engine AUDI A7 2012 Owner's Guide

Individual-¢page 97.
Adjusting the Individual mode
Audi drive select 97
A WARNING
Pay attention to traffic when operating Au­
d i drive select to prevent potential risk of
an accident.
You can adjust the vehicle settings to your personal preferences.
~ Se lect: ICARI function button > Set individ­
ual
control button. You can now adjust the
individual systems.
The
Individual driving mode will automatica l­
ly be activated when you have finished config-
uring the settings.
Systems Comfort
Engine/Transmission
balanced
Steering comfortable
Cornering light* comfortable
Belt tensioner* Standard
II
(D Tips
Your Individual mode settings are auto­
matically stored and assigned to the re­
mote contro l key being used. T
he equipment in your vehicle will determine
which settings you can adjust. The following
table provides an overview of the characteris­
tics of each driving mode.
Auto Dynamic
balanced sporty
balanced sporty
ba lanced sporty
Standard Deployment time
adapted
-

102 Automatic Transmission
Automatic
Transmission
tiptronic®
Introduction
Applies to vehicles: with tiptro nic
Your vehicle is equipped with an electronically
controlled automatic transmission. Upshifting
and downshifting takes place
automatically.
The transmission is also equipped with tip­
tronic ®.
It allows the driver to shift gears
manually if desired ¢ page 105.
Driving the automatic transmission
Applies to vehicles: with tiptronic
Fig. 109 Shift gate o n the center console: selecto r lev ·
er w ith release button
Starting the engine
• The selector lever must be in P or N.
Starting off
• Press and hold the brake pedal.
• Press and hold the release button in these­
lector lever handle and move the selector
lever from
P or N to 0/5 and re lease the but·
ton¢ .&_.
• Wait briefly until the transmission has shift·
ed (you will feel a slight movement).
• Remove your foot from the brake pedal and
accelerate.
Rocking back and forth to become
unstuck
• Shift only between D/5 and R when the ve·
hicle is at a full stop and the engine is run­
ning at idle speed.
Stopping
• Press and hold the brake peda l until the ve­
hicle has come to a comp lete stop.
• Keep the brake peda l depressed so that the
vehicle cannot roll forward or backward
while it is idling
c:> .&_ .
.,. Once stopped,
do not depress the accelera­
tor pedal to rev up the engine
c:> .&_ .
Parking
• Press and hold the brake pedal until the ve­
hicle has come to a complete stop.
• Set the parking brake firm ly
c:> page 75 ,
Parking .
.,. Press and hold the release button in these­
lector lever handle, move the selector lever
into
P and then let go of the release button
Q .&_.
The selector lever must be in
P or N. If one of
the driving positions is engaged a safety
switch will prevent the engine from being
sta rted . See also
c:>p age 71.
Before you move the selector lever from the P
posit ion, you must always apply the brake
peda l before and while depressing the button
in the handle of the selector lever.
_&. WARNING
- Unintended vehicle movement can cause
serious injury .
- When the selector lever is in a driving
pos ition, the vehicle may creep, even at
idle speed. Therefore do not release
the parking brake or foot brake unti l
you are ready to move, because power
is transmitted to the wheels as soon as
a driving position is engaged.
- Do not accelerate while selecting a
driving position. At this time the en­
gine must be at idle speed so that un­
due stress is not placed on the clutches
in the transmission .
- Remember: Even when stopped briefly with the automatic transmission in D/S
or R, engine power is being transmit·
ted to the wheels. Your veh icle cou ld

"creep" forward or backward. When
stopped, keep the brake pedal fully de­
pressed and use the park ing brake if
necessary to keep the veh icle from roll­
ing.
- If the selector lever is unintentionally
moved into N wh ile you are driving, take
your foot off the accele rator pedal and
wait for the engine to return to idle speed before selecting a d riving position.
- Never shift into R or P when the vehicle is in motion.
- Never get out of the driver's seat when
the engine is running.
- If you must get out of the vehicle, move
the se lector lever securely into the P po­
sit ion and apply the par king brake firm ly.
- If the engine must remain running , never
have any driv ing position engaged when
chec king under the hood. Make sure the
selector lever has securely engaged and is locked in P with the parking bra ke
firmly set ¢
page 210, Engine compart ­
ment .
Otherw ise, any increase in engine
speed may set the vehicle in mot ion,
even with the parki ng brake applied.
Selector lever positions
Applies to vehicles: with tiptronic
This section describes the selector lever posi ­
tions and driving ranges.
F ig . 1 10 D isplay in th e inst rument cluste r: selec to r
lever position
The selector lever position engaged appears
next to the selector lever as well as in the i n­
strument cluster display.
Automatic Tra nsmi ssi on 10 3
P-Park
In this se lector lever posi tion the transm is­
s ion is mechanica lly locked. Engage
P only
when the vehicle is
completely stopped ¢ &
in Driving the automatic transmission on
page 102.
To shift in or out of posit ion P , you mus t first
press and ho ld the brake pedal and then press
the re lease button in the selector lever hand le
whi le moving the selector lever to or from
P.
You can shift out of this position only with the
ignition on.
You must release the parking lock man ua lly
before towing the vehicle
c:> page 107.
R -Reverse
Se lect R o nl y when the vehi cle is at a full s top
and the engine is running at idle speed ¢ A in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page 102.
Be fore you move the se lector lever to R , press
both the button in the hand le of th e selector
lever
and the brake pedal at the same ti me .
When the igni tion is on, the backup lights illu­
minate when the selec tor lever is moved into
R.
N -Neutral
The transm iss ion is in neut ral in this pos ition .
S hi ft to th is position for standing with the
brakes a pplied
¢ page 104.
When the vehicle is stat ionary or at speeds
below 3 mph (5 km/h), yo u must always apply
the foo tbrake before and w hile mov ing the
lever o ut of
N .
D/S - Normal posit ion for driving forward
In the D/S pos ition, the transmission can be
operated either in the no rmal D mode o r in
the S spo rt mode . To select the S spo rt mode,
pull the selector lever bac k br iefly . Pul ling the
lever b ack again will se lect the norma l D
mode. The inst rument cl uster display shows
the selected driving mode.
II>

104 Automatic Transmission
In the normal mode D , the transmission auto­
matica lly selects the best gear ratio. It de­
pends on eng ine load, veh icle speed and the
dynamic control program (DRP).
Select the
sport mode S for sporty driving .
The vehicle makes full use of the engine's
power. Shifting is more not iceable when accel ­
erating.
When the vehicle is stationary or at speeds
be low 3 mph (5 km/h), you must always apply
the foot brake before and while mov ing the
lever to
D/S out of N.
In certain circumstances it may be advanta­
geous to temporarily switch to the manual
shift program to manually se lect gear ratios
to match specific driving conditions
¢page 105.
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS c> .&. in
Driving the automatic transmission on
page
102.
Q) Note
-
Coasting downh ill with the transmission in
N and the engine not running will result in
damage to the automatic transmission
and possibly the catalytic converter.
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL)
Applies to vehicles: with tiptronic
The Automatic Shift Lock safeguards you
against accidentally shifting into a forward or the reverse gear and causing the vehicle to
move unintentionally.
')
I
Fig. 111 Shift gate: se lector lever lock positions and
interlock button highl ighted
T he selector lever lock is released as follows:
., Tur n the ignition on.
., Step on the brake pedal.
At the same time
press and hold the interlock button on the
side o f the gear selector knob
¢ fig. 111
with your thumb until you have moved the
selector lever to the des ired posit ion .
Automatic selector lever lock
The selector lever is locked in the P and N po­
s iti ons when the ig nition is turned on. To
move the lever from these positions the driver
must depress the brake peda l. As a reminder
to the driver, the following warning appears in
the instrument cluster disp lay when the selec­
tor is in
P and N :
When stationary apply footbrake while se­
lecting gear
A time delay element prevents the selector
lever from locking when it is moved through
the
N position (going from R to D/S ). The
locking element will lock the se lector lever if
the lever is left in N (Neutral) for more than
approximately 1 second, without the brake
pedal being pressed .
At speeds above about 3 mph (5 km/h) the
Automatic Shift Lock is automatically deacti­
vated in the
N position.
Interlock button
The lock button on the selector lever prevents
the lever from being accidentally shifted into
certain positions. Pressing this button deacti­
vates the selector lever lock. Depending on
the direction of the sh ift, the selector lever
locks at different posit ions . The pos itions are
highlighted i n the illustration
¢fig . 111 .
Kick-down
Applies to veh icles: w ith tiptron ic
The kick-down feature allows the vehicle to
generate maximum acceleration .
When you press the accelerator pedal beyond
the resistance point that is reached at full
throttle, the transm iss ion w ill select a lower
Ill>

gear ratio based on vehicle speed and engine RPM. The engin e RPM will be controll ed to
prod uce maximum vehicle acce leration as
l ong as you continue to press the accelerator
pedal beyond this resistance point.
A WARNING
Be careful when using the k ick-down fea­
ture o n slippe ry roads . Rapid accelerat ion
may cause the veh icle to skid .
Dynamic shift program (DSP}
Applies to vehicles: with tiptronic
The au tomatic transmission is electronically
controlled .
-
The transmission is self adapting and will au­
tomat ically
selec t the best shift progr am suit­
ed to the driving condit ions and driving style .
T he transmission will se lect one of the
econo­
m y
programs when you drive at a steady
speed or a gradually changing speed without heavy acceleration . T his achieves optimum
fuel efficiency, with early upshifting and de­ layed downshifting .
The transmission will automat ically select the
s porty shift programs when you drive at high­
e r speeds, or with heavy acceleration and fre­
quent ly chang ing speeds . Upshifts are de layed
to make fu ll use of eng ine power. Downsh ift­
i ng takes p lace a t higher engine speeds than
i n the e conomy programs.
The selection of the most su itab le shift p ro­
g ram is a cont inuous, automatic p rocess. The
d river can al so make the transmission switch
to a sporty program by
quickl y pressing down
the gas pedal.
This causes the transmission to shift down to
a lower gear to achieve rap id acceler ation, e.g.
fo r q ui ckly passing another veh icle. You do not
need to press the gas peda l into the kick -down
range . After the transmission has upshifted,
the original program is se lected according to
your driving style.
Automatic Tra nsmi ssi on 105
An additional sh ift program allows the auto­
matic transmission to select the p roper gear
for uphill and downhi ll grad ients.
T his keeps the transm ission from shift ing up
and down unnecessarily on hills . The t rans­
m iss ion w ill s hift down to a lower gear when
the driver presses the brake pedal on a down­ hill gradient . Th is makes use of the braking ef­
fect of the engine wi thou t the need to sh ift
down manually .
Manual shift program
Applies to vehicles: with tiptron ic
Using the manual shift program you can
manually select gears.
,
f
F ig. 112 Cente r console : shi fting th e tiptron ic ma nua l­
l y
Fi g. 1 13 Disp lay : man ual shi ft pro gram , s ele cted gear
hi ghlig hted
Switching to m anual shift program
... Push the selector lever to the right from DI
S. As soon as the transmiss ion has sw itched
over, the se lected gear appears in the dis­
p lay .
To upshift
... Push the se lector lever forward to the plus
position
0 q fig . 112 . Ill>-

106 Autom atic Tran smissi on
To d ownsh ift
.,. Push the lever to the m inus position 0 -
When acce lerat ing, the transm iss ion w ill au­
tomatically sh ift into the next gear befo re the
engine reaches its maxim um RPM.
If you apply a light throttle when accelerat­ ing , tiptronic will automatically shift from 1st
to 2nd gea r to save fuel.
If you apply a heavy
thrott le, the transmission will stay in 1st gear
unti l near maximum RPM is reached, or unt il
the driver shifts into 2nd gear .
If you take your foot off the accelerator peda l
when dr iving down a steep i ncl ine, tiptronic
will downshift from the selected gear into the
next lower gear until it reaches 1st gear,
based on road speed and engine RPM. Auto­
matic downshifting is interrupted as soon as
you apply the throttle again.
(D Tips
- When you shift into the next lower gear,
the transmiss ion will downshift only
when there is no possibility of over-rev­
v ing the engine.
- When the kick-down comes on, the transmission will sh ift down to a lower
gear, depending on vehicle and engine
speeds.
- tiptronic is inoperative when the trans­
mission is in the fail-safe mode .
Steering wheel with tiptronic
Applies to vehicles: with tiptron ic steer ing wheel
The shift buttons on the steering wheel allow
the driver to shift gears manually .
Fig. 1 14 Stee ring wheel: Sh ift butto ns
.,. To downshift, touch the button on the left
0 -
.,. To upshift, touch the button on the r ight
0 -
The shift buttons are activated when the se­
lector lever is in
D /S or in the manual shift
program (tiptronic).
Of course , you can continue to use the manua l
shift program with the selector lever on the
center console.
Transmission malfunction
Applies to vehicles: with tiptronic
[O] Transm iss ion : pleas e pre ss the br ake ped­
al and select the pos ition again
Press the brake pedal and select the desired
selector lever position again. You can then
continue driving.
[O] Tran smi ssio n hot: ple ase m odify dri ving
style
The transm iss io n temperat ure has in cr eased
s ignificantly due to the spor ty driving manner.
Drive in a less sporty ma nner until the tem­
perature returns to the normal range and the
indicator light switches of.
[O] Transmi ssion malfun ction: You can c on­
tinue driv ing
T he re is a system malfunction i n the t ransm is­
s ion. You m ay cont inue drivi ng. Drive to you r
authorized Aud i dea ler o r qualified repa ir fa­
c il ity soon to have the malfunction corrected.
[O] Transmis sion malfun ction: Limited driv­
ing functionality
There is a system malfunction in the t ransm is­
s ion . The transm ission is switching to emer­
gency mode . This mode o nly shifts into ce r­
ta in gears o r will no longer shift at all. The en­
gine may sta ll. Drive to your authorized Audi
dealer or qualified repair faci lity immediately
to have the malfunction corrected .
[O] Transmi ssion malfunc tion: St op and shift
~p ~

Homelink®
Universal remote
control
General information
Applies to vehicles: with Horne Link® universal remote
control
The Homelink universal remote control can
be programmed with hand -held transmitters
from existing equipment.
Using the Homelink universal remote control,
you can operate equ ipment such as garage
doors, property gates and house lights from ins ide your vehicle.
Using the Homelink universal remote control,
you can replace up to three separate hand ­
held transmitters for equipment on your
property with just one universal remote con­
trol. Most of these transmitters a re used to
ope rate ga rage doo rs and p roperty gates. The
individua l transmitters are programmed at
the front bumper. That is where the control
module is located.
The transmitters must be programmed first in
order to operate systems using the Homelink universal remote control.
A WARNING
-
- Never use the Homelink ® transmitter
with any garage door opener that does have not the safety stop and reverse fea­
ture as required by federal safety stand­
ards . Th is includes any garage door open­
er model manufactured before April 1, 1982.
- A garage door opener which cannot de­
tect an object, signaling the door to stop
and reverse does not meet current feder­
al safety standards. Us ing a ga rage door
opener without these features increases
risk of serious injury or death.
- For safety reasons never release the
parking brake or start the engine while
anyone is standing in front of the vehicle .
- A garage door or an estate gate may
sometimes be set in motion when the
Homelink ® 115
Homelink ® remote control is being pro­
grammed.
If the device is repeatedly ac­
tivated, t his can overstrain motor and
damage its electrical components - an
overheated motor is a fire hazard!
- To avo id possible injuries or property
damage, please always make absolutely
certain that no persons or objects are lo­
cated in the range of motion of any
equ ipment being operated.
(D Tips
- If you would like additional information
on the Homelink ® Universal Transce iver,
Homel ink compatible products, or to
purchase other accessories such as the
Homel ink ® Lighting Package, please
contact Homelink at 1 -800 -355-3515 o r
on the Internet at www.homelink.com.
- For Declara tion of Comp liance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada reg ula­
tions ~
page 2 76.

-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person­
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 131 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 132 The vehicle cras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en­
ergy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle 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
using safety belts
c:::;, fig. 131, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just before the crash, until something
stops them - here, the wall ¢
fig. 132.
Safety belts 129
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision.
Even at c ity speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
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 also
not attached to their vehicle . In a frontal colli­
sion 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 app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of accidents and col­
lisions.
What happens to occupants not wearing safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 133 A driver not wea ring a safety be lt is vio lently
th rown forward
Fig. 134 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt
w ill fly forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained .,..

130 Safety belts
occupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what­
ever else is in the way
c::> fig. 133. This imp act
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
t hey had just before the crash.
Never rely on a irbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup­
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver , must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi­
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen­
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them­
selves but also the driver and othe r passen­
gers ~
fig. 134. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas­
senger .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It's simply
not true !
Fig. 135 Driver is co rr ect ly re strain ed in a sudd en brak­
ing maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement tha t can
cause serious injuries . In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing " the kinetic energy over a longer
period of ti me, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less
likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron­
tal collision, safety belts can also substantial­
ly reduce the r isk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen­
tal airbags to do their job in a collision . For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid­
ed. Front airbags , for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air­
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is no t enough decelera tion
through impact to the front of the vehicle .
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi . So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!

184 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorde r (EDR), ins talled by some manu­
facture rs fo r the express p urpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or cras h
event . EDR's are sometimes ca lled "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restr ict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
A ltho ugh yo ur vehicle is not equ ipped wit h an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine f unction, em is­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic contro l modules also record
vehicle-re lated data during norma l vehicle op­
erat ion for diagnostic and repa ir purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded ove r a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a sys tem faul t or o ther
cond ition is sensed by a cont ro l u nit. Some of
the data then stored may re late to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condit ion. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded w ith special equip­
ment.
Electronic stabilization
program (ESP)
Description
ESP helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESP detects certain difficult driving situat
ions, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw) o ut of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under contro l by se lectively braking the
whee ls, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steer ing ass istance to he lp hold the
vehicle o n the dr ive r's intended cou rse. The in­
dicato r light
G] in the instrument cluste r
blinks when ESP is taking action to help you
control the veh icle.
ESP has l imitations.
It is importa nt to remem­
ber that ESP cannot overcome the laws of
physics. It will not always be able to help out
under a ll cond it ions you may come up aga inst.
F or example, ESP may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
s u dden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is sudden ly covered w ith water,
s lush or snow, ESP cannot perform the same
way it wou ld on the dry surface . If the ve hicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESP will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle be cause con­
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESP cannot a lways deal as effectively
with difficult driv ing situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESP is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic; and weather condit ions. ESP can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a ve hicle
on the road if road departu re is a result of
drive r inattent io n. Instead, ESP improves the
poss ibil ity of keeping the vehi cle under con ­
trol and on the road during extreme maneu­
vers by using the d river's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection . If you are traveling at a speed that
ca uses you to run off the road before ESP can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESP .