2012 AUDI A6 warning light

18 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
level warning 11!1. By then, your engine
may already have suffered serious dam·
age .
~ Engine oil level
• WARNING: Please add oil immediately
When the symbo l an d the driver message ap­
pear, the oil has to be replenished r ight now
co page 222.
If th e indica tor light and the message appear,
a d d engine oil immed iate ly
co page 225.
Ill Add oil, max . x qt (l). You may continue
driving
W hen the symbol and the dr ive r message ap­
pear, add t he amo unt of o il appearing in the
d is pl ay a t the next opport unit y
co page 222 .
~- Steering column lock
• Do not drive vehicle: Steering defective
If t he indicator light tu rns on and t he mes­
sage a ppears, t he re is an ele ct ro nic steer ing
col um n lo ck ma lf u nction. You c annot sw itch
the ign ition on.
D o
not tow your vehicle because i t ca nnot be
s teered. Seek professional ass istance.
1!!11 Steering lock : system fault . Please con­
tact dealer
If the indicator light t urns on and t he mes­
sage appears , th ere is an elect ronic steer ing
column lock ma lfunction .
Drive to yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r i mmedi­
ately to have the mal function corrected.
A WARNING
Your vehicle must not be towed in the
event of a malfunct io n in the electron ic
s te eri ng colum n loc k because i t cannot b e
s teer ed du e to t he locked s teering . If it is
to wed w ith the s tee ring lo cked, there is
t he ri sk of an accide nt.
© -Engine start system
• Engine start system fault. Please con­
tact dealer
If th e indicato r ligh t turns on and the mes ­
sage app ears, do
not switch the ig nitio n off
be cause you may no t be a ble to sw itch i t on
ag ain .
D rive to your authorized A udi dealer i mmed i­
ate ly to have th e ma lfu nction corr ected .
II! Engine start system fault. Please con ­
tact dealer
If the indicato r light turns on and the mes ­
sage appears, there is a malfunct ion in the en­
gine sta rt system.
Drive to your authorized A udi dealer immedi ­
ate ly to have the ma lfunction corrected.
~ii !i: Safety systems
The fl (USA models)/ E,i (Canada models) in­
dicator light mo nitors the sa fety systems e.g.
airbags , pretensione rs and illuminates fo r a
f e w s econds each time you switch the ign it io n
o n .
If the
fl (USA models)/ E,i (Canada mode ls)
i ndicato r light does not go o ut, or if it illum i­
na tes whil e you are driving, o r if it s tarts to
blink, then there is a malfu nctio n so mewhe re
i n t he sys te m .
If the light does no t illumina te
whe n you swi tch the ig nitio n on, this also
mea ns there is a mal funct ion .
A WARNING ~
If yo u have a ma lf un ction in t he safety sy s-
tems , contact you r authorized Audi dea le r
i mmediately. Othe rwise the safety sys­
tems may not work pr operly in an acc i­
dent.

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 19
!;.!~ Electronic stabilization program
(ESP)
This warning/indicator light monitors the
electronic stabilization program.
When you sw itch the ignition on, the indicator
light
G1 turns on briefly to check the function .
If thE:
G1 indicator lamp blinks while dr iving,
the ESP or ASR (Ant i- Slip Regulation) is active ­
ly regulating.
If thE:
hJ indicator lamp illuminates, the sys­
tem has switched the ESP off.
If the indicator light
I turns on, the ESP was
switched to ESP sport mode with the button
I!]<=>
page 189. If this is case, you can reacti­
vate the ESP by switching the ignition off and
then on again . The warning/indicator light
should go out to show that the system is fully
functiona l again.
Stability program and ABS fault! See own­
er's manual
If the indicator light D] and the ABS indicator
light
m (USA mode ls) ;fl] (Canada models)
turn on and the message appears, there is a
malfunct ion in the ABS system or electron ic
differential lock . This also interrupts the ESP.
The brakes still function with their normal
power, but ABS is not active.
Drive to your authorized Aud i dealer immedi ­
ately to have the malfunction corrected .
If the battery term inals were disconnected
and re-connected, the vehicle was jump start­
ed or the battery is very weak, the ESP sensor
system goes through a learning process for
the first few yards . The warning/ind icator
light illuminates . Th e warn ing/ indicator light
goes o ut as soon as the learning process is
comp lete.
For more informat ion about the ESP
<=> page 189. ABS/(
8) Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
This warning/indicator light monitors the ABS
and the electronic differential lock (EDL) .
The warning/indicator light B (USA mod­
els)
/ l(O] (Canada models) w ill come on for a
few seconds when the ignition is sw itched on .
The light will go out after an automatic check
sequence is comp leted.
There is a malfunction in the ABS when:
-The warning/indicator light does not illumi·
nate when you switch the ignition on.
- The warning/indicator light does not go out
after a few seconds.
- The warning/indicator light illuminates
while driving.
The ESP indicator light also illuminates if
there is a ma lfunction in the ABS . The mes ­
sage
Stability program and ABS fault! See
owner's manual
a lso appears in the instru­
ment cluster d isp lay and a warning tone
sounds .
The brake system will still respond even
without the assistance of the ABS system.
See your authorized Audi dealer as soon as
possible to restore full braking performance.
Fo r more information regarding the ABS
<=>page 189.
Malfunction in the brake system
If the brake warning light<=> page 14 and the
ABS warning illum inate
together there may be
a malfunction in the ABS, and there may also
be a malfunction in the brake system itself
<=>
&. . The ABS will not work and you will no­
tice a change in braking response and per·
formance .
In the event of a malfunction in the brake
system
the warning/indicator light _
(USA models)/ . (Canada models) in the in­
strument cluster flashes <=>
page 14.
Malfunction in the electronic differential
lock (EDL)
T he EDL works t ogether w ith the ABS. The
ABS warning light will come on if there is a

20 Instrum ent s a nd w arn in g/i ndic ato r light s
malfunction in the EDL system c> page 189 .
See your authorized Audi dealer as soon as possib le.
A WARNING
- If the 9 (USA mode ls)l ii] (Canada
models) warning light does not go out,
or if it comes on while driving, the ABS
system is not working properly . The vehi­
cle can then be stopped only with the
standard brakes (without ABS). You will
not have the protection ABS provides.
Contact your Audi dealer as soon as pos­
sible.
- USA models: If the - warning l ight,
the
ljJ warning light and the m warn­
ing light come on together, the rear
wheels could lock up first under hard braking. Rear wheel lock-up can cause
loss of vehicle control and an accident .
Have your vehicle repaired immediately
by your authorized Aud i dealer or a quali ­
fied workshop . Drive slowly and avoid
sudden, hard bra ke applications.
- Canada models:
If the brake warn ing
light ., the
DJ wa rning light and the
ABS warning light
ii] come on together,
the rear wheels could lock up fi rst under
hard bra king. Rear wheel lock-up can
cause loss of vehicle control and an acci­ dent. Have your vehicle repaired immedi ­
ately by your authorized Audi dealer or a
qualified workshop. Dr ive slowly and
avo id sudden, hard brake applicat ions.
{0) Worn brake pads
El Brak e pad s!
If the warning light illuminates, immediately
contact your authori zed Audi dealer or quali ­
fied workshop to have all brake pads inspect­ ed . On USA models the warning light
El
comes on together with the warn ing light
- · Both sets of brake pads on an axle
must always be replaced at the same time.
l ) - : USA m od els only
A WARNING
Driving w ith bad brakes can cause a colli­
sion and ser ious personal injury .
- If the warn ing light
El and the warning
light
- l) with the message Brake
p ads!
comes on in the instrument cluste r
d isp lay, immediately contact your au­
thor ized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop to have all b rake pads checked or
replaced if necessa ry.
EPC Electronic power control
This warning/indicator light monitors the
electronic power control.
The ~ warning/ind icator light (Electronic
Power Cont rol) illuminates when you sw itch
the ignit io n on as a function check.
-
© Tips
If this warn ing/ indicato r light illum inates
while you are driving, then there is a mal­
fun ct io n in the engine electronics. Have
the malf unct io n corrected as soon as pos­
s ib le by your au thorized A udi dealer or
qualified repa ir facility .
o Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL )
The Ma lfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) is part
of the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD II) system.
The symbol
f• lights up when the ign ition is
switched on and will turn off after the engine
has started and has settled at a constant idle
speed . This indicates that the MIL is work ing
properly.
The warning light illuminates when there is a
malfunction in the engine electron ic system .
Contact your authorized Audi dea ler and have
the malfunction cor rected.
An improperly closed fuel filler cap may a lso
cause the MIL light to illuminate
c> page 217 .
For more information
c> page 28.

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 21
!?i Engine speed limitation
A ppl ies to vehicles: wit h en gin e s pee d l im itat ion
(II Engine speed maximum XXXX RPM
The engine speed is automatically limited to
the speed displayed in the driver information
system. This protects the engine from over­ heating.
The engine speed limitation deactivates once
the engine is no longer in the critical tempera­
ture range and you have released the accelera­
tor pedal once.
If the engine speed limitation was activated by an engine control malfunction, the indica­
tor light~ also turns on. Make sure that the
speed does not go above the speed displayed.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
~ . Engine oil level
II Add oil, max. x qt (l). You may continue
driving
When the symbol Ill and driver message ap­
pear, add the amount of oil appearing in the
display at the next opportunity ¢
page 225.
~ .... Engine oil sensor
II Oil level! Sensor defective
If the symbol illuminates, contact your au­
thorized Audi dealer and have the oil sensor inspected. Until you have this done, check the
oil level each time you refuel just to be on the
safe side¢
page 225.
Bil Fuel level indicator
Ii Please refuel
If the indicator light turns on for the first
time and the message appears, there are
about 2.6 gallons (10 liters) of fuel left in the
tank . Time to refuel
¢ page 216.
Ii Tank system malfunction! Contact dealer
If the indicator light turns on and this mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
tank system.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
C> Windshield washer fluid level
II Please refill washer fluid
If the symbol illuminates, add windshield
washer fluid to the washer system/headlight
washer system* ¢
page 234.
~ Windshield wipers
rlJ Windshield wiper defective
There is a malfunction with the windshield
wipers.
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
~/0$ Defective light bulb warning
f'a-If the indicator light turns on, a bulb has
failed. The message indicates the location of
the bulb.
IJ-if a rear fog lamp has failed, the indicator
light turns on to indicate the location on the
vehicle.
Vehicle lights: malfunction
If the message appears, there is a malfunc ­
tion in the headlights or light switch .
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
A WARNING
- Light bulbs are pressurized and could ex­
plode while they are being changed caus­
ing serious personal injury.
- Work with due care when handling the
high-voltage section of gas discharge
(xenon) lights. Failure to do so could re­
sult in death or serious injury.

22 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Have the bulb replaced or the connection
repaired by you r aut horized Aud i Service
department.
i,lD Headlight range control
II Headlight range control: defective !
If the symbo l illuminates, t he headlight range
contro l is no longer working properly . Have
the system checked and repaired at your Aud i
dealer .
l§O Adaptive Light
Applies to vehicles: with Adapt ive Light
II Audi adaptive light: system fault
If the indicator light t urns on and th is mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
adapt ive light system . The headlights still
f u nction .
Go to an aut hori zed dea lership to have the
h eadlights or the contro l unit for t he Adapt ive
Light repai red .
~D Light/rain sensor
f'al Automatic headlights /automatic wipers:
system fault
I f th e i ndicator lig ht turns on and t his mes­
sage appears, t he lig ht/ra in sensor is no t
f u nctioni ng cor rec tly .
For safety reasons the low beams are turned
on permanent ly w ith the switch in
AUTO .
However , you can continue to turn the ligh ts
on an d off using the light swi tc h. Y ou can still
con trol a ll fu nct ions tha t are indepe ndent of
t h e rai n sens or throug h the win dshi eld wipe r
l eve r.
Contact your au thor ized Audi deal er as soon
as poss ible to have the prob le m cor recte d.
¢ Q Turn signals
The indicator light blinks when you use either
turn signal .
Whenever yo u use the left B o r th e right rl
turn s ignal , the indicator light blinks. Whe n
you use the emergency flas he rs, both indica­
tor lights flash .
If one of the turn signa l light bulbs b urn o ut,
the turn signal w ill blink twice as fast as nor ­
mal. Carefu lly dr ive to your aut horized Aud i
dealer immed iate ly to have th e malfu nction
cor rected. The indicator lig ht does not indi­
cate a m alfu nction if a tur n signal on t he tra il­
er o r on the veh icle fails in trail er t ow ing
mode .
(D Tips
For m ore inf orm ation on the t urn sign als ,
r e fer to ¢
page 43 .
CRUISE/" (-) Cruise control
The warning/in dicator lig ht mIDJm (U SA mod ­
els)ll'II (Canada models) ill umi nates when
the cr uise c ontrol is activated ¢
page 76 .

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 23
Driver information
display
Overview
Fi g. 4 Dr iver info rmat ion system i n th e inst rum ent
clus te r
Fi g. 5 Display: exa mple of th e informat ion line
The driver informa tion sys tem contains in for ­
mat ion
@ t h at is displayed on tabs@
c::> fig. 4. The following content is possible de­
pending on vehicle equipment:
@
Tab
1
2
3
®
Content
Vehicle functions :
On-board computer c>page 24
Efficiency program* c::> page 25
Digital speedometer
Cr uise control*
c::> page 76
Adaptive cruise control and Audi
braking guard *
c> page 78
Display darkened
Indicator lights and messages
Warning when a doo r, the hood or
t he rear lid is not closed
Service interva l display
c::> page 26
Speed wa rning sy stem c::> page 76
Night vision assistant * c> page 97
--~~-
@ ®
Tab Content
4 Audio/video
Telephone* Navigation*
The second and th ird tabs are only vis ible if at
least one indicator light or message is shown
or if that system is sw itched on .
The status line © is located in the bottom
part of the d isp lay
<=> fig. 4. It displays the ex­
terior temperat ure, time, selector lever posi­
tion, trip odometer and odometer .
For some vehicle f unctions , you can access t he
trip information from the temporary memory
c> page 24 in the line© c> fig. 5.
A WARNING
-
-Never re ly e xclusively on the o utside
temperature display to determ ine if a
road surface is icy or not. Keep in m ind
that road surface s, espec ia lly br idg es
a nd overpa sses, co uld be ice co ve red and
slippe ry even at a n o utside tempe rat ure
above 41 ° F (+ S °C).
- Always remember, even if the "snow­
f la ke" sym bo l (ice warning) does not ap ­
pear in t he dis play, black ice cou ld be on
the road.
- Always red uce your spee d an d drive with
special care in cold weathe r cond itions
when t he chance of enco untering icy
road surfaces increases.
(D Tips
- At tempe ra tu res below 14 ° F (+ 5 °C ) a
snowfla ke symbol a ppears ahead of the
temperat ure display . It is intended to re­
mind the driver to pay special attention
to
ice on the road c> .&. . If the vehicle is
stationa ry, or if you a re driving at a very
low speed, the temperature shown in the
display might be slightly higher than the
actual ou ts ide temperature. This is
c au sed by the heat bei ng r adia ted fro m
th e engine.

24 Instruments and warning /indicator lights
-You can se lect the un its used for temper ­
atu re, speed and other measurements in
the MMI.
- Fo r information on the a udio/video and
navigation * functions, refer to the se pa·
r ate MMI owner's manual.
Operation
The driver information system is operated us­
ing the buttons on the multifunction steering wheel.
Fig. 6 Mult ifunct io n steer ing whee l: ope rat ing t he d riv·
er informat io n system
Fig. 7 Driver informat ion syst em : open ing t he ve hicle
funct io ns m enu
Operating concept
> Switc h the ign ition on.
> To sw itch between the tabs, press the rock·
er switch
(D to the left or right¢ fig . 6.
> To acc ess additional informat io n be low or
above, rotat e the thumbw heel @down or
u p.
> To confi rm a se le ction, press the thumb­
whee l@ .
> Press the~ button @ to open a s ubmenu
for an active tab.
> Press the button © to access a function fo r
t h e p rogrammable stee ring wheel button* .
Accessing Vehicle functions
> Select the first t ab with the ro cker swi tch
(D .
> Press the button ~@. T he Vehicle func­
tions
menu appears ¢ fig. 7.
> To se lect a menu item, turn and press t he
thumbwheel @.
Resetting values to ze ro
> Select the on-board computer / Efficiency
program
menu item in the Vehicle func­
tions
menu .
> You can now select between the long-term
memory and s hort-term memory.
• To reset the values in a memory, p ress a nd
hold the thumbwheel @for one second .
Assigning a function to the
programmable steering wheel button*
• Select: !CAR ! function b utton> (Car) * sys·
tems
co ntrol b utton > Vehicle settings >
Program steering wh eel button .
The last fu nction selected d isp lays w hen you
switch the ig nition on.
On-board computer
You can ca ll up the fo llowing information in
the on-board computer:
- Da te
- Dr iv ing t ime (h) from the short-term memo-
ry
- Average consumption in MPG ( l/100 km)
from the short-te rm memory
- Average speed i n mph ( km/h) from the
s h ort-te rm memory
- Dis tance driven i n miles (km) from t he
s hort- te rm memory
- Current f uel cons umption in MPG ( l/100
km)
- Short-te rm memory overview
- Long-te rm memory overv iew
The short-term memory collects driv ing infor­
mation from the time the ign it ion is switched .,.

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 25
on until it is switched off. If yo u continue driv ­
ing within two hours after switching the igni­
tion off, the new val ues are included when
calculating the current tr ip informat ion.
Unlike the short-term memory, the long-term
memory is not e rased automatica lly. You can
se lect the t ime period for eval uat ing trip in ­
formation yo urself.
F or some vehicle functions, you can access the
trip information from the temporary memory
i n the line
(I) ~ page 23, fig. 5.
Efficiency program
The eff iciency p rogram can help yo u to u se
l ess fuel. I t eva luates dr iving information in
re ference to fue l consumpt ion and shows oth ­
er equipment inf luencing co nsumption as we ll
as shift recommendations.
c> page 25. Fue l
economy messages
c> page 25 provide tips
for efficient driving. The eff ic iency prog ram
uses distance and consumption data from tr ip
computer
1.
To display the efficiency program, call up Ve ­
hicle functions and select the menu option
Efficiency program . If the data are deleted in
the efficiency program , those values are also
reset in trip computer.
(D Tips
- All stored va lues w ill be lost if the veh i­
cle battery is disconn ected.
- Fuel consumptions (ave rage and cu r­
ren t), range and spe ed are displayed in
m etr ic uni ts on Cana dian models .
Other equipment
Fig. 8 Tri p co mpute r: ot her eq uipment
Req uirement: The e fficiency program m ust be
displayed
~ page 25.
1-Tur n the thumbw heel u ntil th e other e quip-
men t ap pears in the display.
Ot her equ ipment t hat is c urrently affe cti ng
fuel consump tion is liste d in t he eff iciency
progr am. The disp lay sh ows up to th ree o ther
items of eq uipment @. The equ ipment using
the most fuel is listed first . If more than th ree
items us ing fuel are switched on, the equip ­
ment that is c urrently using the most fuel is
displayed .
A scale @also s hows the c urrent tota l co n­
sumption of all other equipment .
Fuel economy messages
Fig. 9 Dis play : exa m ple of a fuel eco nomy m essage
Fuel economy me ssage s are di splayed when
fuel consum ption is increased by cert ain con­
di tions. If you fo llow these fuel economy mes ­
sa ges, you ca n re duce your ve hicle's consump­
t ion o f fuel. The messages appear a utomat i­
ca lly and are only d isp layed in the efficiency
program. The fue l economy messages turn off
automat ica lly afte r a certain period of t ime .
.,. To turn an economy message off immedi-
ately after it appears, press any button on
the mult ifunct ion steering wheel.
{!) Tips
- Once yo u have tur ned a f ue l economy
m essage off, it will o nly appear agai n af­
ter yo u turn the ign itio n on again .
- The fue l economy messages are not dis­
played in every instance, but rather in in­
te rvals over a period of time.