monitored component in your engine system
has been assigned a code. In case of a mal ­
functio n, the component will be identified
and t he fault stored as a code in the control
module memo ry .
The MIL light may also illuminate if there is a leak in the on-board f uel vapor recovery sys­
tem. If the lig ht illum inates afte r a refuelling,
stop the vehicle a nd make sure the fuel fille r
cap is properly closed
¢ page 213.
In order to make an accurate diagnosis , the
stored data can o nly be disp layed using spe­
c ial diagnostic equipment (generic scan tool
fo r OBD). .,.

28 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
In order to connect the special diagnostic
equipment, push the plug into the Data Link
Connector (DLC). The DLC is located to the
right of the hood release¢
fig. 15.
Your authorized Audi dealer or a qualified
service station can interpret the code and per­
form the necessary repair.
Electronic speed limiter
Your vehicle may be factory equipped with tires that are rated for a maximum speed of 130 mph (210 km/h) . This is less than the
maximum speed of your vehicle . To reduce the
risk of sudden tire failure and loss of control if
the vehicle is operated at excessive speeds,
your vehicle also has an electronic speed limit­
er. The electronic speed limiter prevents your
vehicle from going faster than the tire speed rating. For more information
c::> page 242.
If the engine control unit receives faulty vehi­
cle road speed signals, the Malfunction Indi­
cator Lamp (MIL)
II will illuminate. If this
occurs, contact the nearest authori zed Audi
dealer for assistance.
A WARNING
-
Always observe the posted speed limits
and adjust your speed to suit prevailing
road, traffic and weather conditions. Never
drive your vehicle faster than the maxi­
mum speed rating of the tires installed.