2012 AUDI A6 light

186 Child Saf ety
• Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restra int ¢
fig. 163 (raise the head re­
stra int if necessary) .
• Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket.
• Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the open ing of the tether anchorage .
• Pu ll on t he tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hoo k engages.
• Tighte n the tet her st rap firmly following
the chi ld restraint ma nufact urer's instr uc­
tions.
Releasing the tether strap
• Loosen the tens ion following the c hild re­
stra in t manufac turer 's instruc tions.
• Depress the spring ca tc h on t he hook and
release it from the anchorage .
0 Note
If you leave the chi ld restr aint with t he
te ther s trap firmly ins tall ed for severa l
days, this co uld leave a mar k on the up ­
holstery on the seat c ushion and backrest
in the area whe re the tether strap was in­
stalled. The upholstery wou ld a lso be per­
manently stretched around the tether
strap. This applies especially to leather
seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear- facing child rest rain t sys ­
tems come with a tethe r. Pl ease read and
h eed the child rest raint system manufactur­
er's instructions carefully to determine how to properly install the tether.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be killed if
the front a irbag inflates -eve n wit h an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The i nf lating airbag wi ll hit the child
safety sea t or infant carrier wit h great
f orce and w ill sm ash the child sa fety se at and chi
ld aga inst the back rest, center
armrest, or door.
- If you m ust insta ll a rearwa rd fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im ­
mediately insta ll the rear-fac ing c hild
safety seat in a rea r seating position and
h ave the air bag syste m in spe cted by yo ur
Au di dea le r.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
T he re a re a number of sou rces of add itiona l
i nformation about child rest ra int selection , in ­
sta lla tion and use:
N HT SA advises that the best child safety seat
i s the one that fits your ch ild and fits in you r
vehicle , and that yo u will use correct ly and
consistently .
T ry before yo u buy!
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Admin ­
istrat ion
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TI Y: 1-800-424-9153)
www .n htsa .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campa ign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
www.safek ids .o rg
Safety BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 745-SAF E (E nglish)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Span is h)
www.carseat .org
Transport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1 (800) 333-0371 or call
1 (613) 998-8616 if you are in the Ottawa
area
www .tc .gc .ca/roadsafety
Aud i Customer CARE
Tel.: (800) 822-2834

Audi pre sense Preventative passenger
protection
App lies to veh icles: with Audi p re se nse
Audi pre sen se can ini tiate steps to help pro­
t ect vehicle occupants in certain situations.
The funct ions descr ibed depend on equipment
installed in your vehicle:
Audi pre sense basic*
The following functions can be triggered in
cert ain driving situations :
- Tightening of the safety belts (for example,
during heavy braking) : the front safety belts
have reversible belt pretensione rs. If a colli ­
sion does not occur, the safety belts loosen
slightly and are ready to be tightened again .
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* : the
windows and the sunroof* close leaving a
small open gap .
Audi pre sense basic functions can be trig­
gered at speeds above 20 mph (30 km/h) .
Vehicles with Audi drive select*: the deploy­
ment time is adapted in dynamic mode.
Audi pre sense front (vehicles with
adaptive cruise control*)
Audi pre sense front includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, within the
limits of the system, the likelihood of a colli­
sion with the vehicle immediately ahead is al­
so calculated . If the system senses an immi­
nent collision the following functions can be
triggered:
-Audi braking guard
¢ page 84
- Tightening the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* ( leav-
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense rear (vehicles with Audi
side assist*)
Audi pre sense rear includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, the likeli­
hood of a rear-end col lision with the vehicle
coming from behind is also calcu lated. If the
Audi pre sense 187
risk of a co llision is detected, the following
functions can be triggered :
- Tightening the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav-
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense plus*
Audi pre sense plus includes the functions in
Audi pre sense front and Aud i pre sense rear .
Error message
Audi pre sense: not available
Preventative passenger protection is not avail­
able. See your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ate ly to have the malfunction corrected.
A WARNING
-=
Audi pre sense cannot overcome the laws
of physics. It cannot prevent a collision. Do
not let the increased safety provided
tempt you to take risks . This will increase
the r isk of a coll is ion and serious personal
injuries .
- The sensors cannot always detect all ob­ jects . This increases the risk of a colli­
s10n .
-Audi pre sense does not detect people or
an imals or objects that are crossing the
veh icle's path ¢
page 78.
-The radar sensor's v is ion can be reduced
by heavy rain, ice, snow, heavy road spray
and reflections from guard rails, tunnel
entrances, etc. These and similar condi­
tions can prevent vehicles from being ac­
curately detected and in some cases they may not be detected at all.
Q) Note
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. This can affect the function of
the Audi pre sense system. Have your au­
thorized Audi dealer check to make sure
that the system is working properly.
•
•

Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, engine function, emis­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op­
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip­
ment.
Electronic stabilization
program (ESP)
Description
ESP helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidding and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESP detects
Intelligent technology 189
certain difficult driving situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and he lps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steering ass istance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
lf.1 in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESP is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESP has limitations.
It is important to remem­
ber that ESP cannot overcome the laws of
physics.
It will not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESP may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is suddenly covered with water,
slush or snow, ESP cannot perform the same
way it would on the dry surface . If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESP will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con­
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESP cannot always deal as effectively
with difficu lt driving situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESP is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffi<; and weather conditions. ESP can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the available traction, or keep a vehicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESP improves the
possibility of keeping the vehicle under con­
trol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu­
vers by using the driver's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESP can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESP .
•
•

@ Tips
-ABS and AS R on ly wor k co rrectly when
a ll fo ur wheels are eq uipped w ith identi­
ca l tires . Different tire s izes can lead to a
r educt io n in eng ine power.
- You may hear noises when the sys tems
desc ribed are working.
- If the indicato r light
D] or m (USA
models) ;£1 (Canada models) appea rs,
there may be a malfunctio n ¢
page 19 ,
¢ pag e 19.
Switching on and off
ESP turns on automatically when you start
the engine .
Fig. 1 64 Center co nsole wit h ESP OFF button
Switching sport mode on
Press th e I,$ OF F I button ¢ fig. 164. The ac­
tions tak en by the ES P syst em to stabili ze th e
ve hicl e are lim ited. In ve hicl es w it h fro nt
wheel drive, the an ti-s lip reg ulat ion (ASR) is
limited . In vehicles wi th a ll-wheel d rive, t he
AS R is switc hed off. The
I ES P i ndicator lig ht
turns on and the message
Caution! Reduced
tract ion ¢.&
appears in the driver informa ­
tion system d isplay.
The fo llow ing examples a re u nusua l situa­
tions where it may make sense to switc h sport
mode on in order to a llow the whee ls to spin:
- Rocking the vehi cle back and forth when it is
stuck
- D rivin g in d eep snow or on loose groun d
- D riving wi th s now cha ins
Intelligent technology 191
Switching sport mode off
Press the In OF FI but ton ag ain. T he ltJ in dica ­
tor lig ht tur ns off an d the message
Stability
program on
appears in t he d river info rmation
system display .
&_ WARNING
-- Drive whee ls can sp in and you can lose
contro l of t he ve hicle more eas ily w hen
ASR and ESP are in sport mode, especial­
ly whe n th e road is slippery.
- Sw itch to sport mode only when your
driving sk ills, traff ic and weat her co ndi­
tions perm it.
@ Tips
You cannot sw itch sport mode on whe n
adaptive c ruise control* is w orki ng.
Braking
General information
Wha t affe cts bra king effici ency?
-
Operating conditions and driving habits
The brakes on today's automobiles a re still
subject to wear, depending largely on operat­ i ng co nd it io ns and driving habits ¢,& . On ve­
hi cles that a re e it h er dr iven most ly in stop­
and-go city t raff ic or are dr iven hard, the
br ake pa ds should be check ed by yo ur au thor­
iz ed Audi dea ler m ore often th an spec ified in
the
Warranty & Maintenance booklet. Failure
to have yo ur brake pads ins pected can result
in reduced brake performance .
On stee p slopes, you sho uld use the br aking
e ff ect o f the engine. This way, you prevent un ­
necessary wear on t he brake system. If you
must use your bra kes, do not hold the brakes
down cont in uous ly. Pump the brakes at inter­
vals.
Moisture or road salt
U nder certa in conditions, for exam ple, when
driving th roug h water or very heavy rain, or
even after washing your veh icle , the b raking
effect can be reduced due to m oist ure (or in ..,.

pressed considerably harder to make up
for the lack of booster assistance.
Electro-mechanical
power assist
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering.
Power steering adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed .
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defective! Stop the vehicle
If this indicator light turns on and stays on
and this message appears, the power steering may have failed.
Do
not continue driving. See your authorized
Audi dealer or other qualified repa ir facility
for assistance.
t -r- fl Steering: System malfunction! You may
c ontinue driving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steer ing may be more diffi­
cult to move or more sensitive than usual.
Drive slowly to your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected.
@ Tips
If the . or t~fl indicator light only stays
on for a short time, you may continue driv­
ing .
Driving with your
quattro ®
Applies to vehicles: with all-wheel drive
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv­
en.
General information
With all-wheel drive, power is distributed to
all four wheels. This happens automatically
depending on your driving sty le and the road
conditions at the time. See also¢
page 189. Intelligent technology 193
T
he all -whee l dr ive concept is designed for
high engine power. Your vehicle is exception­
ally powerfu l and has excellent driving charac­
teristics both under normal driving conditions
and on snow and ice. Always read and follow
safety precautions¢ ,&..
Winter tires
When driving in the winter, your vehicle with
all-wheel drive has an advantage, even w ith
regular tires. In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all-sea­
son tires) for improved driveability and brak­
ing: these tires must be mounted on
all four
wheels.
See also¢ page 250, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this normally also applies to vehicles
with all-wheel drive¢
page 251, Snow
chains .
Replacing wheels/tires
Vehicles with a ll-wheel drive must always
have tires of the same size. Also avoid tires
with different tread depths. For deta ils see
page ¢
page 246, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels.
Off-Road driving?
Your Audi does not have enough ground clear­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle. It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un­ even terrain as much as possible. Also refer to
¢page 197 .
A WARNING
Always adjust your dr iv ing to road and traf­
fic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
-Although the all-wheel drive is very ef­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is limited by tire traction. You
should therefore not drive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippery road surfaces.
•
•

194 Intelligent technolog y
-On wet road surfaces, be carefu l not to
dr ive t oo fast because the front wheels
could beg in t o slide on top of the water
(aq uaplaning). If this sho uld occur, you
will have no wa rning from a su dden in­
c rease in engine spee d as with a front­
wheel drive vehicle. A lways d rive at
speeds wh ich are suited to the road con­
di tions - ris k of crash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
Energy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting
the engine.
If a vehicle with a conventional energy system
is not driven for a long period of time, the bat­
tery is d ischarged by idling current consumers
(e.g . immobilizer) . In certain circumstances it
can result in there being insufficient energy
avai lab le to start the engi ne .
Intell igent energy management in your veh i­
cle hand les the d istribution of electrical ener­
gy. Starting ab il ity is markedly improved and
the life of the battery is extended .
Basically, energy management consists of
battery diagno sis, idling curr ent manage­
ment
and dynami c energ y man agement .
Battery diagno sis
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the battery. Sensors determ ine
battery vo ltage, battery current and battery
temperature . This determ ines the current
state of charge and the powe r of the battery.
Idling current man agement
Idling current management reduces energy
consumption while the vehicle is stand ing.
W ith the ignition switched off, it contro ls the
energy supply to the various electr ical compo­
nents . Data from battery diagnosis is consid­
e red. Depend
ing on the battery's state of cha rge ,
individua l consumers are g radually turned off
to prevent excessive discharge of the battery and th us maintain starting capability.
Dynamic energy manag ement
While the vehi cle is being d riven, dynamic en ­
ergy management distributes the energy gen ­
erated accord ing to t he needs of the individ u­
al components . It regulates consumption, so
that more electrical energy is not being used
than is being generated and ensures an opti­
mal state of charge fo r the battery .
(D Tips
-But even energy management cannot
negate the limits of physics. Consider
tha t the powe r and life of a battery are
limited.
- If start ing ability is threatened , the indi­
cator light
(•i appears r:::;, page 17.
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capability.
The battery is severe ly taxed in short-d istance
driv ing, in city traff ic and during the cold time
of year . Abundant electrical energy is re­
quired, but on ly a little is generated . It is also
c rit ical if the engine is not r unning and e lectri­
ca l components are tu rned on . In this in­
sta nce ene rgy is be ing consumed b ut none is
being gene ra ted.
It is in prec isely these s ituations that you will
notice ene rgy management a ctive ly regu lat­
i ng t he d istribu tion of ene rgy.
Vehicle stands for an extended period
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, electr ica l compo­
nents a re g radually cut back or sw itched off.
T h is reduces energy consumption and ma in­
ta ins start ing capability over a longer pe riod .
Some of the convenience func tions may not
opera te, such as the interio r lights or the
power seat adjustment. The convenience
ll-

functions will be available again when you
switch on the ignition and start the engine.
With the engine turned off
If you listen to the radio, for example, with
the eng ine turned off or use othe r MM I fu nc­
tions, the battery is being discha rged.
I f starting capability is jeopardized due to en­
e rgy consumpt ion, the fo llow ing warning ap­
pears in the MMI disp lay :
Plea se start the eng ine soon or th e sys tem
w ill b e turn ed off .
The warning ind icates that the system will be
turned off automatically after 3 m inutes . If
you wish to cont inue us ing the functions , you
have to start the engine.
With the engine running
Although electrical energy is generated when
the vehicle is be ing driven, the battery can be­
come discharged . Th is happens mostly when
little energy is be ing generated and a great
deal consumed and the battery's state of
charge is no t optimal.
To br ing the energy balance back into equili ­
b rium, consumers which require especially
l arge amounts of energy are tempo rarily cut
back or swit ched off. Heating systems in par­
ticular requ ire a g reat dea l o f energy. If you
notice, fo r example, that the heated seats* or
the heated rear window are not heating, they have been temporari ly cut back or switched
off. These systems will be ava ilab le again as
soon as the energy balance has been restored.
You will a lso notice that engine idle speed has
been increased slightly . This is norma l and not
a cause for concern . By increasing engine idle
speed the add itiona l energy required is gener­
ated and the battery is charged.
Int ellig ent technolog y 195
•
•

198 Driving and en vironm ent
Driving through water
on roads
Note the following to avoid vehicle damage
when driving through water, for example on
flooded roads:
- The water must not be any higher than the
bottom of the vehicle body.
- Do not drive faster than wa lking speed.
A WARNING
After driving through water, mud, slush,
etc., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because of wet brake rotors and pads. Dry
the brakes first by braking carefully to re­
sto re the full braking effect.
@) Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmiss ion, suspension or electrical sys­
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through water.
- Check the depth of the water before dr iv­
i ng through it.
- Do not stop the vehicle, drive in reverse
or switch the engine off when driving
through water .
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may create waves that raise the water
level and make it too deep for your vehi­
cle to drive through safely.
- Avoid dr iving through salt water because
i t can cause corrosion.
Operate your vehicle
economically and
minimize pollution
General
Your personal style of driving will determine
the economy of your vehicle, as well as ex­
haust and noise levels.
Fuel economy, environmenta l impact, and
wear on your engine, brakes and tires largely
depend on three factors:
- your personal driving style
- operating conditions
- technical limitations
If you anticipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, you can easily cut your
fuel consumpt ion by 10-15 percent . This sec­
t ion will give you some tips on how you can
help the env ironment and your pocketbook.
@ Tips
The consumption estimates as published
by ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
(EPA) and Transport Canada may not corre­
spond to your actual consumption on the
road, which will vary depending upon vehi­
cle load and speed, road and weather con ­
ditions, trip length, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout
ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac­
celerating.
.,. Avoid unnecessary accelerating and braking.
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac­
ce lerating. If you anticipate what is going to
happen next, you will need to brake less and,
thus, acce lerate less . Let the vehicle coast
whenever possible - for example when you see
that the next traffic light is red.