tow AUDI S7 2012 Owners Manual

Driver and passenger side footwell . . . 123
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Stowing luggage . ..... ... .. .. .. .. 124
Report ing Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Safety belts ... ..... ... .. .. .. . .
General notes ............ .... .. . .
Why safety belts? ........ .... .. . .
Safety belts ............ .... ... . .
Safety belt pretens ioners ...... .. . . 128
128
129
131
135
Airbag system ................. 137
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . 137
F ront airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Mo nitoring the Advanced Airbag
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Knee airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Side curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Child Safety .. .. .... ... .. .. ... .
Important things to know . ... .. .. . .
C hild safety seats . ..... ... .. .. .. . .
Instal ling a child safety seat .. .. .. . .
LATCH Lower anchorages and tethers
for chi ldren . ............. .... .. . .
Addit ional Information 163
163
169
174
177
181
Audi pre sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Preventat ive passenger protection 182
Vehicle operat ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Intelligent technology . . . . . . . . 184
Not ice about data recorded by veh icle
control modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
E lect ron ic stabilization program ( ESP) 184
Rear spoiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Braki ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 7
E lect ro-mechanical power assist . . . . . 189
Driving with your quattro ® . . . . . . . . . 189
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Driving and environment . . . . . 19 2
The first 1,000 miles (1 ,500 km) and
afterwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Avoid damaging the vehicle. . . . . . . . . 193
Table of contents 3
Driving through wate r on roads . . . . . 194
Operate yo ur vehicle economically and
min imize poll ution. .. .. ... .... ... . 194
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Driving with a trailer . .. ..... ... .. .
Trai ler tow ing tips
Vehicle care ...... .. .. ..... ... .
Cleaning and protection ..... .
197
198
200
200
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Care of exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Care of interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank .............. .........
211
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Fuel tank .. .. .. .. .. . .. .... ...... . 212
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . 216
En gine hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
E ngine compartment........... ... 218
E ngine o il . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
E ngine cooling sys tem . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Windsh ie ld/headlight washer
container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Tire pressure monitoring system 249
Do-it-yourself service . . . . . . . . . 252
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 2S2
Emergency warn ing triangle . . . . . . . . 252
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Chang ing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Fuses and bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Fuses ........ ... .. .............. 260
Bul bs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Emergency situations . . . . . . . . . 264
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Star ting by pushing or towing . . . . . . . 264
Starting with jumpe r cable s . . . . . . . . 264
U se o f ju mpe r cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
•
•

4 Table of contents
Eme rgency towing with comme rcial
tow truck . .... . ...... ... .. .. ... .
Lift ing vehicle .. ... .... ... .. .. ... .
Technical data ...... ... .. .. ... .
General information .. .. .... . .
Exp lanation of technical data . .. .. . .
Vehicle ident ificat ion ...... .. .. .. . .
Weights ... ... .. ..... ... .. .. .. . .
Dimensions .... .... .... .. .. .. .. . .
Data .. .. ............... .. .. ... .
310 hp, 3 .0 liter 6 -cylinder engine .. .
Consumer Information ... .. . .
Warranty coverages ........... .. . .
Operating your vehicle outside the
U .S.A . o r Canada ... .... .. .. .. .. . .
Aud i Service Repair Ma nuals and 266
268
270
270
270
270
270
271
272
272
273 273
273
L it era ture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
M aintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Addit ional accessories , modifications
and parts replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Declaration of Compliance ,
Te lecommunication and E lectronic
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 17
flash before you respond to the low oil level warning
Ill. By then, your engine
may already have suffered serious dam­
age.
~ . Engine oil level
• WARNING: Please add oil immediately
When the symbol and the driver message ap­
pear, the oil has to be replenished right now
,=;,page 218.
If the indicator light and the message appear,
add engine oil immediately
,=;, page 221.
II Add oil, max. x qt (l). You may continue
driving
When the symbol and the driver message ap­
pear, add the amount of oil appearing in the
display at the next opportunity
¢ page 218.
@ -Steering column lock
• Do not drive vehicle: Steering defective
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is an electronic steering
column lock malfunction. You cannot switch
the ignition on.
Do
not tow your vehicle because it cannot be
steered. Seek professional assistance.
l!l!I Steering lock: system fault. Please con­
tact dealer
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is an electronic steering
column lock malfunction .
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
A WARNING
-
Your vehicle must not be towed in the
event of a malfunction in the electronic
steering column lock because it cannot be
steered due to the locked steering.
If it is
towed with the steering locked, there is
the risk of an accident.
©-Engine start system
• Engine start system fault. Please con­
tact dealer
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, do
not switch the ignition off
because you may not be able to switch it on
again.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
II! Engine start system fault. Please con­
tact dealer
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the en­ gine start system.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
t!i1 !i: Safety systems
The ffll (USA models)!Ei (Canada models) in­
dicator light monitors the safety systems e .g.
airbags, pretensioners and illuminates for a
few seconds each time you switch the ignition
on.
If the
ffl (USA models);Ei (Canada models)
indicator light does not go out, or if it illumi ­
nates while you are driving, or if it starts to
blink, then there is a malfunction somewhere
in the system.
If the light does not illuminate
when you switch the ignition on, this also
means there is a malfunction.
A WARNING ~
If you have a malfunction in the safety sys-
tems, contact your authorized Audi dealer
immediately. Otherwise the safety sys­
tems may not work properly in an acci­
dent .

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

42 Clear vision
visibility conditions. For example, fog cannot be detected by the light sensors.
So always switch on the headlights
io
under these weather conditions and
when driving in the dark.
- Crashes can happen when you cannot see
the road ahead and when you cannot be
seen by other motorists . Always turn on
the headlights so that you can see ahead and so that others can see your car from
the back.
(D Note
The rear fog lights should only be turned
on in accordance with traffic regulation, as
the lights are bright for following traffic.
@ Tips
-In the event of a light sensor malfunc­
tion, the driver is notified in the instru­
ment cluster display~
page 21.
-You will hear a warning tone if you open
the driver door when the exterior lights
are switched on.
- Please observe legal regulations when
using the lighting systems described .
Emergency flasher
The emergency flasher makes other motorists
aware that you or your vehicle are in an emer­
gency situation.
Fig. 33 Center console : emerge ncy flasher switch
• Press the switch~~ fig. 33 to turn the
emergency flashers on or off.
When the emergency flasher is on, all four
turn signals blink at the same time. The turn signal
indicato r lights ¢ Q in the instrument
cluster, as well as the light in the emergency
fl asher switch ~ blink likewise. The emergen­
cy flashers also work when the ignition is
turned off.
The emergency flashers will turn on automati­
cally if you are in an accident where the airbag
has deployed .
(D Tips
You should turn on the emergency flashers
when:
- you are the last vehicle standing in a traf­
fic jam so that any other vehicles coming
can see you, or when
- your vehicle has broken down or you are
in an emergency situation, or when
- your vehicle is being towed by a tow
truck or if you are towing another vehicle
behind you.
· Adjusting the exterior lighting
The settings ore adjusted in the MMI.
• Select: I CAR I function button > Car systems
control button > Vehicle settings> Exterior
lighting.
Automatic headlights
You can adjust the following settings in the
Automatic headlights menu :
Headlights activation time -You can adjust if
the headlights switch on
Early , Med. or Late
according to the sensitivity of the light sensor .
Audi adaptive light* -You can switch adaptive
light
On and Off .
Daytime running lights
USA models:
You can switch the daytime run­
ning lights
on and off.
Canada models:
The function cannot be
turned off.
It is activated automatically each
time the ignition is switched on. This menu
item is shown "greyed out".

Coming home , Leav ing home
The coming home function il luminates the
area outside the vehicle when you switch the
ignition off and open the driver 's door . To turn
the function on, select
Light s when le aving
c a r > On .
The leav ing home function illuminates the
area outside the vehicle when yo u un lock the
veh icle . To turn the function on, select
Li gh ts
when unloc kin g ca r> On.
The coming home and leaving home functions
only operate when it is dark and the light
switch is in the
AUTO pos ition.
Turn signals and high beam lever
The lever on the le~ side of the steering col­
umn is used to operate the turn signals and
the high beam as well as the headlight flash­
er .
Fig. 3 4 Tu rn signal a nd h igh beam lever
The turn s ignal and high beam lever has the
followi ng functions:
Tu rn sign als ¢ ¢ @@
.. Push the lever up as far as it can go to turn
on the r ight turn signal or down to turn on
the left turn sig nal
c:::;, fig . 34 .
.. Move the lever b riefly until you meet resist­
ance and release it to flash three times .
.. Move the lever (up or down) unti l you mee t
resistance and ho ld it there to dete rmine
the f las hing t ime for the turn signals.
High beam [D @
.. Push the lever forward to switch on the high
beam.
Clear vi sion 43
.. Pull the lever back towards you to switch off
the high beam.
Headlight fla sher [D ©
.. Pull the lever towa rd the stee ring wheel to
use the headlight flasher.
Note s on these features
- The turn signals on ly work with the ignition
sw itched on . The indicator lights
f,j or II in
the inst rument cluste r
~page 11 also blink.
- After you have turned a corner, the turn s ig -
nal switches off automatically .
- The
high beam works only when the head ­
lights are on . The indicator light
Ill in the
instrument cluster illuminates when the
h igh beams are on.
- The
headlight flasher works only as long as
you hold the lever -even if the re a re no
lights turned on. The indicator light
Ill in
the inst rument cluster i lluminates whe n you
use the headlight flasher.
(D Note
Do no t use the high beam or headligh t
flasher if yo u know that these could blind
oncoming traffic.

44 Clear vis ion
Interior lights
Front and rear interior lighting
Fig. 35 Head liner: Fron t int eri or ligh ts
Fig. 36 Rear headlin er: R ead in g light
Press the appropriate b utton ~ fig. 35:
El -Interior lighting on/off
[j) -Door contact switch . The inter io r l ight ing
turns on automatically when you unlock the
vehi cle, open a doo r or switch the ignition off .
The interior lighting turns off several seconds
after you close the doors , when you lock the
vehicle or when you switch the ignition on.
When a door is open, the light t urns off after
a few minutes.
51 -Reading lights o n/off
~ -Sw itch ing the rear readi ng lights on/off
from the co ckpit.
I .,.. REAR !* -Switch ing the rear reading lights
on/off from the cockp it .
Ambience lighting
Appl ies to vehicles: wit h ambience lighting
You can adj ust the brightness for the amb i­
ence lighting. .,.
Select in the MM I: ICARlfunction button>
C ar sys tem s control button > Vehicle set­
ting s
> Interio r light ing > Brightne ss .
.,. To increase or reduce the brightness, turn
the knob and press it .
T he ambience lighting turns on when you turn
the headlights on while the ignition is switch­ ed on.
@ Tips
The setting is automatically stored and as­
signed to the remote control key that is in
use.
Instrument illumination
You can adjust the brightness of the instru ­
ment and display illumination as well as the
Head-up Display *.
F ig. 37 In strume nt ill umin ation
.,. Press the knob to re lease it .
~ 0 "'
.,. Tur n the knob toward "-" or"+" to redu ce or
increase the br ightness.
.,. Press the knob aga in to retu rn it to its origi ­
na l position .
(I} Tips
The instrumen t illum ina tion (for dials and
needles) lights on when the ignition is
switc hed o n and the vehicle lights are
turned off . As the daylight fades, the illu ­
mination of the dia ls likewise d ims auto­
matically and will g o out completely when
the outs ide light is very low. This feature is
meant to rem ind yo u to sw itch on the
headlights when outsid e light conditions
be come poo r.

Vision
Sun visors
( J
Fig. 38 Sun v isor
The sun visors for the driver and passenger
can be released from their brackets and
turned toward the doors
c::> fig. 38 @.
The mirror light switches on when the cover
over the vanity mirror @opens.
Sun shad e
Applies to vehicles: with s un shade
The sun shade is located on the luggage com­
partment shelf.
F ig. 3 9 Sun sh ade i n lowe red pos iti on
When the sun shade is in the lowered posi ­
tion, it is secured in the retainer @.
.. To raise @ the sun shade, remove it from
the retainer .
A WARNING
Do not use the sun shade to secure ca rgo .
The luggage compartment cover is not a
surface fo r stor ing objects. Objects placed
on the cover co uld end anger all vehicle oc­
c upants d uri ng sudden braking ma neuvers
or in a cras h. Clear vi
sion 45
Wiper and washer
system
Switching the windshield wipers on
Fi g. 40 W ind shield wiper leve r
Move the w indshie ld w iper lever to the co rre­
sponding position:
@ -Windshield wipers off
©-Rain sensor mode. The windsh ield wipers
switch on once the vehicle speed exceeds ap­
proximately 2 mph (4 km/h) and it is ra ining .
The hig her the rain sensor sensitivity is set
(sw itch @to th e right), the earlier the wind ­
shield wipe rs react to moisture on the w ind­
shield . Yo u can deactivate rain senso r mode in
the MMI, whi ch will then ac tivate inte rm ittent
mode. Se lect:
I CAR I fu nct io n but ton> Car sy s­
tems
contro l button > Driver a ssist > Rain
sensor > Off.
In inte rmittent mode, yo u can
adjust the interval time using the switch @.
@ -Slow w iping
@ -Fast wip ing
© -Single wipe . If you hold the lever in this
position longer, the wipers switch from slow
wip ing to fast w iping.
® -Clean the w indshie ld. The wipers wipe
one time after severa l seconds of driving to
remove water droplets. You can switch this
funct io n off by moving t he lever to pos itio n®
within 10 seconds after the afte rwipe . The af­
terwipe function is reactivated the next time
yo u s witch the igni tion on.
Cleaning the headlig hts . The head light wash ­
er system* only funct ions when the lights are
switched on. The headligh ts and the night
II>

-Make sure the roof rack is instal led exact­
ly as specified above
c::> page 57.
- Always use suitable mounting straps for
securing items to the roof rack to help
prevent items from shifting or flying for­
ward.
- Items on the roof rack must always be securely mounted.
- The use of a roof rack can negative ly af­
fect the way a vehicle handles. Cargo
that is large, heavy, bulky, long or flat
will have a greater negative influence on
the vehicle's aerodynamics, center of
gravity and overall handling. Always dr ive slowly, avo id sudden braking and
maneuvers when transpo rting cargo on
the roof o f your vehicle .
- Never exceed the maximum perm iss ible
load carry ing capacity of t he roof of your
vehicle, the perm issib le axle weights and
the permissible total weight of your vehi­ cle
c::> page 270 , Weights.
- Always drive slowly, avoid sudden brak­
ing and maneuvers when transporting
cargo on the roof of your vehicle.
@ For the sake of the environment
Sometimes it may be easier to leave a roof
rack insta lled even though you are not us ­
ing it. Due to the increased air resistance
your vehicle will unnecessari ly use more
fuel. Remove the roof rack if you are not going to use it.
Sea ts a nd s to rage 59
Luggage compartment
Loading luggage compartment
Items of luggage must be stowed securely.
Fig. 59 Place heavy objects as far forward as possible.
Note the following to preserve the vehicle's
good handling charac teristics.
.., Distribute the load as evenly as possible .
.., Place heavy objects as far forward as poss i­
ble
c::> fig. 59.
.., Secure the items of luggage w ith the cargo
net* or w ith non -elastic retaining straps to
the tie-down rings *
c::> page 61.
A WARNING
-Loose objects in the l uggage compart­
ment can slide about suddenly and a lter
the vehicle's handling characteristics.
- Loose objects in the passenger compart­
ment can fly forward during abr upt ma­
neuvers or accidents and injure occu­
pants .
- Always store objects in the luggage com­
partment and use suitable straps, partic­
ularly with heavy objects.
-
- When you transport heavy objects, al­
ways remember that a change in the cen­
ter of gravity may result in a change in
the vehicle's handling characteristics.
- Follow all warnings
c::> page 118, Driving
Safely.
(D Tips
The t ire pressure must be ad justed to the
load -see the t ire pressure sticker located
on the dr iver's side B-pillar .

_& WARNING
-The backrest must always be securely
latched so that the safety belt of the cen­
ter seating pos ition can work properly to
help protect the occupant.
- The backrest must be securely latched in position so that no items contained in
the luggage compartment can slide for­
wa rd upon sudden braking .
-Always check whether the latch is ful ly
engaged by pu lling the seatback for­
ward.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in doo r o r seat
hardware.
- T orn or frayed safety belts can tear and
damaged belt ha rdware can break in a
crash . Inspect the be lts period ically .
Belts showing damage to webbing, bind ­
ings, buckles, or retractors must be re­
placed.
(D Note
- If yo u move the front seat back when the
rear seat backrest is fo lded forward, you
could damage the head restraints on the rear seat.
- Slide the belt guide on the outside safety
belt all the way up before folding the
backrest back forward. Make sure the
seat belt is not pinched or damaged
whe n the rear seat backrest if folded
back. Other objects should be removed
from the rear seat bench to protect the
seatbac k from damage.
S ea ts a nd s to rage 61
Tie-downs and cargo net
The cargo net* prevents small objects from
sliding .
Fig . 63 Locat ion of t he t ie -dow ns in the lu ggage co m­
partme nt
r.lllf2z:::11:,;;;,1m,mn,um- .f31111mffi11\\\\\iUt1tlil!IIII.
Fig . 6 4 Luggage compart men t: cargo net *
.. To secure objects with the luggage com­
partment net*, fold the tie-down bracket
upward
r:> fig . 63 .
.. Insert the hooks on the luggage compa rt­
ment net* into the tie-downs
r:> fig. 64 .
.,. Read and heed all WARN INGS r:> page 124,
Stowing luggage.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi·
cle w il l turn in to heavy m iss iles that ca n cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle pick up ki­
netic ene rgy which varies with the vehicle and
the weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the
most significant factor.
For example, in a fronta l collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a
10 -lb (4.5 kg) object are about
20 times the
norma l weight of the item. This means t hat
the weight of the item would sudden ly be the
equivalent of about 200 lbs (90 kg). One can
easily imagine the injuries that an item of that
weight flying freely through the passenger .,,.