2012 AUDI A6 Owners Manual

the use of tether straps to help keep the child restraint firm ly in place .
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death in a crash.
- Always fo llow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re­
straint you intend to install in your veh i­
cle .
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc­
tions requ ire the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of ch ild restra int LATCH
lower anchorage po ints can lead to injury
in a collis ion. The LATCH lower anchorage
poin ts are designed to w ithstand only
those loads imposed by correct ly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anc ho rage point .
- Never secure o r attach any luggage or
other item to the LATC H lower anchorag­
es .
(D Tips
-In Canada, the terms " top tether" with
"lowe r universa l anchorages" (or " lower
universa l anchorage bars") are used to
describe the system .
- In ot her count ries, the term "ISO FIX" is
used to describe the lower anchorages.
Location
F ig. 158 Schematic overv iew: LATCH anc horage poi nt
locatio ns
"' 0
8 6
"' CD
Child S afety 183
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the low­
er anchorages system.
Description
The lower anchorage positions ore marked
for quick locating.
Fi g. 159 Lower a nchorages, covers marked
Fig. 160 Rea r seats : lower ancho rage b racket locations
Lo wer anchorage s
The circular markings on the rear seat he lp
you to identify the location of lower anchorag­
es for the two outboard seating positions
¢fig . 159 =*. The LATCH lower universal an­
chorage attachment points are between the rear seatback and rear seat cush io n.
Remove the covers¢
fig. 159 to access the
lower anchorage attachment points .
The lower anchorage attachment points are
visible ¢
fig. 160.
Lower anchorages secure the chi ld restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety
belts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy­
to-use attachment and minimize the possib ili-
ty of improper child restraint installation.
Iii-

184 Child Saf ety
All child restraints manu factured after Sep­
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LA TCH system.
P lease remember that the lower anchorage
points are only intended for installation and
attachment of child restraints specifically cer­
tified for use w ith
LATCH l ower anchorages.
Ch ild restra ints that are not equipped with the
lower anchorage attachments can still be in­
stalled in compl iance with the child restraint
manufacturer's instruct ions on us ing vehicle
safety be lts .
A WARNING
Imprope r use of LATCH lower anchorages
can ca use se rio us pe rsonal inj ury in an ac­
cident .
- Always ca refully follow the c hild re­
st ra ints manuf acturer's inst ruct ions for
proper installa tion of the child restrain t
and proper use of t he lowe r anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle .
- Never secure o r attach any l uggage or
other items to t he LATCH lower ancho­
rages .
- Always read and heed the important in­
formation about child restraints in this
chapter and WARNINGS ¢
page 168,
Child Safety .
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you ins tall a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions .
Fig. 161 Lower a nch orag es: p roper mount ing
Mounting
.,. Ma ke s ure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright posit ion and secure ly
latched in place .
.,. Attach both hook-on connectors with the
sp ring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connecto rs lock into place¢
fig. 161 .
.,. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LATC H
lowe r ancho rage .
.,. Pull straps tight fo llow ing the child re­
s tr ain t manufacture r's instructions.
Releasing
.,. Loose n the tension on the straps following
the child restra int manufacturer's inst ruc­
tions.
.,. Dep ress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from the lower anchorag­
es.
Remember: Use tether s traps to help keep the
c hi ld restra in t fi rm ly in place.
A WARNING
=
I mp roper use of the LATCH system can in -
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal injury
and death in an accident.
- These anchors were deve loped only for
child safety seats using the "LATCH" sys­
tem.
- Never attach othe r chi ld safety seats,
be lts or other objects to these anchors.
- Always make sure that you hear a click when latching the seat in place . If you do
not hear a click the seat is not secure and
could fly forward and hit the inter ior of
the vehicle, or be ejected from the vehi­
cle .
A WARNING
Imp roper installat ion of ch ild restra ints
will i ncrease the r isk of injury i n an acci­
dent.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's inst ruct ions for proper
i n stallation of the child restra int system
-

and proper use of tether straps as well as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your vehicle.
- Always read and heed the important in­
formation and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re­
straint systems
r::;, page 168, Child Safe­
ty.
Tether anchors and tether straps
F ig . 162 Tethe r ancho rs: re cess flap s behin d the rear
sea tbacks
The tether anchors for the rear seating pos i­
tions are located in recesses in the rear win­
dow she lf
c::> fig. 162
A tether is a straight orV-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a child restraint to
specia l anchorage poi nts in the veh icle.
T he purpose of the tether is to reduce the for ­
ward movement of the ch ild restra int in a
crash, in o rder to he lp reduce the risk of head
injury that could be caused by s triking the ve ­
h icle inter io r.
Forward facing child restraints manufactured
after Septembe r 1, 1999, are required by U.S .
federal regulations to comply with new c hild
h ead movement performance requi rements.
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new chi ld safety
seats .
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
Child S afety 185
-Always follow the instr uctions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re­
straint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a coll ision. The anchors are de­
sig ned to withstand only those loads im ­
posed by correctly fitted child restraints .
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATC H lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage .
- Never attach a te ther strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether ancho­
rages to secure safety belts or ot her
kinds of occupant restraints .
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho­
rages or to the tether anchors .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan­
c e s and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and s tay on, im­
medi ately insta ll th e rear-fac ing c hild
safety seat i n a rea r seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea ler.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig . 1 63 Tether strap : prop er ro uting and moun ting
Installing the tether strap
.. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint accordi ng to the child re­
stra int manufacturer's instructions .

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.
•
•

188 Audi pre sense
- Certain Audi pre sense functions a re not
available when ASR is sw itched off (sport
mode) or when driving in reverse .
- The Audi pre sense functions may not be
available if there is a malfunction in the
ESP system or the airbag control mod­
u le.
- The Audi pre sense front/plus f unctions
are not available if there is a ma lfunction
i n the adapt ive cru ise control* system
Q page 85.
-The Audi pre sense rear/plus functions
are not available if there is a ma lfunction
i n the Aud i side assist* system
Q page85.
- The reversible safety be lt tightening on
the front passenge r's side deactivates
when the Advanced front passenge r air­
bag has been s uppressed or the seat is
not occup ied.

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 .
•
•

190 Intelligent technology
ESP includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock brake system (ABS), brake assist sys ­
tem, anti-slip regulation (ASR) , e lectronic dif­
f erential lock ( ED L) and e lectronic interax le
d ifferential lock* . ESP is switched on all the
time . In certain situat ions when you need less
traction , you can switch off ASR by pressing
the button
I!] c:;, page 191 , fig. 164 . Be sure
to switch ASR on again whe n you no longe r
need less tra ct ion.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS )
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braking. The vehicle can still be steered
even du ring hard b rak ing . Apply steady p res­
sure to the brake pedal. Do no t pu mp the ped­
a l. A puls ing in the b ra ke ped al ind icates that
the system is he lp ing you to b rake the vehicle .
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease brak ing
d ista nce. It increases braking power w hen the
d river p resses the brake pedal quic kly in eme r­
gen cy situa tions. You mus t press and hold the
b rake peda l until the si tuation is over. In veh i­
cles with adaptive cruise control*, the brake
assist system is more sensitive if the distance
detected to the vehicle ahead is too smal l.
Anti-slip r egulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the d rive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the fo rce to
the road conditions. This makes it easier to
start, accelerat e and drive up hills .
Electronic differential lock (EDL )
The ED L brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive power to the o ther d rive
wheel or whee ls i f th e vehi cle is equipped with
a ll-whee l drive *. This function is available up
to about 7S mph (120 km/h).
I n extreme cases, EDL automat ica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from overheating . EDL wi ll switch on again au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to
normal.
Electronic interaxle differential lock */
selective wheel torque control*
The electronic interaxle differential lock (front
whee l drive) or the se lective whee l torque
control (all-wheel dr ive) operates when d riv­
ing t hrough curves . The front wheel on the in­
s ide of the curve or both whee ls on the inside
of the curve a re b raked select ively as needed .
T his m inimizes sliding in th e front wheels and
allows for mo re p reci se d rivi ng throug h
c ur ves . The appl icable system may not acti­
vate when dr iving in we t or snowy conditions.
_& WARNING ~
- ESP , ABS, AS R, E DL and the e lectronic in­
terax le d iffe rential lock function* cannot
overcome the laws of physics . This is es­
pecially important on slippery or wet
roads. If the systems begin acti ng to sta­
b ili ze your ve hicle , you s hould immed i­
ately c hange yo ur speed to match the
road and traffic cond itions. Do not let
t he incre ased safety provide d by the se
systems tempt you to take risks. Do ing
so will increase the r is k of a loss of vehi­
cle control, collision and serious persona l
in jur ies.
-Always adapt your speed to road, traffic and weather conditions . The risk of los­
ing control of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, espec ially through
curves and o n slippery or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead . ESP, ABS, the brake ass ist system,
E DL, ASR and the e lectronic interax le dif­
fe ren tial lo ck fu nction * can not prevent
coll is ions.
- Always ac celerate with spe cial care on
even, smooth s urfaces such as tho se th at
ar e we t or covered with i ce and snow.
The drive wheels can spin eve n with
these assistance systems t hat cannot al­
ways he lp to red uce the risk of loss of ve -
hicle control. ..,.