steering wheel AUDI A7 2012 Owner's Guide

~ page 163, Important things to
know.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the
driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates. In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a child to ride. The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
The vehicle 's Advanced Airbag System has a
capacitive passenger detection system in the
Child Safety 165
front passenger seat cushion that can detect
the presence of a baby or a child in a child re­
straint system on this seat.
The capacitive passenger detection system
registers the changes that result in an electri­
cal field when a child, a child restraint, and a
baby blanket are on the front passenger seat .
The change in the measured capacitance due
to the presence of a child, a child restraint,
and a baby blanket on the front passenger
seat is related to the child restraint system resting on the seat . The measured capacitance
of a child restraint system varies depending
on the type of system and specific make and
model.
The electrical capacitance of the various
types, makes, and models of child restraints
specified by the U.S.National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NH TSA) in the relevant
safety standard are stored in the Advanced
Airbag System control unit together with the
capacitances typical of infants and a 1-year
old child. When a child restraint is used on the
front passenger seat with a typical
1 year-old
infant, the Advanced Airbag System compares
the capacitance measured by the capacitive passenger detection system with the data
stored in the electronic control unit.
Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu­
facturer for use with an airbag. Always be sure
that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions. If in excep­
tional circumstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, ca refully read all of the
information on child safety and Advanced Air­
bags and heed all of the applicable WARN­
INGS. Make certain that the chi ld and child re­
straint are correctly recognized by the capaci­
tive passenger detection system in the front passenger seat, that the front passenger air­
bag is turned off, and that the airbag status is ..,.
•
•

Electro-mechanical
power assist
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering .
Power steering adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed .
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defective! Stop the vehicle
If th is ind icat or light turns on and stays on
and this message appears, the power steering
may have failed.
Do
not continue driving. See you r authorized
Aud i dealer or other qualified repair fac ility
for assistance.
t :r- fl Steering: System malfunction! You may
continue driving
If the indicator lig ht turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steer ing may be more diffi­
cult to
move or more sensitive than usual.
Drive slowly to your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected.
(D Tips
If the . or t:r- fl ind icator light only stays
on for a short time, you may continue driv­
ing.
Driving with your
quattro ®
Appl ies to vehicles : wit h all- wheel d rive
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv ­
en.
General information
With all-whee l dr ive, power is distributed to
all four wheels. This happens automatically
depending on your driving sty le and the road
conditions at the time . See also
c!.> page 184.
The all-wheel drive concept is designed fo r
high engine power. Your vehicle is exception ­
ally powerful and has exce llent driving charac-
Intelligent technology 189
teristics both under normal driving conditions
and on snow and ice. Always read and follow
safety precaut ions ¢&. .
Winter tires
When driving in the winter, your vehicle with
all-wheel drive has an advantage,
even with
regular tires. In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all-sea ­
son tires) for improved driveability and brak­
ing : these tires must be mounted on
all four
wheels.
See also ¢ page 246, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this normally also applies to vehicles
with all-wheel drive¢
page 247, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheels/tires
Vehicles with all-wheel drive must always
have tires of the same size. A lso avoid tires
with different tread depths . For detai ls see
page
c:> page 242, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels.
Off-Road driving?
You r Audi does not have enough ground clear­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle . It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un­
even terrain as much as possib le. Also refer to
c:> page 193.
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to road and traf­
fic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
- Although the all-wheel drive is very ef­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is lim ited by tire traction. You
should therefore not drive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippe ry road surfaces.
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to
drive too fast because the front wheels
could begin to slide on top of the water
(aquaplaning) . If this should occur, you
will have no warning from a sudden
•
•

different weight distribution. Safety, perform­
ance and economy wi ll greatly depend on how
carefu lly you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actua lly tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you
have become comp letely fam iliar with the way
your vehicle- trailer combination behaves and
responds .
Backing up is d ifficult and requires practice.
Backing up with a trai ler generally requires
steering action opposite to that when backing up your vehicle without a trailer .
Maintain a greater distance between your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you will need a larger than normal
turn ing radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot ac­
celerate as fast as you normally would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass . After passing, allow
p lenty of room for your tra iler before chang­
ing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break- in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load
¢ page 2 73 .
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer. If i t can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol ­
lowing:
When parking:
.. Apply the foot brake .
.. Have someone place chocks under both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels.
Trailer towing 199
.. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes until the wheel chocks absorb the
load .
.. Turn the wheels towards the curb .
.. Apply the parking brake.
.. Select the
P selector lever position .
When restarting after parking:
.. App ly the foot brake.
.. Start the engine .
.. Select the
D/S selector lever position.
.. Release the parking brake and slowly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks .
.. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks.
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the auto­
matic transmission to
P before applying
the pa rking brake and before blocking the
whee ls, you may have to use more force
lat er to move the lever out of the
P posi­
tion.
•
•

Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv­
ing style.
F ig. 178 Tire tread: tread wea r ind ica tors (TWI)
Fi g. 179 Rotat ing t ires fo r m ore even wea r
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The origina l tires on your veh icle have
1/16 in ch (1.6 mm) high "wear ind icators"
r::!;> fig . 178 run ning across the tread. Depend ­
ing on the make, there will be six to eight of
them evenly p laced around the t ire . Marks on
the t ire s idewall (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear ind icators . Worn t ires must be replaced.
Different fig ures may apply in other countries
r::!) & .
Tir e pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premat ure wear
and can cause sudden tire blow-out . For th is
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
r::!;> page 23 7.
Dri ving sty le
Driving fast around curves , heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear. Tires and wheels 241
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your ve
hicl e to have the
same service life, we recomme nd that the
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer 's suggested tire rota­
tion inte rvals. Please remember the follow ­
ing :
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from the
veh icle service inte rva ls o utlined in your
Warranty & Maintenance booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points ; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufactu rer 's suggested
tire rotation intervals .
- Vehicles w ith front-wheel dr ive exper ience
more tread wear on the front wheels com­
pared to all -wheel d rive (quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown
r::!;> fig. 179.
-Extra care must be taken when rotat ing di-
rection-specific tires
r::!;> page 258 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new veh icles are balanced .
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unba l­
anced, resulting in vibrat ions you can usually
feel through the steer ing wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, s uspension
and t ires. A whee l must also be reba lanced
when a new tire is insta lled.
Inco rrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wear, impair ing the safety of the vehi­
cle . If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an authori zed
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All-whe el drive
Vehicles wi th quattro ® mus t always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type. For details see
r::!;> page 189.

Manual shift program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Selector lever .................. ... 103
Shift buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Steering wheel with tiptronic . .. .. .. . 106
Automatic wipers .......... .. .. .. .... 45
Auto Safety Hotline ............ ... .. 126
Average consumption .......... ... .. .. 23
Average speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Avoid damaging the vehicle .. .. .. .. .. . 193
B
Battery ... .. .. ............. .. .. ... 226
Charging . .. ............. .... .. ... 229
Important warnings ...... .. .. .. .. . 227
Jump starting ............... ... ... 264
Location ... ... .. .. ...... .. .. .. .. . 227
l ow . .. .. .. .. ... .. ..... ... .. .. .. . 190
Replacing the battery ..... .. .. .. .. . 230
State of charge ........... .... .. ... 190
Winter operation ............ ... .. . 226
Working on the battery ....... ... .. . 227
Before driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Blended gasoline .......... .... .. .. . 211
Blower (automatic climate control) . . . . . . 68
Blower (climate control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Body cavity sealing ............ ... .. . 205
Booster seats ............. .. .. .. .. . 172
Brake fluid Changing the brake fluid ....... ... .. 226
Checking the brake fluid level ... ... .. 225
What is the correct brake fluid level? .. 225
What should I do if the brake fluid warn-
ing light comes on? ....... .. .. .. .. . 225
Brake system Anti-lock braking system . ......... ... 18
Brake assist system .......... .... .. 184
Brake booster ............ .... .. .. . 188
Brake fluid .............. .... .. .. . 225
Brake fluid specifications for refill and re-
placement ................. ... ... 226
Brake light defective ......... ... .. .. 20
Brake pads . ............. .... .. ... 192
Electromechanical parking brake .. .. .. 74
Fluid reservoir ........... .... .. .. . 225
How does moisture or road salt affect the
brakes? .. ............ ...... .... .. 187
Index 279
Warning/indicator lights ............. 14
Worn brake pads symbol ............. 19
braking guard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Messages . .. .. .. .... ........... .. . 86
Settings .. .. .. .. ................. . 86
Break-in period .. .... .. .. ...... ..... 192
Brake pads ...... .. ............... 192
T ires ... .. .. .. .. ... .. .......... .. 192
Bulbs .... .. .. .. .. .. ............... 263
C
California Proposition 65 Warning ..... 217
Battery specific .. .... ............. 228
Capacities .. .. .. .. .... ........... .. 272
Engine oil ........................ 218
Car care .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .... ........ 200
Exterior ... .. .. .... ... .. ..... ..... 200
Interior . .. .... .. .. . .............. 206
Cargo area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Cargo net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Catalytic converter ................. . 193
Center armrest Cockpi t ..... .. ................... .
Sl
Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Emergency locking . ............... .. 35
Certification ...... .. ............... 276
Changing a wheel .. ............. .. .. 254
Changi ng engine oil .... ............. 222
Chassis (undercoating) ............... 205
Checking Engine coolant level ............ .... 223
Tire pressure . .. .. ................. 237
Child restraints Danger of using child restraints in the
front seat ........................ 139
Where can I get additional information
about child restraints and their use? .. 181
Child restraint system anchors ....... . 177
Child safety ....... .. ..... .......... 163
Convertib le locking retractor ......... 17 4
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats . .. ........... .... 167
Important things to know when driving
with children .. .... ............... 163
Tether anchors ..... .............. . 180
Tether straps .. .. ................. 180
•
•

Side assist Activating and deactivating . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Cleaning sensors ............ ... .. . 202
Description . ............. .... .. .... 88
Informational and alert stage signals .. 90
Messages in instrument cluster display . 94
MMI settings .... .. ...... .. .. .. .. .. 93
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Safety tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Sensor detection area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Side curtain airbags ........... .... .. 160
Description .... .. .. ...... .. .. .. .. . 160
How they work .............. ... ... 161
Safety instructions ........ .. .. .. .. . 161
Side marker lights ......... .. .. .. .. .. 41
Ski sack ..... .. ................ ..... 62
also refer to Trunk pass-through .. .. .. 63
Sliding/tilting sunroof Emergency closing .......... .. .. .. .. 40
Opening and closing ...... .. .. .. .. .. 39
Snow chains . ................ ... ... 247
Socket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Sources of information about child re-
straints and their use ....... .. .. .. .. . 181
Space-saving spare tire ...... .. .. .. .. . 253
Spare tire .... ................ ... ... 253
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Speed rating letter code ..... .. .. .. .. . 243
Speed warning system ...... .. .. .. .. .. 76
Star button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
START ENGINE STOP button ........... 71
Starting from rest .......... .. .. .. .. .. 75
Startingoffwithatrailer .... .. .. .. .. .. 75
Starting the engine .................. 71
Steering Electrically adjustable steering wheel .. 70
Manually adjustable steering wheel .. .. 70
also refer to Electro-mechanical power
assist ..... .. ................ .... 189
Steering wheel Easy entry feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Steering wheel heating .... .. .. .. .. .. 69
Steering wheel column Adjusting electrically ...... .. .. .. .. .. 70
Adjusting manually ....... .. .. .. .. .. 70
Steps for determining correct load limit . 239
Index 287
Stopping the engine . ............... .. 73
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55, 60
Sunroof .... .. .. .. ... ............ ... 39
Sun shade .. .. .. .. ................. . 45
Sun visors ........ .. ................ 45
Symbols
refer to Warning/indicator lights ..... . 11
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 22
Technical modifications .............. 276
Temperature display ............. .. .. . 22
T ether anchors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Tether strap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
The first 1,000 miles (1,500 km) and after-
wards ...... .. .. .. ................. 192
Three-zone climate control . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Tie-downs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61, 125
Tips for the environment
Saving fuel . ... .. .. ................ 58
tiptronic ... .. .. .. ................. 102
A ut omatic Shift Lock (ASL) ...... .. .. 104
Driving .......................... 102
Dynamic shift program ............. 105
Emergency mode ... ............... 106
Kick-down . .. .. .. ................. 104
Manual shift program .............. 105
Selector lever .. .. ... ... ...... ..... 103
Tire pressure . ...................... 23 7
Tire pressure monitoring system ....... 249
Loss of air pressure ................ 250
Malfunction . .. .. ................. 250
Resetting tire pressures ............ . 251
Tires ...... ... .. .... .......... ..... 231
Service life ....... ................ 241
Speed rating letter code ........ .. .. 243
Tire manufacturing date ........ .. .. 243
Tire specifications ................ . 243
Tread depth ....... ............... 241
Uniform tire quality grading ........ . 245
Winter tires . .. ...... ............. 246
T ires and vehicle load limits ....... .... 239
Tires and wheels Checking tire pressure ............. . 237
Cold tire inflation pressure ......... . 235
Dimensions .. .. .. ................. 242
•
•

Wheel bolts Torque ..... .. ................ .... 248
Wheels ... .. ................. .. ... 231
Cast alloy .. ............. .. .. .. ... 205
Checking tire pressure ..... .. .. .. .. . 237
Cold tire inflation pressure ....... .. . 235
General notes ..................... 231
Glossary of tire and loading terminolo-
gy .. .... .. ................. .. ... 232
New tires and wheels ...... .. .. .. .. . 242
T ires and vehicle load limits .. .. ... .. 239
When must a safety belt be replaced? .. 131
When must the airbag system be inspect-
ed? ... .. .. .. .... ............. .. .. . 149
When should I adjust the tire pressures? 238
When should I check the tire pressures? . 238
Where are lower anchorages located? .. . 178
Where can I find the tire pressures for my
car? .. .... .. .. ............. .. .. ... 237
Why safety belts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128, 129
Windows Cleaning . .. .... .. .... ... .. .. .. .. . 204
defrosting (automatic climate control) . 68
defrosting (climate control) .. .. .. .. .. 66
Windshield Clean ing ... ... .. .. ...... .. .. .. .. .. 45
defrosting (automatic climate control) . 68
defrosting (climate control) .. .. .. .. .. 66
Windshield washer system .. .. .. .. .. .. 45
Washer fluid level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Washer reservoir .... ..... .. .. .. .. . 230
Windshield wipers Folding up . ............. .... .. .. .. 46
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Replacing windshield wiper blades ..... 46
Switching on/off ............. ... ... 45
Winter operation Battery .. .. ............. .... .. ... 226
Cooling system ........... .... .. .. . 223
Defrosting windows (automatic climate
control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Defrosting windows (climate control) . . 66
Seat heating (automatic climate control) 68
Seat heating (climate control) . . . . . . . . 66
Steering wheel heating ....... ..... .. 69
Tires . ..... .. ................ .... 189
Windows .. ................ ... ... 204
Index 289
Winter tires ........................ 246
All-wheel drive ..... ............... 246
•
•
X
Xenon-Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41, 263