2008 AUDI S6 Owners Manual

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Use only floor mats that leave the pedal area unobstructed and that
are firmly secured so that they cannot slip out of position. You can
obtain suitable floor mats from your authorized Audi Dealer.
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi.
Floor mats used in your vehicle must be attached to these fasteners.
Properly securing the floor mats will prevent them from sliding into
positions that could interfere with the pedals or impair safe opera­
tion of your vehicle in other ways .
& WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result in a loss of vehicle
control and increase the risk of serious personal injury.
• Always make sure that floor mats are properly secured.
• Never place or install floor mats or other floor coverings in the
vehicle that cannot be properly secured in place to prevent them
from slipping and interfering with the pedals or the ability to
control the vehicle.
• Never place or install floor mats or other floor coverings on top
of already installed floor mats. Additional floor mats and other
coverings will reduce the size of the pedal area and interfere with
the pedals.
• Always properly reinstall and secure floor mats that have been
taken out for cleaning.
• Always make sure that objects cannot fall into the driver foot­
well while the vehicle is moving. Objects can become trapped
under the brake pedal and accelerator pedal causing a loss of
vehicle control. •
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All
luggage and other objects must be properly stowed
and secured in the luggage compartment.
Fig. 191 Safe load
positioning: heavy
cargo positioned as far
forward as possible .
Loose items in the luggage compartment can shift
suddenly, changing vehicle handling characteristics . Loose
items can also increase the risk of serious personal injury in
a sudden vehicle maneuver or in a collision.
Distribute the load evenly in the luggage compartment .
- Always place and properly secure heavy items in the
luggage compartment as far forward as possible
::::>fig.191.
Secure luggage using the tie-downs provided=> page 97.
- Make sure that the rear seat back is securely latched in
place.
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Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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& WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items can fly through the
vehicle causing serious personal injury in the event of hard braking or an accident. To help reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
• Always put objects, for example, luggage or other heavy items
in the luggage compartment.
• Always secure objects in the luggage compartment using the
tie-down eyelets and suitable straps.
& WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehicle handles. To help
reduce the risk of a loss of control leading to serious personal
injury :
• Always keep in mind when transporting heavy objects, that a
change in the center of gravity can also cause changes in vehicle
handling:
-Always distribute the load as evenly as possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the luggage compart-
ment as possible.
• Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating or the Gross
Vehicle Weight Rating specified on the safety compliance sticker on the left door jamb. Exceeding permissible weight standards
can cause the vehicle to slide and handle differently.
• Please observe information on safe driving~
page 192.
& WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from being drawn into the
vehicle, always keep the rear lid closed while driving.
• Never transport objects larger than those fitting completely
into the luggage area because the rear lid cannot be fully closed.
& WARNING (continued)
• If you absolutely must drive with the rear lid open, observe the
following notes to reduce the risk of poisoning :
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed.
& WARNING
Always make sure that the doors , all windows, the power roof*
and the read lid are securely closed and locked to reduce the risk
of injury when the vehicle is not being used.
• After closing the rear lid, always make sure that it is properly
closed and locked .
• Never leave your vehicle unattended especially with the rear lid
left open. A child could crawl into the vehicle through the luggage
compartment and close the rear lid becoming trapped and unable
to get out . Being trapped in a vehicle can lead to serious personal
injury.
• Never let children play in or around the vehicle.
• Never let passengers ride in the luggage compartment. Vehicle
occupants must always be properly restrained in one of the
vehicle's seating positions.
[ i] Tips
• Air circulation helps to reduce window fogging. Stale air escapes
to the outside through vents in the trim panel, on the left side of the
luggage compartment. Be sure to keep these slots free and open.
• The tire pressure must correspond to the load -see the tire pres ­
sure sticker on the fuel filler door.•

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Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with four tie­
downs to secure luggage and other items.
Use the tie -downs to secure your cargo properly~ page 199,
"Loading the luggage compartment".
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that even smaller items that
are loose in the vehicle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess energy which vary with
vehicle speed and the weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most
significant factor.
For example, in a frontal 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
normal weight of the item. This means that the weight of the item
would suddenly be about 200 lbs. (90 kg). You can imagine the inju­
ries that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying freely through the passenger
compartment could cause in a collision like this.
& WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to secure items to tie ­
downs can fail during hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury.
• Always use suitable mounting straps and properly secure
items to the tie-downs in the luggage compartment to help
prevent items from shifting or flying forward as dangerous
missiles.
• When the rear seat backrest is folded down, always use suit­
able mounting straps and properly secure items to the tie-downs
in the luggage compartment to help prevent items from flying
forward as dangerous missiles into the passenger compartment.
• Never attach a child safety seat tether strap to a tie-down. •
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Reporting safety defects
If you believe that your vehicle has a defect
which could cause a crash or could cause
injury or death, you should immediately inform
the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis­
tration (NHTSA) in addition to notifying Audi of
America, Inc. If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may open an investigation, and
if it finds that a safety defect exists in a group
of vehicles, it may order a recall and remedy
campaign. However, NHTSA cannot become involved in individual problems between you,
your dealer, or Audi of America, Inc.
To contact NHTSA, you may call the Vehicle
Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153);
go to
http://www.safercar.gov;
or write to: Administrator, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590.
You can also obtain other information about motor vehicle safety from
http://www.safercar.gov. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are necessary, how
they work and how to adjust and wear them correctly.
- Read all the information that follows and heed all of the
instructions and WARNINGS.
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them improperly increases
the risk of serious personal injury and death.
• Safety belts are the single most effective means available to
reduce the risk of serious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents. For your protection and that of your passengers, always
wear the safety belts properly when the vehicle is moving.
• Pregnant women, injured, or physically impaired persons must
also use safety belts. Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not wear safety belts. The
best way to protect a fetus is to protect the mother - throughout
the entire pregnancy. •
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions: two in the front and
three in the rear. Each seating position has a safety belt .
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them improperly increases
the risk of serious personal injury and death.
• Never strap more than one person, including small children,
into any belt. It is especially dangerous to place a safety belt over
a child sitting on your lap.
• Never let more people ride in the vehicle than there are safety
belts available.
• Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is properly restrained
with a separate safety belt or child restraint. •
Safety belt warning light ~
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver and front
seat passenger (on USA models only) to remind you about
the importance of buckling-up.
Before driving off, always:
Fig . 192 Safety belt
warning light in the
instrument cluster -
enlarged
- Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are wearing it
properly. ._

- Make sure that your passengers also buckle up and prop­
erly wear their safety belts.
- Protect children with a child restraint system appropriate
for the size and age.
The warning light 4,-in the instrument cluster lights up when the
ignition is switched on as a reminder to fasten the safety belts . In
addition , you will hear a warning tone .
After the ignition is switched on, the warning light in the instrument cluster will always come on for about 6 seconds and if the driver has
not fastened the safety belt , a warning tone will also sound for
about 6 seconds. As soon as the driver has fastened the safety belt,
the warning tone will stop and the warning ligh t will go out .
If the driver or front seat passenger have not buckled -up within
about 10 seconds after the warning tone has stopped and the
vehicle is moving faster than about 15 mph, the warning tone will
sound again for about 6 seconds and then stop for 24 seconds and
then repeat this reminder sequence for a maximum of 2 minutes . At
speeds below 5 mph, the warning tone will not sound.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your passengers also
properly put on their safety belts.
& WARNING
• Safety belts are the single most effective means available to
reduce the risk of serious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents. For your protection and that of your passengers, always
correctly wear safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
• Failure to pay attention to the warning light that come on,
could lead to personal injury. •
Safety first
Safety belts
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for people riding
in vehicles.
Fig . 193 Unbelted
occupants in a vehicle
heading for a wall
Fig. 194 The vehicle
crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehicle and the passen­
gers possess energy which varies with vehicle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle's
weight, the more energy that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If the speed doubles
from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/h) , the energy increases 4 times!
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Vehicle care I I Technical data

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Because the passengers of this vehicle are not using safety belts
~ page 203, fig. 193, they will keep moving at the same speed the
vehicle was moving just before the crash, until something stops
them -here, the wall~
page 203, fig. 194.
The same principles apply to people sitting in a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision. Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph
(30 to 50 km/h), the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs. or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater speeds, these forces are
even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also not attached to their
vehicle. In a frontal collision they will also keep moving forward at
the speed their vehicle was travelling just before the crash. Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to frontal collisions, they
determine what happens in all kinds of accidents and collisions. •
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety be lts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves
from flying forward and being injured or killed. Always
wear your safety belts!
Fig . 195 A driver not
wearing a safe ty belt is
violently thrown
forward Fig. 196
A rear
passenger not wearing
a safety belt will fly
forward and strike the
driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tremendous forces of
impact by holding tight or bracing themselves. Without the benefit
of safety restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant will slam
violently into the steering wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or
whatever else is in the way~ fig. 195. This impact with the vehicle
interior has all the energy they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even when they dep loy,
airbags provide only additional protection. Airbags are not
supposed to deploy in all kinds of accidents . Although your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, including the driver,
must wear safety belts correctly in order to minimize the risk of
severe injury or death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once and that your
safety belts are always there to offer protection in those accidents
in which airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they have
a lready deployed. Unbelted occupants can also be thrown out of the
vehicle where even more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to wear safety belts
correctly . Unbelted passengers in the rear seats endanger not only
themselves but also the driver and other passengers~ fig. 196. In a
frontal collision they will be thrown forward violently, where they
can hit and injure the driver and/or front seat passenger. •

Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to brace the
body in a minor collision . It's simply not true!
Fig . 19 7 Driv er is
co rre ctl y r est rai ned in
a sud den braki ng
m an eu ver
Safety belts used pr operly can make a b ig di fference . Safety belts
help to keep passengers in their seats, gradually reduce energy
levels app lied to the body in an accident, and help prevent the
uncontrolled movemen t that can cause serious injuries . In addition ,
safety belts reduce the danger of being thrown out of the vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give them the benefit
of being s lowed down more gent ly or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety features engineered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the kinetic energy over a
longer period of time, the safety belts make the forces on the body
more "tolerable" and less likely to cause injury .
Although these examples are based on a fro ntal co llision, sa fety
belts can also substantially reduce the risk of injury in other kinds
of crashes . So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to the
corner s tore , a lways buckle up and make sure others do , too . Acci­
dent statistics show that vehic le occupants properly wearing safety
belts have a lower risk of being injured and a much better chance o f
surviving an accident. Properly using safety belts also greatly
increases the ability of the supplemen tal airbags to do their job i n a
collision . For this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally required in
most coun tries including much of the United States and Canada.
Safety first
Safety b elts
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, you sti ll have to wear
t he safety belts provided. Front airbags, for examp le, are activa ted
only in some fronta l collisions . The front airbags are not ac tiva ted in
a ll fron tal collisions, in side and rear collisions, in roll overs o r in
cases where there is not enough deceleration through impact to the
front of the vehicle. The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt and make sure every­
body in your vehic le is properly restrained! •
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi tioned across
the strongest bones of your body.
Always wear safety be lts as illustrated and described in
th is chapter .
Mak e su re that your s afety belts ar e always r eady for use
a n d a re not damaged .
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belt s or wear ing them improperl y increases
the ri sk of ser ious per so nal injury a nd de ath . S afety belt s ca n work
only when used corre ctl y.
• Alway s fasten your safety belts correctly before dri ving off and
make sure all passengers are correctly restrained .
• For ma ximum prote ction , safety belts mu st always be posi ­
tioned properly on the body .
• Never str ap more than one pe rson, includ ing small ch ildr en ,
into any belt .
• Never pla ce a safety belt over a child sitting on your lap .
• Alway s keep feet in the footwell in front of the seat while the
vehicle is being driven . .,
Vehicle care
I I irechnical data

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& WARNING (continued)
• Never let any person ride with their feet on the instrument
panel or sticking out the window or on the seat.
• Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Doing
so will increase your risk of being injured or killed.
• Never wear belts twisted.
• Never wear belts over rigid or breakable objects in or on your
clothing, such as eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury.
• Never allow safety belts to become damaged by being caught
in door or seat hardware.
• Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt under your arm or
otherwise out of position.
• Several layers of heavy clothing may interfere with correct posi­
tioning of belts and reduce the overall effectiveness of the system.
• Always keep belt buckles free of anything that may prevent the
buckle from latching securely.
• Never use comfort clips or devices that create slack in the
shoulder belt. However, special clips may be required for the
proper use of some child restraint systems .
• Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and damaged belt hard­
ware can break in an accident. Inspect belts regularly. If webbing,
bindings, buckles, or retractors are damaged, have belts replaced
by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
• Safety belts that have been worn and loaded in an accident
must be replaced with the correct replacement safety belt by an
authorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be necessary even if
damage cannot be clearly seen. Anchorages that were loaded
must also be inspected.
• Never remove, modify, disassemble, or try to repair the safety
belts yourself.
& WARNING (continued)
• Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly
and can impair the function of the inertia reel
=> page 289, "Safety
belts". •
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig . 198 Belt buckle
and tongue on the
driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts must always
be positioned correctly on the wearer's body.
Adjust the front seat and head restraint properly
=> page 87, "General recommendations".
Make sure the seat back of the rear seat bench is in an
upright position and secu rely latched in place before
using the belt~&.
Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly across the
chest and pelvis~& .
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