2012 AUDI A6 warning light

~ Apply the product very sparing ly .
~ Wipe it off with a damp cloth.
If you have any questions abo ut cleaning and
caring for the leather in your vehicle, it is best
to contact your authorized Audi dealer, who
will be glad to help you and tell you about our
fu ll range of leather care products, such as:
- Leather cleaning and care kit
- Creams to care for colored leathe r
- Spot removers for ballpo int pens, shoe pol-
ish , etc.
- Oil/grease dissolv ing spray
- New and upcoming products.
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other information
~ page 204.
CD Note
- Never use chemical solvents (e.g. lighter
flu id, turpentine), waxes, shoe polis h or
s imilar products on the leather surfaces
i n your Audi.
- To avoid damage, have stubborn stains removed by a commerc ial cleani ng spe­
cia list .
Cleaning Alcantara ® (synthetic suede)
Appl ies to vehicles : wit h Alcantara upholstery
Removing dust and dirt
~ Moisten a cloth, squeeze out excess water
and wipe down the se at su rfaces .
Removing stains
~ Moisten a cloth w ith lukewarm water or
with diluted ethyl (rubb ing) alcohol.
~ Dab at the stain. Start at the outside and
work inwa rds.
~ Once the s tain is no longer visib le, use a
soft d ry cloth or t issue to soak up the mois ­
tu re .
D o not use leather cleaning produc ts on Al­
cantara.
You may use a suitable shampoo fo r removing
dust and dirt.
Cleaning and protec tion 213
D ust and gr it in the po res and seams can
scratch and damage th e surface. If the car is
l eft stand ing in the sun for long per iods, the
A lcantar a cover s should be protected aga inst
direct sunlight to prevent it from fad ing.
Slight co lor variations will develop in normal
use a nd are not an indication of mate rial dete­
rioration .
CD Note
- Never use chemical so lvents (e.g . lighter
fluid, tu rpenti ne), waxes, shoe polish or
simi lar p roducts on A lcantara ® surfaces .
- T o avoid damage, have stubborn sta ins
removed by a comme rcial clean ing spe­
cialist.
- Do not use b rushes, stiff sponges or sim­
ilarly abrasive cleani ng a ids.
Safety belts
Only well -maintained safety belts work relia ­
bly when needed .
~ Keep belts clean.
~ For cleaning, use a mild soap a nd wate r so l­
ution . Let belts dry thorough ly and away
from d irect sunlight .
~ Do not allow i nertia ree l safety belts to re­
tract before they are comp letely dry.
~ Check t he condition of your safety belts reg­
ularly .
Heavi ly so iled safety be lts may not ret ra ct
properly.
A WARNING ~
D amaged safety belts can break in a crash .
- Anyth ing th at m ight damage yo ur safety
be lts could mean tha t you and your pas ­
sengers would not be adequate ly pro­
tected in an accident.
- Safety belt performance depends on cor ­
rect insta llation . Never remove be lts
from the vehicle to clean them.
- Do not use chemical cleaning agents,
b leach or dyes. They have corrosive prop­
erties which weaken the webb ing .
•
•

220 Checking and filling
Checking and filling Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig. 169 Driver foo twell: release lever
Fig. 170 Rocker switch un der the hood
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up
from the windshield. Otherwise the paint
could be damaged .
.,. Pull the lever under the instrument panel in
the direction of the arrow
~ fig. 169.
.,. Raise the hood slightly~.&_ .
... Press the rocker switch under the hood up­
ward
~ fig. 170. This releases th e catch.
... Open the hood.
&_ WARNING
Hot engine coolant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine compartment . Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully opening the hood .
' Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in
the engine compartment.
Whenever you must perform any work in the
engine compartment, for example checking
and filling different fluids, there is a risk of injury, burns and accidents. To prevent per­
sonal injury always observe the following
WARNINGS. The engine compartment of any
vehicle is a hazardous area
~ ,&. .
/n.. WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check any­
thing under the hood:
- Turn off the engine.
- Switch off the ignition .
- Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector lever to "P" (Park) .
- Always let the engine cool down. Hot
components will burn skin on contact.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment. Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully opening the hood.
- Keep children away from the engine com­
partment.
- Never spill fluids on hot engine compo­
nents . They can cause a fire .
- Never touch the radiator fan. The auxili­
ary electric fan is temperature controlled
and can switch on suddenly .
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the engine is still warm . The cool­
ant system is pressurized and hot cool­
ant could spray out.
- Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot engine coolant by placing a
thick rag over the cap when you open the
coolant reservoir.
- If work on the fuel system or the electri­
cal system is necessary:
- Always disconnect the battery.

222 Checking and filling
Engine compartment
Engine compartment overview
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig. 171 Typ ical layout for contai ners and eng ine o il filler cap
(D Jump start point(-) with hex
head screw .... ............. 233, 268
@ Jump start point(+) under a cov-
er .. .. ............... .... . 233,268
@ Brake fluid reservoir ((0)) .. .. .
© Engine oil filler cap ( ® Coolant expansion tank (-L) .. .
® Windshield/headlight washer
t . (.'R) con ainer ,,.., ............ . .
229
225
227
234
The engine oil filler neck (item @) may be lo­
cated in a different area depending on the ver­
sion of the engine.
~ WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
¢ &. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 220.
-
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used in your Audi needs the
right kind of oil.
The engine in your Audi is a sophisticated
powerplant that was built to exacting specifi­
cations . This engine needs the right kind of
engine oil that meets specifications regarding
quality and viscosity so that it can run
smoothly and reliably . Choosing the right oil
and changing oil within the t ime and mileage
intervals printed in you r vehicle's Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to­
day than it did years ago . Audi has developed
a special quality standard for engine oil that
will help assure that your vehicle's engine will
get the lubrication it needs for proper opera-
tion. ..,.

224 Check ing and filling
temperatures stay below freezing point for
long periods.
Detergent add it ives in the o il w il l make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run­
ning for a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than
recommended.
D am age or m alfunc tions du e to lack of
m ainten ance
It is essential that you change your oil at the recommended in tervals using only engine o il
that complies with Audi oi l standard
VW 502 00. You r Limited New Vehicle War­
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
due to fail ure to fo llow recommended mainte­
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty &
Maintenance book let . Your dealer will have to
deny warranty coverage unless you present to
the dea ler proof in the form of Service or Re­
pa ir Orders that all scheduled ma intenance
was performed in a t imely manner.
Eng ine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In order to provide effective lubrication and
cool ing of internal engine components, a ll in­
ternal comb ustion eng ines consume a certa in
amount of oil. O il consumption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typica lly, engines
with a specif ied break-in period (see
¢
page 196) consume more oil during the
break-in period than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized.
Under norma l conditions, the rate of oil con­
sumpt ion depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per m inute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road condit ions . Further fac­
tors are the amount of oil d ilution from water
condensat ion or fuel residue and the ox ida­
tion level of the oi l. As any engine is subject to wear as mi
leage builds up, the oil consump­
tion may increase over time until replacement of worn components may become necessary.
With a ll these variab les coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es­
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regu lar and frequent check ing of the o il lev ­
el, see Note.
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
in the instrument cluster
II! lights up, you
shou ld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
¢
page 225. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience
¢ page 225.
A WARNING '"---
Before you check anythi ng in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢
A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 220.
(D Note
Driving w ith an insufficient o il level is like­
ly to cause severe damage to the engine .
(D Tips
-The oil pressu re warn ing display. is
not an indic ator of the oil le vel. Do not
r el y on it . In ste ad, ch eck the oil lev el in
y our engin e at r eg ular inter vals , pref ­
erably ea ch time you r efu el, and alwa ys
before going on a long trip .
- If you have t he impression yo ur engine
cons umes ex cessive amoun ts of o il, we
recommend that you consu lt your Aud i
dea ler to have the cause of your concern
properly diagnosed. Keep in mind that
the accurate meas urement of oi l con­
sumption requ ires great care and may
take some t ime. Your Audi dea ler has in­
structions about how to measure oil con­
sumption accurately.
-

228 Check ing and filling
cold engine, the coo lant level should be be ­
tween the "min" and "max" markings. When
the engine is warm, the level may be s light ly
above the "max" marking.
The location of the coolant expansion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus­
tration
r:::;, page 222.
To obtain an accurate reading, the engine
must be switched
off.
The expansion tank in you r vehicle is equipped
with an e lectric coolant level sensor.
When the coolant level is too low, the warning light in the Auto-Check System
r:::;, page 16 will
i l lum ina te unti l you add coolant and the level
has been restored to normal. Even though
there is an electric coolant level senso r, we
still recommend you check the coolant leve l
from time to time.
Coolant los s
Coolant loss may indicate a leak in the cool ing
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cool ­
ing system should be inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer. It is not
enough merely to add coolant.
I n a
sea led system, losses can occur only if
the boiling point of the coolant is exceeded as
a result of overheat ing.
A WARNING
The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of scald­
ing from hot coolant by following these
steps.
- Turn
off the engine and allow it to cool
down.
- Protect yo ur face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering the
cap with a large, thick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in
a counter-clockwise direction wh ile ap­
plying light, downward pressure on the
top of the cap.
- To avoid be ing burned, do not spill ant i­
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system
'
or hot engine parts. Under certain cond i­
tions, the ethylene glycol in engine coo l­
ant can catch fire.
(D Note
Do not add any type of radiator leak sea l­
ant to your vehicle's engine coolant. Add­ i ng radiator repa ir fl uid may adverse ly af­
fect the funct ion and performance of your
cooling system and could result in damage
not covered by your New Veh icle L imited
War ranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you check anyth ing in the eng ine com­
partment,
always read and heed all W ARN­
INGS c:> A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page
220 .
.. Turn off the engine.
.. Let the engine cool down.
.. Place a thick rag over the coolant expansion
tank
<:;> page 227, fig . 174 and carefully
twist the cap co unte r-clockwise c:> .&, .
.,. Add coolant .
.,. Twist the cap on aga in
tightly.
Replacement engine coo lant must conform to
exact spec ificat ions
r:::;, page 22 7, Coolant.
E ven in an emerge ncy, if coolant add i-
t ive G12 ++, G 12+ or G12 is not available, do
not use a d iffe rent additive. Use plain water
instead unti l you can get the correct additive
and can restore the correct ratio . This shou ld
be done as soon as possible.
If you have lost a considerab le amount o f
coolant, then you sho uld add cold antifreeze
and co ld water on ly w hen the engine is cold.
Always use
new engine coo la nt when refilling.
Do not fill coola nt above the "MAX" mark . Ex­
cess coola nt will be fo rced out through the
pressure relief valve in the cap w hen the e n-
gine becomes hot. .,.

_& WARNING
-The cooling system is under pressure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of
scald ing from hot coolant by following
these steps.
- Turn
off the engine and a llow itto cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping fluid and steam by covering
the cap with a large, thick rag.
- Turn the cap slow ly and very carefully
in a counter-clockwise direction while
applying light, downward pressure on
the top of the cap.
- To avoid being burned, do not spi ll an­
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys­
tem or hot engine parts . Under certain
conditions, the ethylene glycol in en­
g ine coolant can catch fire .
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store an­
tifreeze in its or iginal containe r and we ll
out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
tainer clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant pollutes the env ironment and
could cause an engine fire. Excess cool­
ant will be forced out through the pres­
su re relief valve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, the cor rect ratio between water
and antifreeze ¢
page 227 must be re­
stored as soon as possib le.
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be reused . A l­
ways dispose of used coolant while obse rv­
ing all environmental reg ulations.
Checkin g and fillin g 229
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself.
An auxiliary electric radiator fan switches on
and
off depending on coolant temperature
and other vehicle operat ing cond it ions .
After you switch the engine
off, the auxiliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition
off. It can even switch
on again later by itself ¢&. , if
- the temperature of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
_& WARNING
-To reduce the risk of personal injury nev­
er touch the radiator fan .
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can sw itch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running.
- The a uxiliary radiator fan sw itches on au­
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reaches a certa in temperature and will
continue to ru n until the coolant temper­
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
Fig. 175 En gin e compartment: mark ings on th e brake
fluid rese rvoir

230 Check ing and filling
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always r ea d and heed all W ARN­
INGS
¢ A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 220.
• Read the brake fluid leve l from the brake
fluid reservoir
¢ fig. 175. The brake fluid
l evel must be between the
"MIN" and
"MAX" markings .
The location of the brake fluid reservoir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
co page 222.
The fl uid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the brake pads . This is not cause for alarm .
I f the b rake fluid level falls
considerably be­
l ow the "MIN" mark, the brake wa rning/indi ­
cator light- (U.S.
models) ;II (Canadian
models) will come on
¢ page 14. Do not con ­
tinue to operate the vehicle. The comp lete
brake system shou ld be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or other quali­
fied fac il ity and the cause corrected. If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warn ing/
i ndicator light w ill illuminate. Contact an au­
thor ized Audi dealer
imm ediatel y.
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moistu re from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
h igh, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime . The bo iling po int of the
b rake fluid w ill also decrease considerably and
dec rease braking per formance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
ev ery tw o y ear s. Always use new b rake fluid
which confo rms to Fede ral Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 1 16 DO T 4".
The brake flu id rese rvoi r can be difficult to
r each, therefo re , we re commend that yo u
have the brake fl uid changed by yo ur a utho r­
ized
Audi dealer. Your dea ler has the correct tools, the
right brake flu id and t he know -how
to do this for you.
A WARNING
-- Brake flu id is poisonous. It must be stor-
ed only in the closed or igina l container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inap­
propriate brake f lu id. Observe these pre­
cautions:
- Use only brake f luid that meets SA E
spe cifi cation
J 17 03 and conforms to
Federa l Motor Vehicle Standard 1 16 .
Always chec k with your authorized A udi
dealer to make sure yo u are using the
correct brake fluid. The cor rect type of
brake flu id is also ind icated on the
brake f lu id reservoir.
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes can cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left i n the system too
long . This can se riously affect the effi­
c iency of the brakes as well as your
safety . T h is i:ou ld result in an ai;i;ident.
(D Note
Brake fluid will damage the pai nt of you r
vehicle .
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of brake fluid as well as the spec ial too ls
r equired and the necessary expertise, we
r ecommend that yo u have the brake flu id
changed by yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r.
Battery
General information
Under normal operat ing cond itions, the bat­
te ry in your Audi does not need any ma inte­
nance. With
high outside temperatures or
long da ily drives we recommend that you have
the e lectrolyte leve l che cked by a se rv ice fa­
c il ity. The electroly te leve l should also be
chec ked each time the battery is cha rged
¢ page 233 .

Have the battery checked when you take your
vehicle in for service. Yo u are well advised to
replace a battery that is older than 5 years .
W ith certa in types o f airbag deployment, the
battery is disconnec ted from the vehicle elec ­
trica l system for safety reasons
c::> &. in Re­
pair, care and disposal of the airbags on
page 158.
Disconn ecting the battery terminal s
Some vehicle functions (power w indow regu­
l ators, for example) are lost if the battery ter­
minals are disconnected . These functions have
to be re learned after the battery terminals are
connec ted again. To prevent this, the battery
should only be disconnected from the vehicle
e lectrical system when absolutely necessary
for repairs .
Vehicles not driven for long period s
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, electrical compo­
nents are gradually cu t back or switched off .
This reduces energy consumption and main ­
tains starting capability over a longer per iod
c::> page 194. Some of the convenience func­
tions may not operate, s uch as the inte rior
lights o r power seat adjus tme nt. The conven­
i ence functions will be ava ilable again when
you switch on the ignition and start the en­ gine.
Winter operation
D uring the winter months, ba ttery capaci ty
t ends to decrease as tempe rat ures d rop . This
is because more powe r is also consumed while
starting , and the headlights, rear window de ­
fogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power cons umption, par­
ticularly in c ity t ra ff ic or when t raveling on ly
short distances. Let your a uthorized Audi
dealer check the capac ity of the vehicle bat ­
tery before winter sets inc::>
page 233. A well
charged battery w ill not only prevent starting
problems whe n the weather is cold, but will
also last longer .
Checkin g and fillin g 231
(D Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for seve ral
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery shou ld be removed and
stored where it w ill not freeze. This will
prevent it from be ing damaged and having
to be replaced .
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
The battery is located in the l uggage compart­
ment under the floor. Before you check any­
th ing in the luggage compartment,
read and
h eed all WARNINGS
c::> &_ .
Always heed the safety warnings , when work­
ing on the vehicle battery or the vehicle e lec­
trical system to prevent injury.
The following WARNINGS are very
important when working on the battery:
Alw ays heed the follo wing WARNING SYM­
BOLS and safety precautions when working on the battery.
@
®
Always wear eye protection.
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid.
Always w ear gloves and eye prot ec­
tion .
No
- sparks
-flames
- smoking .
When a battery i s charged, it produ­
ce s hydrogen gas wh ich is e xplosive
and could cause per sonal injury .
Always keep the battery well out of ]
reach of children .
_& WARNING ~
Whenever working on the battery o r on
the electrical system, there is the risk of injury, accident and even fire . Read and
heed the following WARNINGS:
•
•