steering AUDI Q7 2012 Owner´s Manual

When the regulator is in the O position, the
seat ventilation is switched off. The range of
adjustment is between 1 and 6.
Heated rear seats~
Applies to vehicles: with heated rear seats
The seat cushions and seatbacks of the two
outer rear seats can be heated electrically.
F ig. 114 Ce nter console rea r: Heated sea ts
i
-..:,
---------------<%
F ig. 1 15 Ce nter console rear : Se at heat ing with four­
zone automat ic comfort a ir cond it ion ing•
Rear seat he ating
• Rotate the thumb wheel ~fig. 114 @to
turn on and adjust the heating for the left
rear seat .
• Rotate the thumb wheel @ to turn on and
adjust the heating for the right rear seat.
Rear seat heating w ith four-zone
automatic comfo rt air conditioning *
• Press the Q] button . ~ fig. 115.
• Rotate the regu lator to the desired setting .
I n pos ition O the heating for the seats is
turned off . T he range of ad justment is be­
tween 1 and 6 .
The heater for the outer rear seats can be
turned on when the weight of the parti cular
seat's occ upant is detected. Howeve r, the rea r
Warm and cold 101
seats can be pre-heated for about 10 minutes
using the activated seat heater. After this
time has e lapsed, the seat heater automati­
ca lly turns off if it does not detect an occu­
pant's weight for the particular seat.
A WARNING
Individuals wit h reduced se ns itiv ity to pa in
or temperature could develop burns when
usi ng the seat heat ing funct ion . To reduce
the r isk of injury, these ind ividuals shou ld
not use se at hea ting.
(D Note
To avoid damage to the heat ing e lements
i n the seats, do not kneel on the seats or
place heavy loads o n a sma ll a rea of the
seat.
© Tips
P lease not e that the weight of objects
placed on the seat wi ll also be detected .
This weight may be enough to cause the
seat heater to turn on .
Steering wheel heating~
Applies to vehicles: with steering wheel heating
The steering wheel can be heated electrically.
F ig . 1 16 Steer ing wheel: button for steering whee l
heat ing
• Press the [j] button to turn the steer ing
whe el heat ing on and
off <=>fig . 116. The
message
Steering wheel h eating on! or
Steering wheel heating off! appears in the
instrument cluster disp lay. ..,.

102 Warm and cold
A nearly constant temperature is maintained
when the steering wheel heating is switched
on.
The last setting selec ted for the stee ring
wheel heating (on or off) is automatically
saved when the vehicle is shut off and is as­
signed to the remote key.

On the road
Steering
Manually adjustable steering wheel
Applies to vehicles: with manu ally adjustable steering
w hee l
The height and reach of the steering wheel
can be adjusted.
Fig. 117 Lever under the steer ing column
First, adjust the driver's seat correctly .
.. Pull the lever
c:>fig . 117-Arrow-c:> ,A .
.. Move the steering wheel to the desired po­
sition.
.. Push the lever against the steering column
unt il it locks.
There must be at least 10 inches (25 cm) be­
tween your chest and the center of the steer­
ing wheel.
If you cannot sit more than 10 in­
ches (25 cm) from the steering wheel, see if
adapt ive equipment is available to help you
reach the pedals and increase the distance
from the steering wheel.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
c:> page 72.
& WARNING
Improper use of steering wheel adjust­
meht and improper seating position can
cause serious personal injury.
- Adjust the steering wheel column only
when the veh icle is not moving to pre­
vent loss of vehicle control.
-
-Adjust the driver's seat or steering wheel
so that there is a minimum of 10 inches
(25 cm) between your chest and the
steering wheel
c:> page 161, fig. 182. If
On the road 103
you cannot maintain this minimum dis­
tance, the airbag system cannot protect
you properly.
- If physical limitations prevent you from
sitting 10 inches (25 cm) or more from
the steering wheel, check with your au­
thorized Audi dealer to see if adaptive
equipment is available.
- If the steering wheel is aligned with your
face, the supplemental dr iver's a irbag
cannot provide as much protection in an
accident. Always make sure that the
steering wheel is aligned with your
chest.
- Always hold the steer ing wheel w ith your
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi­
tions to reduce the risk of personal injury
if the driver's airbag dep loys .
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands inside
the steering wheel rim or on the steering
wheel hub. Holding the steering wheel
the wrong way can cause serious injuries
to the hands, arms and head if the driv­
er's airbag deploys.
Electrically adjustable steering wheel
App lies to vehicles: with electrically adjustable steering
w heel
The height and reach of the steering wheel
can be electrically adjusted to suit the driver.
Fig. 118 Switch for stee ring wheel adjustment
First, adjust the driver's seat correctly.
Height adjustment
.. Push the switch @ up or down c:>fig. 118.
The steering wheel height changes for as
long as you press the sw itch. ..,.

104 On the road
Reach adjustm ent
.. Push the sw itch @forward or bac kward
¢ fig. 118 . The steering whee l reach
changes for as long as yo u press the switch.
There must be at least 10 inches (25 cm) be­
tween you r chest and the center of the steer­
ing wheel. If you cannot sit more than 10 in ­
ches (25 cm) from the steering whee l, see if
adaptive equipment is available to help you
reach the pedals and increase the distance
from the steer ing wheel.
F or detai led informat ion on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
¢ page 72.
The stee ring wheel can be adjusted even when
the ignition is turned
Off. For ve hicles with
seat memory, the individ ual positions for the
steering whee l can be stored along with the
seat posit ion.
A WARNING
Improper use of steering wheel adjust­
ment and improper seating position can
cause se rious personal injury.
- Adjust the steer ing whee l co lumn on ly
when the veh icle is not moving to pre­
vent loss of veh icle cont ro l.
- Adjust the driver's seat or steering wheel
so that the re is a min imum of 10 inches
(25 cm) between your chest and the
steeri ng wheel
¢ page 161, fig . 182. If
yo u ca nnot ma int ain this min imum d is­
tan ce, the airbag system c annot pro tect
yo u properly.
- If phys ica l limitations prevent yo u from
sitting 10 inches (25 cm) or more from
the steering wheel, check with yo ur au­
tho rized Audi dea le r to see if adaptive
equipment is availab le.
- If the steering wheel is aligned with your
face, the supp lemental driver's airbag
cannot prov ide as much protect ion in an
acc ident. A lways make sure that the
steeri ng wheel is aligned with your
chest.
- Always hold the steering wheel with your
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi- tions to reduce the risk of persona
l injury
if the dr iver's airbag dep loys .
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands inside
the steering wheel rim or on the steering
wheel hub. Holding the steering wheel
the wrong way can cause serious injuries
to the hands, arms and head if the driv­
er's airbag deploys.
Easy entry feature
The easy entry feature makes it easier to en­
ter and exit the vehicle by automatically ad­
justing the steering wheel.
Press the button @¢ page 103, fig. 118 to
turn the easy entry feature on or
off.
When the easy entry feature is turned on (but­
ton depressed), the steering wheel moves up
to the parked pos ition when the ignit ion is
turned
off. After you enter the vehicle, the
stee ring wheel moves to the sto red pos it ion
as soon as you tu rn o n the ignition.
Easy ent ry feature on vehicles w ith
memory seat*
For t he stored steering wheel pos ition to be
re called, the dr iver's seat memory m ust be
swi tched on
(ION/OF F I swi tch in dep ressed po­
s it ion).
If the easy ent ry feature is switched
off, t h e
stee ring wheel moves to the sto red pos ition
a s soon as you press the sea t memo ry bu tton.

Ignition lock and ignition switch
Ignition key positions
The engine con be started or turned off with
the ignition key.
Fig. 119 Igni tion switch pos it io n s
Position @
The ignition key can be inserted into the igni ­
tion switch in this position . This automatically
unlocks the steering column lock . When the
ignition key is removed, the steering column
lock is automatically locked
Q .&. .
Switching the ignition on/preheating (D
Turn the ignition key to this position and re­
lease it. On vehicles with a d iesel engine*, the
system can preheat in this position .
Starting the engine@
The engine starts with the key in this position.
Major electrical loads are temporarily turned
off.
Ignition off@
Turn the ignition key to this position and re­
lease it.
A WARNING ,~ ~
- Never remove the key from the ign ition
lock whi le the vehicle is moving. The
steering wheel will lock, causing loss of
control.
- If you have to leave your vehicle, even for
just a minute, always remove the ignition key and take it with you. This is especially
important if you are going to leave chil-
On the road 105
dren unattended in the vehicle. The chil­
dren could start the engine or use other
vehicle controls. Unsupervised use of ve­
hicle controls (for example, power win­
dows) can cause ser ious personal inju­
ries.
(D Note
- If the I symbol in the display blinks,
there is a malfunction in the electronic
steering column lock . Follow the instruc­
tions in
Q page 33, i Steering malfunc­
tion .
-If the . symbol in the display blinks,
there is a malfunction in the electronic
ignition lock . Fol low the instructions in
Q page 34, .Pe Ignition lock malfunction.
a) Tips
-If you release the ignition key in position
@, the key automatically returns to posi­
tion (!).
- If you open the driver's door when the ig­
nition is sw itched on, a buzzer sounds
and the message
Ignition is on appears
in the instrument cluster display. Please
switch the ignition off.
- T o prevent malfunctions in the ign ition
lock, remove any dirt or deposits from
the key bit so that they do not enter the
ignition lock.
Ignition key safety lock
The ignition key con only be removed when
the selector lever is in the "P" (Pork) position.
After turning off the ignition, the ignition key
can only be removed from the ignition lock
when the selector lever is in the "P" (Park) po­
sition. After you have removed the key, these­ lector lever is locked and cannot be moved.

-The brake booster and servotronic only
work when the engine is running. With
the ignition turned off, you have to apply
more force when steering or braking .
S ince you cannot steer and stop normal­
ly, this can lead to accidents and ser ious
injuries.
- The rad iator fan can continue to run for
up to 10 min utes even after you have
turned off the engine and removed the ign ition key. The radiator fan can also
turn on again if the engine coolant heats
up because of intense sunlight or heat
build -up in the engine compartment.
«I) Note
Do not stop the engine immed iate ly after
hard or extended dr iving. Keep the engine
running for approximately two minutes to
prevent excessive heat build-up .
Starting and stopping
the engine with
Convenience key
Starting the engine with the~
button
App lies to vehicles: with Convenie nce key
This bu tton swi tches on the ign ition and
starts the engine .
Fig. 121 Co nvenie nce k ey: ENG INE START b utton
The I S TAR T! button is provided w ith two -sta ge
o p era tion
¢ fig. 121.
Switching the ignition on
.. Press the !START I button once to the fir st
stage to switch on only the ign ition .
On th e road 107
Gasoline eng in e: St arting th e engine
.. Step on the brake.
.. Move the se lector lever to the P or N posi ­
tion ¢,&. .
.. Press the
r::1s=Tc:- A=RT =I button to th e seco nd
stage to start the engine .
Diesel en gine : Starting the engine
.. Step on the brake.
.. Mov e the selector lever to the P or N posi­
tion ¢,&. .
.. Press the
r::1s=TAc:-=R T=I button down to the fi rst
level to begin the preheating process . The
glow plug indica tor light &; illuminates
when the glow plug sy stem is active .
.. When the indicator light
m;J switches off,
press the
I S TA RT ! button down to the se c­
ond
level to start the eng ine .
After a cold engine is started, there may be a br ief period of increased no ise because oil
pressure must first build up in the hydraulic
valve adjuste rs. This is norma l and not a cause
for concern .
If the engine does not start immediately, stop
trying after 10 seconds and then try to restart
the engine abou t 30 seconds later .
Glow plug system *
Di ese l engine s
are equ ipped with a glow plug
system whose preheating time is controlled
by the coo lant and outs ide temperature . Start
the engine
immediately afte r the glow plug
indicator light
m switches off.
The glow plug indicator light will only illumi ­
nate fo r approximate ly 1 second when the en­
gine is warm or the outs ide temperature is
higher than 46 °F (8 °C) . That means yo u can
star t the eng ine
immediately .
WARNING
Never allow the engine to run in confined
spaces -danger of asphyxiation .
(D Note
-Avo id h igh engine rpm, full thrott le and
heavy engine loads until the eng ine has

108 On the road
reached operating temperat ure -other ­
wise yo u risk engine damage.
- The eng ine cannot be sta rted by pushing
or towing the vehicle.
@ For the sake of the environment
Do not allow the engine to warm up with
t he vehicle stationary. Start driving righ t
away . In th is way you avoid unnecessa ry
emissio ns.
@ Tips
If you open the drive r's door when the ig ­
nition is switched o n, a buzze r sounds and
the message
Ignition is on appears i n the
instrument cluster disp lay. Please switch
the ignition off.
Switching engine off with the~
button
App lies to vehicles: with Convenience key
Fig. 122 Convenience key: ENGINE STOP butto n
.. Bring your vehicle to a complete stop.
.. Move the selector lever to the P or N posi-
t ion.
.. Pressthe !STOP !button
¢fig.122.
Press ing the I STOP I button once switches off
the engine and the ignition. If you press the
ISTOPI button again for more than 1 second,
the steering is locked, provided that the selec­
tor lever is in t he P pos it ion
¢ & .
Emergency OFF function
If necessary, the engine can be switched off
with the selector lever in the
R, Dor S posi­
tions . To do so, step on the brake peda l and press and ho
ld the !STOP ! b utton (vehicle
speed must be less than 6 mph/ 10 km/ h.
.&_ WARNING
-
-Never turn off the engine until the vehi-
cle has come to a complete stop.
- The brake booster and servotronic only
work when the engine is running. With
the ignition turned off, you have to apply mo re force when steeri ng or brak ing.
Since you cannot steer and stop normal­
ly, t his can lead to acc idents and se rious
. . . in Juries.
- For safety reasons, you sho uld a lways
pa rk your vehi cle wit h the selector lever
i n P. O therwise, the vehicle could inad­
ver ten tly roll aw ay.
- Afte r the eng ine has been switch ed off,
t he r adi at or f an can co ntinu e to run f or
up to 10 minu tes -even with the igni tion
switched off . It can also switch on again
after some t ime if the coolant tem pera ­
ture rises as the resu lt of a heat b uildup
or if the engine is hot and the engine
compa rtment is additionally heated by
the sun's rays.
(D Note
If the engine has been under heavy load
for an extended pe rio d, heat b uilds up in
the engine compartment after the engi ne
i s sw itched off -there is a r isk of damag ing
the e ng in e. A llow th e engi ne to run a t id le
fo r abo ut 2 minutes befor e switching it
off .
Driver messages in the instrument
cluster display
Applies to vehicles: with Co nvenience key
If a func tion is not present, a driver message
appears .
No key identified
This message appears when t he I STAR T I but-
ton is pr essed if there is no master key ins id e
the vehi cle or if t he system does not recogn ize
IJ,-

it. For example, the master key cannot be rec­
ognized if it is covered by an object (e.g. alu­
minum brief case) which
screens the radio s ig­
nal. Electronic devices such as cell phones can
also interfere with the radio signal.
Press brake pedal to start engine
This message appears if you press the I START !
button to start the engine and do not depress
the brake pedal. The engine can only be start­
ed if the brake pedal is depressed .
Engage Nor P to start engine
This message appears when the engine is
started if the selector lever for the automatic
transmission is not in the P or N position. The
engine can only be started with the selector in
these posit ions.
!I Key not in vehicle
This message appears along with the !! sym­
bol if the master key is removed from the ve­
hicle w ith the engine running .
It is intended
to remind you (e.g. when changing drivers) not to continue the journey without the mas­
ter key .
If the master key is no longer in the vehicle,
you cannot switch off the ignition after stop­ ping the engine and you also cannot start the
engine again. Moreover, you cannot lock the
veh icle from the outside with the key.
Shift to P otherwise vehicle can roll away.
Doors do not lock if you are not in P.
This message appears for safety reasons
along w ith a warning buzzer if the selector
lever for the automatic transmission is not in
the P pos ition when the ignit ion is switched
off with the
ISTOPI button and the dr iver's
door is opened. Move the se lector lever to the
P position, otherwise the vehicle is not se ­
cured against rolling away. You a lso cannot
lock the vehicle using the lock ing button on
the door hand le or using the remote key.
On the road 109
To engage steering lock, press and hold
STOP button
This message appears for safety reasons if the
engine and the ignition have been switched
off by pressing the
I STOPI button once, and
then the driver's door is opened. In this in­
stance, the steering is not locked . The steer ­
ing is locked:
- If you press the
IS TOPI button again for
more than 1 second.
- If you close the driver's door and lock your
veh icle from the outside.
Parking brake
Operation
The parking brake replaces the handbrake .
Fig. 123 Section of inst rument clust er: Pa rking brake
Applying parking brake
.,. Press the pedal down forcefully~ fig. 123
@ in the direction of the arrow.
Releasing parking brake
.,. Pull the hand le to the rear @ in the direc-
tion of the arrow
~ _&. .
If you should drive off with the parking brake
still set, a warning tone will sound and the
fo llow ing will appear in the instrument clus­
te r to remind you to release the parking
brake:
Parking brake is applied
The park ing brake warning comes on only af­
ter you have dr iven for longer than 3 seconds
and faster than 5 mph (5 km/h) . .,._

Adaptive cruise control Speed and distance
control system
Description
Applies to vehicles: with adaptive cruise cont rol
The adaptive cruise control driver assistance
program is a combined speed and distance
control system .
Fig . 126 Front bu mper: Pos itio n of r adar sen sor (not
vi sibl e from out side)
Adapt ive cruise control can he lp ma ke driv ing
more relaxed and less tiring , particularly dur­
i n g long trips on interstates or other hig hways
that are genera lly st raight. The system can al­
so ass ist in stop and go traffic .
The adaptive cruise co ntrol works within a
speed range be tween 0 and 95 mph (150 km/
h). Set ACC to maintain a constant , legal trav ­
el speed between 20 and 95 mph (30 -150
km/h) that is appropriate for prevailing traffic
conditions. Select a following distance to the
veh icle ahead and ACC will adjust your speed
to maintain that d istance down to a stop . At a
speed below 20 mph (30 km/h), the min imum
speed setting of 20 mph (30 km/h) will be se­ l ected automati ca lly.
Adaptive cruise control has technical limita­
tions that you must know, so p lease read th is
section carefully , understand how the system
wo rks and use it properly at a ll times.
How does it work?
You can operate the adaptive cruise control
using the lever on the steering wheel column
c::> page 116, How is the speed stored? and
Ad apti ve crui se control 11 3
c::> page 118, How is the distance (time inter ­
val) set? .
Driver information
Important information is brought up in the
speedomete r and in the instr ument clus ter
display as the vehicle is being driven
c::> page 120, Driver informat ion .
What is important for you to know
The adaptive cru ise contro l is set w ith system­
spe cified lim its; that is, as a driver, you will
have to adjus t the speed and distance to the
vehicle ahead in some instances
c:> page 124,
Driver intervention prompt
and c::> page 125,
System limitations.
A WARNING
Imp roper use of the adaptive cruise con­
trol can cause collisions, other accidents
and serious personal injury.
- Always remember that the adaptive cru ise contro l has limits -it will not slow
the vehicle down or ma inta in the set d is ­
tance when you dr ive towards an obsta­
cle or someth ing o n or nea r the road that
is not movi ng, such as ve hicles stopped
in a tra ffic jam, a sta lled or d is ab led vehi­
cle.
- Always remembe r that the adaptive
cru ise con tro l canno t detect a vehi cle
that is driving towards yo u in your traffic
lane and that it cannot detect narrow ve­
hicles suc h as motorcycles and bicycles .
- Never drive a t speeds that are too fast
for traffic, road and weather conditions .
- Never fo llow a vehicle so closely that you
cannot stop yo ur vehicle safely. The
adapt ive cruise control cannot s low or
brake the vehicle safely when yo u follow
a nother vehicle too close ly. Always re­
member that the adaptive cruise control
has a braking power t hat is o nly about
30% of the veh icle's maxim um braking
ab ility. The automat ic bra king f unctio n
cannot bring the vehicle to a s udden o r
-
emerge ncy stop . Always be p repared to IIJ,.

The Audi braking guard is active from a speed
of approx. 20 mph (30 km/h) and works with­
in the system limits
¢ page 125 even when
the adaptive cruise contro l is deact ivated.
A radar senso r is bui lt into the front of the ve­
hicle
¢ page 114, fig. 127. The system is in­
tended to measure the distance to reflect ive
surfaces. If a measurement is not possible,
the system does not respond .
When the measurement has been taken, the
system can recognize a poss ibly hazardous sit ­
uation, for example, when a vehicle up ahead
in your lane of travel suddenly brakes or when
your ow n ve hicle is moving at high speed to­
wards a much s lowe r vehicle up ahead . As
soon as the system senses that a possible co l­
l ision with the vehicle up ahead can only be
avoided by immediate full brake appl ication or
by an avoidance maneuver, a warning appears .
The system has a defau lt response time to be
ab le to sig na l befo re a col lision occu rs. This
system response time is a utomat ica lly re­
d uced if you acce lerate actively, for example
to join a highway. Braking, transverse acce ler­
ation and the steering ang le can lead to a re­
duced system response time. The warning is
deactivated if you begin to overtake with full
acceleration.
The system can make yo u aware of two differ­
ent hazardo us situations:
Distance
The distance warn ing is g iven if the sys tem
calc ulates that the re is not enough d istance
to the vehicle up ahead a period of more than 5 seconds. If the distance is less than 30 feet
(9 meters) at SO mph (80 km/h), for example,
an optical d isplay comes on in the instrument
cluster
c> fig . 146.
If the vehicle ahead brakes sharply, A udi brak­
ing guard cannot help you to avoid a co llision,
even in the case of an immediate response.
Take immediate act ion to avoid the collision
and increase the distance to the vehicle up
ahead .
Adapti ve crui se control 127
Speed
If there is a much slowe r vehicle mov ing up
ahead in your lane, or if the vehicle ahead brakes sharply, the Audi brak ing guard calcu­
lates the point from which a collision can only
be avoided by f ull braking or by an avo idance
maneuver . If a warning does sound, a possible
collision with the veh icle in front can only be
avo ided through an evas ive maneuver or by
braking.
The warning is given in two stages:
- Pre-warnin g: A visua l display appears in the
instrument cluster and a warning tone
sounds.
- Acute w arning : If you do not respond to the
pre-warning, the second stage warning is
given. A quick brake application helps to di­
rect your attention to the road and traffic
situat ion.
Under heavy braking, the brake assistant
i=> page 114 also helps you benefit from maxi­
mum brak ing eff ic iency.
_& WARNING
Inattention can cause collisions, other ac­
cidents and ser ious personal inju ries.
- Always pay close attent ion to the traffic,
even when the Audi braking guard is
sw itched on. The Audi braking guard pro­
vides a wa rning but does not brake the
car for you. You must app ly the brakes
yourse lf!
- Always keep the safe and lega l distance
between yo ur vehicle and vehicles up
ahead.
- Aud i brak ing g uard wor ks within lim its
and will no t respond outside the system
limits, fo r example when approach ing a
stopped vehicle or stationary obstacle (end of a traffic jam or vehicle that has
broken down in traffic).
- Always remember that the radar sensor
for the Audi braking guard works within
defined detect ion and range limits that
may prevent the proper detection of oth­
er vehicles .