warning AUDI A7 2015 Owners Manual

234 Checking and filling
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
Fig . 197 Engine compartment: cove r on the brake fluid
reservo ir
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 225.
,.. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir¢
fig . 197, ¢ page 22 7,
fig. 193.
The brake flu id level must be be­
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The location of the brake flu id reservoir can be
seen in the engine compartment illust rat ion
¢ page 227.
The fluid level may drop
slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads. This is not cause for alarm.
If the brake fluid level falls
considerably be­
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indi­
cator light . (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 authorized A udi dealer or other quali­
fied facility and the cause corrected.
If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warning/
indicator light will illuminate. Contact an au­
thorized Audi dealer
immediately .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. If
the water content in the brake fluid is too high, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a period of time . The boiling point of the
brake flu id will also decrease conside rably and
decrease braking pe rformance.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be changed
every two years . Always use new brake flu id
which conforms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 116 DOT 4".
The brake fluid reservoir can be difficult to reach, therefore, we recommend that you
have the brake fluid changed by your author­
ized
Audi dealer. Your dealer has the correct
tools, 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 original container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inap­
propriate brake fluid. Observe these pre­
cautions:
- Use only brake fluid that meets SA E
specification
J 1703 and conforms to
Federal 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 luid is also indicated on the
brake fluid reservoir.
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes can cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left in the system too
long. This can seriously affect the effi­
c ie ncy of the brakes as well as your
safety. This could resu lt in an accident.
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your
vehicle .

M N <( (.J
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@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the pr oblem of proper d isposa l
of brake flu id as we ll as the special tools
requ ired and the necessary expert ise, we
recommend that you have the brake fluid
changed by your author ized Audi dealer .
Battery
General information
Under normal operating conditions, the bat­
tery in your Audi does not need any mainte ­
nance. With
high outside temperatures or
long daily dr ives we recommend that you have
the electro lyte level checked by a service fa­
cility . The electrolyte level shou ld also be
checked each time the battery is charged
¢ page 237.
Have the battery checked when you take your
ve hicle in for service . You are well adv ised to
replace a battery that is older than 5 yea rs .
W ith certa in types of a irbag deployment, t he
b attery is d isconnected from the vehicle elec­
tr ica l system for safety reasons¢.&.
in Re ­
pair, core and disposal of the airbags on
page 163.
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some vehicle functions (power w indow regu­
lators , for example) are lost if the battery ter­
m inals a re d isconnected. These func tions have
to be re lea rned after the batte ry term inals a re
connected agai n. T o prevent this , the bat tery
should only be d isconnec ted from the vehicle
e lec tric al system when absolu tely necessa ry
for repairs .
Vehicles not driven for long periods
If you do not drive you r vehicle over a period
of severa l days or weeks, elec trical compo­
nen ts are gr adually cut b ack o r swi tched off .
This redu ces energy cons umption and main­
tains starting capab ility over a longer per io d
¢ page 201. Some of the co nvenience func­
tions may not operate, s uch as the inte rior
lights or power seat adjustme nt. The conven-
Checkin g and fillin g 235
ience funct ions w ill be available again when
yo u sw itch on the ign ition and start the en­
gine.
Winter operation
D ur ing the w inte r mon ths, bat tery ca pa city
tends to decrease as tempera tures drop . This
is beca use more power is a lso consumed wh ile
starting, and the headlights, rear window de­
fogger, etc., are used mo re often.
Avoid unnecess ary powe r consumpt ion, pa r­
ticu lar ly in city traffic o r when traveling only
sho rt distances. Let yo ur authorized A udi
dealer check the capacity of the vehicle bat ­
tery before w inter sets in¢
page 23 7. A well
charged battery will no t on ly prevent star tin g
problems w hen the weather is cold, but w ill
also last longer .
@ Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for seve ral
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery s hou ld be removed and
stored where it will not freez e. This will
p reve nt it from be ing dam aged and having
to be repl aced .
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the bat tery.
The battery is located in the luggage compar t­
ment under the floor . B efo re you che ck any­
thi ng in the luggage compartment,
read and
heed all WARNINGS
¢ .&, .
Always heed the safety warnings , when work­
i ng on the veh icle batte ry or t he vehicle e lec­
t rical sys tem to p reven t inju ry.
The following WARNINGS are very
important when working on the battery:
Always heed the following WARNING SYM· BO LS and safety precautions when working
on the battery .
®
Always wear eye protection.
•
•

236 Check ing and filling
&
Batt ery aci d c ont ain s s ulfuric acid .
A lw ay s w ear gloves a nd eye protec-
ti on.
@
No
- spark s
- flame s
· sm okin g.
A
When a b atte ry is ch arged , it p rodu -
ce s hydr oge n ga s wh ich i s ex plosi ve
.
and co uld cause pe rso nal injur y.
®
Alway s keep the batt ery well out of
re ach of children.
A WARNING
Whenever working on the battery or on
the electrical system, there is the r isk of
injury, acc ident and even fire. Read and
heed the following WARNINGS:
- Always wear eye protection. Do not let
battery acid or any lead part icles get on
your sk in or cloth ing . Sh ield your eyes .
Explosive gases can cause blindness or
other injury.
- Battery acid contai ns sulfur ic acid. Sulfu­
ric acid can cause blindness and severe
burns.
- Always wear gloves and eye protection.
Do not tilt the battery because ac id
could leak out of the vent ilation open­
ings.
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or
on your sk in, immediately rinse with
cold water for severa l m inutes 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 cab les.
- 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,
wh ich 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 negat ive ground ca­
ble.
- Before performing any work on the e lec­
trica l system, switch off the engine and
ignit ion 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 swi tc h off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other­
wise you wi ll set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, f irst
d isconnect the negat ive cab le and then
the posit ive c ab le.
- Before reconnecting the batte ry, ma ke
sure all e lectr ica l consumers are sw itch­
ed off. Re connect the pos it ive 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 exp lode! If a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced . A dis­
charged battery can freeze over at 32
°F
(0 oc).
- Make sure the vent hose is always attach­
ed to the opening on the s ide of the bat­
tery.
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Al­
ways rep lace a damaged battery.
A WARNING
Ca lifornia Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac­
cessories conta in lead and lead com­
pounds, chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc­
tive problems . Wash hands after han-
dling.
~

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"' rl
(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.
Battery charging
Starting the engine requires a well charged
battery.
Fig. 198 Engine compa rtment : connectors for a charg­
er a nd jump star t cable s
Always read and heed all WARNINGS below
¢ .&. and
¢.&. in Working an the battery on
page 236.
"'Switch off the ignition and all electrical con­
sumers.
"'Make sure the area is well ventilated when
you charge the battery.
"'Open the engine hood
c::> page 225.
"'Open the red cover on the positive pole
<=>fig . 198.
"'Connect the charger connectors according to
the instructions to the
jump start bolts.
(Bolts under the red cover = "positive", Bolts
with hex head = "negative").
Checking and filling 237
"'Only now plug the mains lead for the charg­
i ng equipment into the wall outlet and turn
it on
c::> ,&. .
"'Make sure the charging rate is not over
30 amps/14.8 Volt.
"'When the battery is fully charged : Turn the
charging equipment off and remove the
mains lead from the wall outlet .
"'Now remove the clamps for the charging
equipment .
"' Close the red cover on the positive pole.
"'Close the hood ¢
page 226.
A discharged battery can
freeze at tempera­
tures of only 32 F
0 (0 °C). Allow a frozen bat­
tery to thaw completely before attempting to
charge it
c::> ,& . However, we recommend not
using a thawed battery again because the bat­
tery casing can be cracked due to ice forma­
tion and can leak battery acid.
Battery charging (Maximum charging rate
of 30 amps/14.8 Volt)
When charging at
low voltages (e .g. with a
trickle charger), the battery cables do not
have to be disconnected first. The battery
caps should
not be opened when charging a
battery .
It is not necessary to remove the battery from
the luggage compartment, and it is also not
necessary to disconnect the cables .
Fa st charging the battery (charging rate
above 14.8 Volts)
For technical reasons do not use a battery
charger that uses voltage greater than 14.8
Volts to charge your vehicle's battery .
A WARNING
Charging a battery can be dangerous.
-Always follow the operating instructions
provided by the battery charger manu­
facturer when charging your battery.
- Never charge a frozen battery.
It may ex­
plode because of gas trapped in the ice .
Allow a frozen battery to thaw out first.
- Do not reuse batteries which were fro­
zen. The battery housing may
have

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,...., ..,., ,....,
The washer fluid container is marked with the
symbol~ on its cap
¢fig . 199, ¢page 227,
fig. 193 .
.,. Before you check anything in the engine
compartment,
always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢ A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 225 .
.,. Lift the filler cap tongue to add washer flu­
id. You can fill the container to the top .
.,. Press the cap back onto the filler neck after
filling the container .
You can f ind the reservoir
capacity in the table
in
¢page 292.
Clean water shou ld be used when filling up. If
possible, use soft water to prevent sca ling on
washer jets. Always add a glass cleaner solu­
tion (with frost protection in the winter).
CJ) Note
Do not mix engine coolant antifreeze or
any other additives to fill up the wind­
shield washer reservoir.
Checking and filling 239
•
•

Tires and wheels 241
and make of tire and the tread -New tires tend to be slip-•
pattern.
pery and must be broken in. • '
Hidden damage To reduce the risk of losing
Damage to tires and rims is of -control, a collision and seri-
ous personal injuries, drive
ten not readily visible. If you with special care for the
notice unusual vibration or the first 350 miles (560 km).
vehicle pulls to one side, this
-Driving with worn or dam-
may indicate that one of the
aged tires can lead to loss of
tires has been damaged . The
control, sudden tire failure,
tires must be checked immedi-
ately by an authorized Audi including a blowout and
sudden deflation, crashes
dealer or qualified workshop.
and serious personal inju-
Unidirectional tires ries. Have worn or damaged
A unidirectional tire can be tires replaced immediately.
identified by arrows on the -Tires age even if they are
sidewall, that point in the di rec- not being used and can fail
tion the tire is designed to ro- suddenly, especially at high
tate. You must follow the speci- speeds. Tires that are more
fied direction of rotation. This is than 6 years old can only be
necessary so that these tires used in an emergency and
can develop their optimum then with special care and
characteristics regarding grip, at low speed.
road noise, wear and hydro- -Never mount used tires on
planing resistance. For more in- your vehicle if you are not
formation
¢ page 280. sure of their "previous histo-
ry." Old used tires may have
A WARNING
been damaged even though -
New tires or tires that are the damage cannot be seen
old, worn or damaged cannot that can lead to sudden tire
provide maximum control failure and loss of vehicle
M N and braking ability. <(
control. (.J
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Recommended inflation
pressure
see¢ page 243J Cold tire infla­
tion pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a tire design to operate
at higher loads and at higher
inflation pressures than the
corresponding standard tire. Reinforced tires may be identi­
fied as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Rim
means a metal support for a
tire or a tire and tube assembly
upon which the tire beads are
seated.
Rim diameter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat. If you change your
wheel size, you will have to pur­ chase new tires to match the
new rim diameter.
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nominal distance be­
~ tween rim flanges.
<( (.J
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Tires and wheels 245
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire be­
tween the tread and bead.
Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at which a tire
is designed to be driven for ex­
tended periods of time. The rat­ ings range from 93 mph (150
km/h) to 186 mph (298 km/h)
¢ page 263. You may not find
this information on all tires be­ cause it is not required by law.
The speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and indicates
the maximum permissible road speeds ¢
A in Winter tires on
page
267.
Tire pressure monitoring system
means a system that detects
when one or more of a vehicle's tires are underinflated and illu­
minates a low tire pressure
warning telltale.
Tread
means that portion of a tire
that comes into contact with
the road.
•
•
'

technically referred to as the
vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR"). The Gross
Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR") is
the maximum load that can be applied at each of the vehicle's
two axles. The Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating and the Gross
Axle Weight Rating are listed on the safety compliance stick­
er label located on the driver's
side B-pillar. The tire pressure
label on your Audi lists the
maximum combined weight of
all of the occupants and lug­
gage or other cargo that the ve­
hicle can carry. For the location
of the tire pressure label
c> fig . 200.
A WARNING
-
Overloading a vehicle can
cause loss of vehicle control,
a crash or other accident, se­ rious personal injury, and
even death.
-Carrying more weight than your vehicle was designed to carry will prevent the ve­hicle from handling properly
and increase the risk of a
~ loss of vehicle control. <(
~ -The brakes on a vehicle that has been overloaded may
Tires and wheels 251
not be able to stop the vehi­
cle within a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has
been overloaded can fail
suddenly causing loss of control and a crash.
-Always make sure that the total load being transported
- including the weight of a
trailer hitch and the tongue
weight of a loaded trailer -
does not make the vehicle
heavier than the vehicle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rat­
ing.
A WARNING
-Incorrect tire pressures
and/or underinflation can
lead to a serious or fatal ac­
cident.
-Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinflation cause
increased tire wear and can
affect the handling of the
vehicle.
-Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinflation can
also lead to sudden tire fail­
ure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation, caus­
ing loss of vehicle control.
•
•
'

254 Tires and wheels
forget to check the tire pres-
ure, including a blowout
sure for the spare wheel
and sudden deflation, caus-
¢page 274. ing loss of vehicle control.
When should I adjust the -The driver is responsible for
tire pressures? the correct tire pressures for
Adjust the tire pressure to the all tires on the vehicle. The
applicable pressure values
load you are carrying. After
are located on a sticker on
changing a wheel
or replacing
the driver's side B-pillar.
wheels you have to adjust the
-Only when all tires on the
tire pressures on all wheels. In
vehicle are filled to the car-
addition, you must then store
rect pressure, the tire pres-
the new tire pressures in the
sure monitoring system can
tire pressure monitoring sys-
work correctly.
tern
¢ page 270.
-The use of incorrect tire
A WARNING
-pressure values can lead to
Incorrect tire pressures and/
accidents or other damage.
or underinflation can lead Therefore it is essential that
sudden tire failure, loss of the driver observe the speci-
control, collision, serious per- fied tire pressure values for
sonal injury or even death. the tires and the correct
-When the warning symbol pressures for the function of
[IJ appears in the instru-
the tire pressure monitoring
ment cluster, stop and in-
system.
spect the tires. -Always inflate tires to the
-Incorrect tire pressure and/ recommended and correct
or underinflation can cause tire pressure before driving
increased tire wear and can off.
affect the handling of the -Driving with underinflated
vehicle and stopping ability. tires bend more, letting
-Incorrect tire pressures them get too hot resulting
and/or underinflation can in tread separation, sudden
..
also lead to sudden tire fail-

260 Tires and wheels
A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead
to loss of control, a crash and serious personal injury!
-Never drive a vehicle when the tread on any tire is worn down to the wear indica­
tors.
-Worn tires are a safety haz­
ard, they do not grip well on
wet roads and increase your risk of "hydroplaning" and
loss of control.
-Always keep chemicals that
can cause tire damage, such
as grease, oil, gasoline and brake fluid away from tires.
-Tires age even if they are
not being used and can fail
suddenly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more
than 6 years old can only be used in an emergency and
then with special care and at lower speeds.
-Never mount used tires on your vehicle if you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have
been damaged even though
the damage cannot be seen
that can lead to sudden tire
-failure and loss of vehicle control.
New tires and replacing
tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to
be broken in.
Fig. 204 Tire specification codes on
the sidewall of a tire
No. Description
CD Passenger car tire (where
applicable)
@ Nominal width of tire in
millimeters
® Ratio of height to width
(aspect ratio)
@ Radial
® Rim diameter code