2012 AUDI A6 ESP

Front passenger's seat
Always move the front passenger seat into the rearmost position.
To avoid contact with the airbag while it is de­
ploying, do not sit any closer to the instru­
ment panel than necessary and always wear
the three-point safety belt provided adjusted
correctly. We recommend that you adjust the
passenger's seat in the following manner:
.. Move the front passenger seat into the rear­
most position of the fore and aft adjustment
range
~ .&. in Why is your seat adjustment
so important? on page 50.
• Bring the backrest up to an (almost) upright
position.
Do not ride with the seat reclined .
.. Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possible, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
th is position as possible ¢
page 52.
.. Place your feet on the floor in front of the
passenger's seat .
Front seats
Controls
The operating logic for the switches corre­
sponds to the construction and function of
the seat.
Fig. 45 Front seat: adjusting the seat
@ -adjusting lumbar support*: press the but­
ton in the corresponding position¢.&,.
@ -Moving the seat forward/back: press the
button forward/back ¢ ,&. .
@ -Mov ing the seat up/down: press the but­
ton up/down ¢,&. . To adjust the front section
Seats and storage 51
of the seat, press the front button up/down
¢ ,&. .To adjust the rear section of the seat,
press the rear button up/down ¢,&. .
© -Backrest forward/back: press the button
forward/back
~ ,&. .
A WARNING
-
-Never adjust the driver's or front pas­
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving.
If you do this while the veh icle is moving,
you will be out of position. Always adjust
the dr iver's or front passenger's seat
when the vehicle is not moving.
- Be careful when adjusting the seat
he ight. Check to see that no one is in the
way, or serious injury cou ld result!
- Because the seats can be electrically ad­
justed with the ignition off, never leave
children unattended in the vehicle. Unsu­
pe rvised use of the electric seat adjust­
ments may cause serious injury .
- To reduce the risk of injury in the case of
sudden braking or accident, front pas­
sengers must never r ide in a moving ve­
hicle with the backrest reclined. Safety
be lts and the airbag system on ly offer
maximum protection when the backrest
is upright and the safety belts are prop­
erly positioned on the body. The more
the backrest is reclined, the greater the risk of personal injury from an incorrect
seating position and improperly posi­
tioned safety belts.
Armrest
There is a storage compartment under the
armrest.
Fig. 46 Cockp it : center armrest

- Compartment in the rear center armrest
-Two mounting hooks* unde r the base of the
rear window inside the luggage compart­
ment. You can attach light objects to these
hooks. The mounting hooks are spring-load­
ed and will return to their normal position
when not in use.
A WARNING
- Always remove objects from the instru­
ment panel. Any items not stored could
sl ide aro und inside the vehicle while driv­
ing or when accelerating or when apply­
ing the brakes or when drivi ng around a
corner.
- When you are driving make sure that
anything you may have placed in the cen­
ter console or othe r storage locat ions
cannot fa ll out into the footwells. In case
of sudden braking you would not be able
to brake or accelerate.
- Always keep the l id of the compartment
for (sun)glasses* closed while driv ing to
reduce the risk of injury during a sudden
braking maneuver or in the event of an
acc ident.
- Any articles of cloth ing that you have
hung up must not interfere with the driv­
er's v iew. The coat hooks are designed
only for lightweight clothing. Never hang
any clothing w ith ha rd , pointed or heavy
objects in the pockets on the coat hooks.
During sudden braking or in an accident -
especially if the airbag is deployed -
these objects could injure any passen­
gers inside the vehicle.
- To reduce the risk o f personal injury in an
accident or sudden stop, always keep the
glove compartment closed while dr iv ing .
- Read and fo llow all WARN INGS
~ page 164, Important safety instruc­
tions on the side airbag system.
- Hang clothes in such a way that they do
not impair the driver's vision .
- The coat hooks must only be used for
lightweight clothing. Do not leave any
heavy or sharp edged objects in the pock ­
ets which may interfere with the side cur-
S ea ts a nd s to rage 57
tain airbag deployment and can ca use
personal injury in a crash .
- Do not use coat hangers for hanging
cloth ing on the coat hooks as this can in­
terfere with proper deployment of the side curta in a irbags in an acc ident.
- Do not hang heavy objects on the coat hooks, as they could cause personal in­
jury in a sudden stop.
- For strength-re lated reasons, the mount­
ing hooks can only be used to secure ob­
jects weigh ing up to 10 lb . (5 kg). Heavi­
e r objects will not be adequately secu red
- there is a r isk of injury .
(D Note
Objects located on the rear shelf that rub
against the rear window could damage the
heating wires for the rear w indow defog­
ger .
Roof rack
Description and mounting locations
Additional cargo can be carried with a roof
luggage rack .
Fig. 59 Roof rack attac hment po ints
.,. Always read and follow the instructions pro­
vided by the roof rack manufacturer when
the roof rack system must be installed .
If luggage or cargo is to be carried on the
roof, you must observe the following:
- To enhance the vehicle's streamlined design,
rain gutters have been molded into the roof.
It is not poss ible to use normal roof racks.
Only install a roof rack specifically designed .,.

Warm and cold Climate controls
Description
App lies to vehicles: with three -zone cl imate contro l or
four -zone a uto mat ic climate contro l
The climate control system warms, cools and
adds humidity to the air in the vehicle interior .
It is the most effective when the windows and
sunroof* are closed . If the temperature inside
the parked veh icle becomes very warm, open­
i ng the w indow br iefly will speed up the cool­
ing process.
In all heating mode functions except
defrost,
the blower on ly switches to a higher speed
once the engine coolant has reached a certain
temperature.
Condensat ion from the cooling system can
drip and form a puddle of wate r under the ve­
h icle. This is normal and does not mean there
is a leak .
Pollutant filt er
The pollutant filter removes pollutants such
as dust and po llen from the air.
The air pollutants filter must be changed at
the intervals specified in your Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet, so that the air condi­
tioner can properly work .
If you drive your vehicle in an area with high
a ir pollution, the filter may need to be
changed more frequently than specified in
your Aud i Warranty
& Ma intenance booklet. If
i n doubt, ask your authori zed Audi Service Ad­
visor for adv ice.
K ey coded settings
Three-zone climate control: the blower set ­
ting and air distribution are stored automati­
cally and ass igned to the remote control key
that you are using.
Four-zone automatic climate control: The cli­
mate contro l settings are automatica lly stor­
ed and assigned to the remote control key
that is in use .
Warm and c old 63
A WARNING
-
Reduced visibi lity is dangerous and can
cause acc idents .
- For safe driving it is very important that
all windows be free of ice, snow and con­
densat ion.
- Comp letely fam il iarize yourse lf with the
proper use and funct ion of the heat ing
a nd ventilation system and especially
how to defog and defrost the w indows.
- Never use the windshield wiper/washer system in freez ing weathe r unt il you
have wa rmed the windshie ld first, using
the heating and ventilation system. The
washer sol ution may freeze on the wind­
shie ld and red uce visibi lity.
CJ) Note
- If you s uspect that the air conditioner
has been damaged, switch the system
off to avoid furt her damage and have it
inspected by a qualified dea lership .
- Repairs to the Audi air conditioner re­
quire specia l technical know ledge and
special tools. Contact an authorized Audi
dealer fo r ass istance.
@ For the sake of the envi ronment
By reducing the amount of f uel you use,
you also red uce the amount of pollutants
emitted into the air.
(D Tips
- Keep the air intake s lo ts ( in front of the
w indshield) free from ice, snow and de­
bris in order to maintain the proper func­
tion of the climate control system.
- The energy ma nagement system may
switch the seat heating* or rear window defroster off temporar ily. These systems
are available again as soon as the energy
balance has been restored .
- Air escapes through vents under the rear
window. When plac ing items of cloth ing
on the luggage compartment cover, en­
sure that the openings are not covered.

Emergency braking
In the event that the conventional brake sys­tem fails or locks .
11-In an emergency, pull the switch(®) and
conti nue to pull it to slow your vehicle down
with the parking brake .
11-As soon as you release the sw itch (®) or ac-
celerate, the braki ng p rocess stops.
If you pull the sw itch
(®) and hold it above a
speed of about 5 mph (8 km/h), the emergen­
cy braking function is in itiated. The vehicle is
b ra ked at a ll four wheels by activating the hy­
d raul ic br ake system. The b ra ke performance
i s sim ilar to making an emergency stop~.&. .
I n o rder not to activate the emergency brak­
i ng by m ista ke, an audible warning tone (bu z­
z er) sounds when the switch<®> is p ulled. As
soon as the switch(®) is released, or the accel ­
erator pedal is dep ressed, emergency braking
stops .
.&_ WARNING
Emergency braking shou ld only be used in
an eme rgency, when the normal foot brake
has failed or the brake pedal is obstructed.
Using t he parking brake to perform emer­
gency braking will slow you r vehicle down
as if you had made a fu ll brake applicat ion.
The laws of phy sic s ca nnot be s uspended
eve n w ith ESP and its associated compo­
nents (ABS, ASR, ED L) . In co rners and
when road or weather conditions are bad,
a full brake application can cause the vehi­
cle to skid or the rear end to b reak away -
r isking an accident.
Speed warning system
Introduction
The speed warning system helps you to stay
under a specified maximum speed.
The speed warning system warns you if you
are exceed ing the max imum speed that you
h ave set . You will hea r a warn ing tone when
your speed exceeds the stored va lue by ap-
On th e ro ad 75
proximately 3 mph ( 3 km/h) . An indicator
light . (USA
models) ;a (Canada mode ls) in
the instr ument cluster d isp lay also turns on at
the same time. The indicator light./.
turns off when the speed decreases be low the
stored maximum speed .
Setting a t hreshold is recommended if you
would like to be rem inded w hen you reach a
certain maxim um speed . S ituations where you
may wa nt to do so include driv ing in a country
with a general speed limit o r if the re is a
specified maximum speed for w inte r tires .
(D Tips
Even though your vehicle is eq uipped w ith
a speed warn ing system, you sho uld still
watch the speedometer to ma ke sure you
a re not dr iv ing faster t han the speed limi t.
Setting the threshold
You can set, change and delete the threshold
in the MMI.
11-Select: I CAR! function button > Car systems
control butto n > Driver assist > Speed warn­
ing .
You can set any threshold between 20 mph
(30 km/h) and 150 mph (240 km/h). Sett ings
can eac h be ad justed in increments of 5 mph
(10 km/h).

76 On the road
Cruise control
Switching on
Applies to vehicles: wit h crui se contro l
The cruise control system makes it possible to
drive at a constant speed starting at 20 mph
(30 km/h).
0
f
~
0
Fig. 75 Control lever with set b utto n
Fig. 76 Display: Selected speed
• Pull the lever to position @~ fig. 75 to
switch the system on.
• Drive at the speed you wish to set.
• Press button @to set that speed.
The stored speed and the indicator light
18;\0~1~ (US models)/ . (Canadian models) ap ­
pear in the instrument cluster display
~ fig. 76. The display may vary, depending on
the type of display in your vehicle . T he indica­
tor light
ll in the instrument cluster also illu­
minates.
This information is also shown briefly in the
Head-up Display* .
The speed is kept constant via an engine out­
put adjustment or active brake intervention.
A WARNING
-- Always pay attention to traffic even when
the cruise control is switched on. You are always responsible for your speed and
the distance between your vehicle and
other veh icles.
- For safety reasons, the cruise contro l
should not be used in the city, in stop­
and-go traffic , on twisting roads and
when road condit ions are poor (such as
ice, fog, gravel, heavy rain and hydro­
p laning) - risk of accident.
- Turn off the cruise control temporarily
when entering turn lanes, highway exit
lanes or in construction zones.
- Please note that inadvertently "resting"
your foot on the accelerator pedal causes the cruise control not to brake. This is
because the cruise control is overridden
by the driver's acceleration.
- If a brake system malfunction such as
overheating occurs when the cruise con­
trol system is switched on, the braking
function in the system may be switched
off. The other cruise control functions re­
main active as long as the indicator light
mmJI (US models)/ . (Canadian mod­
els) is on.
(D Tips
The brake lights illuminate as soon as the
brakes decelerate automatically .
Changing speed
Applies to vehicles: w ith cruise co ntrol
• Press lever in the 0 or 0 direct ion
~ page 76, fig. 75 to increase or decrease
your speed .
• Release the lever to save that speed.
Change speed in increments of 1 mph (1 km/
h) by lightly pressing the lever . If you keep the
lever pressed down, you will alter your speed
in 5 mph (10 km/h) increments.
You can also press the accelerator pedal down
to increase your speed, e.g . if you want to .,..

Adaptive cruise control and braking guard
vehicles such as motorcycles and bicy­
cles.
- The adaptive cruise control system can­
not detect people, animals and cannot
detect objects or traffic that crosses your
lane of travel.
- Never drive at speeds that are too fast
for traffic, road and weather conditions.
- Never use adaptive cruise control when
you cannot drive safely at a steady
speed, including on winding roads or
when road conditions are poor (for exam­
ple, in construction sites, on ice, gravel,
in fog, heavy rain or on wet roads that in­
crease the risk of hydroplaning).
- Never follow a vehicle so closely that you
cannot stop your vehicle safely. The
adaptive cruise control cannot slow or
brake the vehicle safely when you follow
another vehicle too closely. Always re­
member that the automatic braking
function cannot bring the vehicle to a
sudden or emergency stop under these
conditions.
- Never rest your foot on the accelerator
pedal, especially when the adaptive
cruise control is being used. Pressure on
the accelerator will override the adaptive
cruise control braking function and pre­
vent the brakes from being applied when
adaptive cruise control detects a situa­
tion when the brakes must be applied.
- Never use adaptive cruise control when
the radar sensors cannot accurately de­
tect vehicles moving in traffic. The radar
sensor's vision can be reduced by heavy
rain, ice, snow, heavy road spray and re­
flections from guard rails, tunnel entran­ ces, etc. These and similar conditions can
prevent vehicles from being accurately
detected and in some cases they may not
be detected at all.
- Always turn off adaptive cruise control
when entering turn lanes, exit lanes and
construction zones or in similar situa­
tions because the vehicle will automati­ cally accelerate to the stored speed when
the road ahead is clear. -
To prevent unintended operation, always
switch ACC off when it is not being used .
(D Note
The sensors can be moved by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. Damage in these areas could
change the way the adaptive cruise control
system and Audi braking guard work to­
gether. Have your authorized Audi dealer
check to make sure that the adaptive
cruise control system is working properly if
your vehicle had a minor frontal impact or
was damaged in the area of the sensors.
In curves
Applies to vehicles: wi th adaptive cruise control
Fig. 78 Example: driving into a cu rve
When driving into a curve ¢ fig. 78 and out of
a curve, the adaptive cruise control may react
to a vehicle in the next lane and apply the brakes. You can override or prevent the brak­
ing by pressing the accelerator pedal briefly.
Stationary objects
Applies to vehicles: wit h adaptive cruise control
Fig. 79 Example : object c hanging lanes and stat iona ry
o~ect
~
79

Adaptive cruise control and braking guard 81
Setting the speed and activating
regulation
~ To set the current speed, press the !SET !
button ¢ fig. 81. The set speed is shown in
the tachometer @and in the display
¢
fig . 82. You must also press the brake
pedal when the vehicle is stopped .
Switching adaptive cruise control off
~ Push the lever away from you into position
@ until it clicks into p lace. The message
ACC off appears.
Indicator lamps and messages in the instru­
ment cluster display inform you about the cur ­
rent system status and settings.
@ Indicator lights
Pl -adaptive cruise control is switched on. No
vehicles are detected up ahead . The stored
speed is ma intained.
I -A moving vehicle is detected up ahead.
The adaptive cruise control system regulates
the speed and distance to the moving vehicle
ahead and acce lerates/brakes automatica lly.
Mi -adaptive cruise control is swit ched on. A
moving vehicle up ahead was detected . Your
vehicle remains stopped and will not start
driving automatically.
I -When automat ic brakin g is not able to
keep enough distance to a previously detected
moving vehicle up ahead, you must take con ­
trol and brake¢
page 82, Prompt for driver
intervention.
© Display
If adaptive cruise control is not shown in the
disp lay, you can call it up with the multifunc ­
tion steering wheel buttons
¢page 23.
Based on the symbo ls in the display, you can
determine if the system is maintaining a dis­
tance to the vehicle ahead and what that dis­
tance is .
No vehicle -No veh icle ahead was detected.
White vehicle -A vehicle ahead was detected .
Red vehicle -Prompt for the driver to take ac­
tion ¢
page 82.
Both arrows on the scale© indicate the dis­
tance to the vehicle ahead. No arrow appears
when the vehicle is on an open road and there
is no object ahead. If an object is detected
ahead, the arrow moves on the scale.
T he green zone on the scale shows the stored
distance . For information on changing the
stored distance ¢
page 83. If the distance
selected is too close or may soon become too
close, the arrows move into the red zone on
the scale .
A WARNING
Improper use of the adaptive cruise con­
trol can cause collisions, other accidents
and serious personal injur ies.
- Pressing the
! SET ! button when driv ing at
speeds below
20 mph (30 km/h), will au­
tomatically accelerate the vehicle to
20
mph (30 km/h), which is the minimum
speed that can be set.
(D Tips
-If you switch the ignit ion or the adaptive
cruise control off, the set speed is erased
from the system memory.
- You cannot switch the Electronic Stabili­
zation Program (ESP) to the SPORT mode
w hen adaptive cruise control is switched
on.
Driving in stop-and-go traffic
Applies to veh icles: w ith adaptive c ruise control
The adaptive cruise contro l system also as­
sists you in stop-and-go traffic. If a previous
detected vehicle ahead stops, your veh icle will
brake to a stop, within the limits of the sys­
tem .
~ To resume driving with adaptive cruise con­
trol, tap the acce lerator pedal or
~ Pull the lever toward you into position @
¢ page 80, fig. 81. ..,_

Adaptive cru ise co ntrol and b rakin g guar d 85
& WARNING
The Audi braking guard is an assist system
and cannot prevent a collision by itself .
The driver must always intervene. The driv­
er is always responsible for braking at the
correct time.
- Always pay close attention to traffic, even when the Aud i braking guard is
switched on. Be ready to intervene and
be ready to take complete control when­
ever necessary. Always keep the safe and
legal distance between your vehicle and
vehicles up ahead.
- Audi braking guard works within limits
and wi ll not respond outs ide the system
l imits, for examp le when approaching a
stopped vehicle or s tationary obstacle
(end of a traffic jam or vehicle that has
broken down in traffic).
- Always remember that the radar sensor
for the A udi braking guard works only
within defined detection and range limits
that may prevent the proper detection of
other vehicles.
- The radar sensor's function and range
can be reduced by rain, snow and heavy
spray. moving vehicles up ahead may not be promptly detected or may not be de­
tected at al l.
- Reflective surfaces includ ing crash barr i­
ers or tunnel entrances may impair the
function of the radar sensor .
(j) Tips
Lack of attention can cause coll is ions, oth­
er accidents and ser ious persona l injuries.
- You can stop the Audi braking guard in-
tervention w ith increas ing braking force
by applying the b rakes yourself or by ac­
ce lerat ing rapidly.
- Audi braking guard error messages
<=> page
85.
Settings in the MMI
App lies to vehicles : wi th adap tive c ruise contro l
.,. Select: I CAR I function button > Car s ystem s
cont ro l butto n > Driver a ssist > Audi brak ­
ing gua rd .
Sy stem -
Switch Audi b raking guard On and
Off . When you switch the ign it ion on, t he
message
Audi braking guard off a ppears in
the instr ument cluster d isp lay if the system is
switched off.
Early warning -The distance and approach
warnings in the d isp lay can be switched
On/
Off.
(D Tips
- Yo ur settings are automatically stored
and assigned to the remote cont ro l key
being used at the times the settings are
made.
- I f you switch the ESP to spor t mode, A u­
di braking gua rd switches off a utomati ­
cally ¢page
191.
Messages
Applies to vehicles : wi th adap tive c ruise control
ACC una vailable
ACC and braking guard: unavailabl e
The system cannot detect moving vehicles up
ahead co rrectly and is switched off . The sen­
sors have been d isplaced or are not working
proper ly. The Audi pre sense funct ions may a l­
so be affected.
ACC: unavailabl e at this time. No sensor vi­
s ion
ACC and b rak ing gu ide: una vailable at this
time . No s enso r vision
This message appears if the sensor view is ob­
structed, for examp le by leaves, snow, heavy
spray or d irt . Clean the sensors¢ page
78,
fig. 77.
ACC: unavailable at this time . Incline too
steep