Imagine yourself driving quietly aboard your Audi A7 and abruptly an engine warning light appears on your dashboard ! The most frequent reaction is worries of risking a critical trouble. To know what exactly this light refers to, you will have to learn how to read an Audi A7 fault codes, you may have already heard of OBD system, this is exactly what we are going to discuss. Our editors have decided to write this document to enable you quickly find the origin of this default code and to give you serenity. To perform this, we will first take a look at the nature of a fault code on Audi A7, then how to read an Audi A7 fault code, and finally how to erase this fault code in order to turn off the light on your dashboard.

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What is a Audi A7 fault code?

A fault code is a generic or standard code which is identical to all manufacturers , they are also called DTC (Data Trouble Code), the objective is to be sure that any diagnostic OBD can translate them. They will be symbolized by a standard format, like for example: P0255. Each info will have a special explanation. Default codes are codes issued by the calculators of your Audi A7. These ECUs will continuously monitor your vehicle’s exhausts, pressures, mixtures and when the values exceed the limits set by the vehicle’s ECU, the fault code will appear. The benefit of knowing how to read a fault code on your Audi A7 is that you will have access to precise info about your vehicle which will allow you to understand what issue you are standing in front of.

How to read a fault code on my Audi A7?

In this second part we will now focus precisely on what brings you here, how to read a fault code on Audi A7. To gain access to this valued info you will need to to purchase a diagnostic tool, also called OBD 2, named after the socket on your Audi A7 to which you will have to connect. These diagnostic tools are easily available in the market, you will be able to find some in Bluetooth version which connects to your phone and some standard versions with a reader associated to the socket, as far as price is concerned, you will be able to find models between 30 and 100 euros. Once you have bought an OBD2 diagnostic reader, you will need to discover the diagnostic plug on your Audi A7, it is located on the left side of your steering column on the lower part of your dashboard, behind a hatch. It is easy to locate because it is triangular shaped and has 16 pins. All you have to do is connect with your diagnostic tool to read the fault code of your Audi A7.

How to erase the fault code Audi A7

Finally, to conclude this content page, we are going to demonstrate you the process to execute to erase a fault code on your Audi A7. Once you have navigated through the menus, you will access the list of active fault codes on your car. But, you will have to ask yourself an important question, is it really beneficial to erase this fault code on Audi A7? Absolutely, erasing a fault code without resolving the trouble is like burying its head in the sand. Furthermore, the computer of your Audi A7 is made to take resolutions depending to the data it collects, if a very important fault code is on, it will likely modify the engine performance to preserve it. So if you get rid of the fault code, be sure you solve the issue to which it is linked. Some OBD diagnostic tools do not allow you to do this. You have a dedicated navigation menu on most diagnostic tools that should allow you to clear this fault code on Audi A7.

If you need more guides on the Audi A7, go to our Audi A7 category.