2012 AUDI A6 ECO mode

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 .

240 Tires and wheels
change. In the event of discrepancies, the tire
pressure labe l is located on the driver's side B­
p ill ar a lways takes precedence.
The table below lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the Audi model covered
by your Owner's Literature at the vehi ­
cle's capacity weight and the tire sizes instal­
l ed on the respective models as orig inal
equipment, or as a factory option.
I Engine Tire designation Tire pressure front Tire pressure rear I
(displace-
normal load full load normal load full load
ment
in li-condition condition condition condition
I
ter) PSI II kPA PSI JI kPA PSI II kPA PSI II kPA :
4-cylinder 225/55 Rl 7
97H
2.0 All 5eason
32 220 35 240 29 200 38 260
245/45 Rl8 lOOH XL '
32 220 35 240
29 200 38 260 All Season I
255/40 Rl9 lOOH XL
32 220 35 240 29 200 38 260
All Season
255/40 Rl9 lOOY XL
30 210
33 230
30 2 10 36 250
High Performance
255/35 R20 97V XL
35 240 38 260 32 220 41 280
High Performance
I 6-cylinder 225/55 Rl7
97H '
35 240 38 260 32 220 41 280
3.0 All Season .. -. • .. .. .. .. ..
All Season 35 240 38 260 32 220 41 280
245/45 Rl8 100H XL
255 /40 R19 lOOH XL
'
35 240 38 260 32 220 41 280 All Season I
255/40 Rl9 lOOY XL 36 250
39 270
33 230 42 290
High Performance
255/35
R20 97V
XL '
39 270 44 300 36 250 46 320
High Performance
I
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side­
wall.
The correct tire pressure for the
spare wheel i s
located on a label on the driver's side B-pillar.
Because technical changes may be made to
vehicle equipment during the model year, a l­
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure label on your vehicle with the
tires on your vehicle. Make sure that the tire
size information on the vehicle label is the
same as the size of the t ires on the vehicle.
This is especia lly important if the vehicle be­
l ongs to someone else or you bought the veh i­
cle with different rims/tires or you bought the
vehicle as a previously owned vehicle. Remember, your safety and that of your pas­
sengers also depends on making sure that load limits are not exceeded. Vehicle load in­
cludes everybody and everything in and on the
vehicle . These load limits are techn ically refer­
red to as the veh icle's Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating ("GVWR"). The Gross Axle We ight Rat­
i ng ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be applied at each of the vehicle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety comp liance sticker label located on the
driver's side B-pillar . The tire pressure label on .,.

252 Tire s and wheel s
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer­
tain roads, this normally also applies to ve­
hicles with all-wheel drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of whee l bolts is matched to the
factory insta lled rims . If different rims are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the r ight
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same model
r=> page 280.
A WARNING
Imprope rly tightened o r maintained wheel
bolts can becom e loose ca using loss of
c ont ro l, a co llision and serious persona l in­
Jury .
- Always keep the w heel bolts an d the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
w heel bolts can turn easily and be p rop­
er ly tigh tened .
- N ever grease or oil the wheel bo lt s an d
the threads in the w heel hubs. They can
become loose while d riving if greased or
oi led, even if tightened to the specified
torq ue.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- N ever use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Alw ays maintain the co rrec t tighten ing
torq ue fo r th e wheel bo lts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss . If the tightening tor­
que of the wheel bo lts is too low, they
can loosen and come out w hen the veh i­
cle is moving. If the tighteni ng torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads can be damaged and the whee
l can be­
come loose.
@ Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a tolerance of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm) . Torque whee l bolts diago­
nally. After changing a whee l, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque w rench -preferably by an author­
i zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your A udi is facto ry-eq uipped w it h low aspect
ra tio tires. These tires have been tho roughly
tested and been se lected specific ally fo r your
model fo r their superb perfo rmance, road fee l
and hand ling under a variety of d riving condi ­
t ions . Ask your author ized A udi dealer for
more details.
T he low aspect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a numera l of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation. The n umera l represents the ratio
of the tire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage. Conven­
t iona l tires have a he ight/w idth rat io of 60 or
more .
The performance of low-aspect -ratio tires is
particularly sens iti ve to imp roper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
a spect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pressure i s
regularly ch ecked and maintain ed. Tire pre s·
sure s should be checked at lea st once a
month and always before a long trip
r=> page 241, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ra tio tires can be d amage d more
easily by impact w it h potholes, curbs, g ull ies
or ridges on t he road, particularly if the tire is
u nd eri nflated.

@ Tips
The disc harged battery must be properly
connected to the vehicle's electrical sys­
tem. When jump starting or charg ing the
battery, never connect the negative
ground cable to the batte ry negat ive post
because the ba tte ry manager system must
be ab le to detect the battery's state of
charge. Always connect the negative
g round cab le to the negative ground pos t
of t he battery manager cont ro l unit.
Use of jumper cables
Make sure to connect the jumper coble
clomps in exactly the order described b elow!
Fi g. 200 Eng ine co mpar tment: connecto rs for jum p
s tar t cab les and ch arg er
F ig. 201 Jump start in g w ith t he ba ttery of a not her ve ·
hi cle :
@-booster battery, ®-di sc harged ve hicle bat ­
te ry
The procedure des cribed below fo r connecti ng
jumper cables is intended to provide a jump
start for your veh icle.
Vehicle with discharged battery :
• Turn off ligh ts and accessories, move leve r
of automatic t ransmission to
N (Ne utral) or
P (Park) and set par king b rake.
Emergenc y situ ation s 269
Connect POSI TIVE(+) to POSITIVE(+ )
(red )
• Open the red cover on the positive terminal
¢fig. 200 .
1. Connect one end of the red positive cable
on the jump sta rt bolt ¢
fig. 201 (D (bolt
under the red cover = "positive") of the ve ­
hicle to be started @.
2 . Connect th e othe r end to the pos itive ter-
mi na l@ of the booster battery @.
Connect NEGATIVE( -) to NEGATIVE(-)
(black )
3. Connect one end of the black negative ca­ ble to the negat ive termi na l@ of the
booster b attery @.
4. Connect the othe r end to the jump start
pin @ (bo lts w ith hex head bolt = "nega ­
tive") of the vehicle to be started @.
Starting the engine • Sta rt the engine of the veh icle w ith the
booste r ba tte ry @ . Ru n the engi ne at a
modera te speed.
• Start engine wit h discha rged vehicle battery
@ in the usual manner.
• If the eng ine fails to sta rt, do not keep the
starter c ranking for longer than 10 seconds.
Wait for about 30 seco nds a nd the n try
aga in .
• With eng ine runni ng , remove j umper cab les
from both vehicles in the exact
reverse o r­
de r.
• Close the red cover on the posi tive term inal.
T he battery is v ented to th e outside to p rev ent
gases from en ter ing the veh icle in ter io r. Ma ke
s ur e th at the jumper clamps are well connec t­
ed with their meta l parts in full con ta ct w ith
the battery term inals.
,8. WARNING
To avoid se rious personal injury and dam­
age to the veh icle, heed all warnings and
instructions of the jumper cable man ufac ­
ture r. If in doubt, call for road service .
- Ju mpe r cables m ust be long enough so
that the veh icles d o not touch.
-

2 78 Consumer Information
Consumer Information
Warranty coverages
You r Audi is covered by the following war­
ranties:
- New Vehicle Limited Warranty
- Limited Warranty Against Corrosion Perfo-
ration
- Emissions Control System Warranty
- Emissions Performance Warranty
- California Emissions Control Warranty (USA
vehicles only)
- California Emissions Performance Warranty
(USA vehicles only)
Detailed information regarding your warran­
ties can be found in your
Warranty & Mainte­
nance booklet .
Operating your vehicle
outside the U.S.A. or
Canada
Government regu lations in the United States
and Canada require that automobiles meet
specific emission regulations and safety
standards. Therefore, veh icles built for the
U.S.A . and Canada differ from vehicles sold in
other countries .
If you p lan to take your vehicle outside the
continental limits of the United States or Can­
ada, there is the possibility that
- unleaded fuels for vehicles with cata lytic
converter may not be available;
- fuel may have a considerably lowe r octane
rating. Improper fuel may cause engine
damage ;
- service may be inadequate due to lack of
proper service facilities, tools or testing
equipment ;
- replacement pa rts may not be readily availa­
ble.
- Navigation systems for vehicles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada will not necessar ily work
in Europe, and may not work in other coun­
tries outside North America .
(D Note
Audi cannot be responsible for mechanical
damage that could result from inadequate
fuel, service or parts availability.
Audi Service Repair Manuals and Literature
Audi Official Factory Service Manuals and Lit­
erature are published as soon as possible after
model introduction. Service manuals and lit­
erature are available to order from the Audi
T echnical Literature Ordering Center at:
www.audi.techliterature.com
Maintenance
General
Your vehicle has been designed to help keep
maintenance requirements to a minimum.
However, a certain amount of regular mainte­
nance is still necessary to assure your vehicle's
s afety, economy and rel iability. For detailed
vehicle maintenance consult your Warranty &
Maintenance booklet.
Under difficult operating conditions, for ex­
ample at extremely low outside temperatures,
i n very dusty regions , when towing a trailer
very frequently, etc., some service work
should be performed between the intervals
specified. This applies particularly to:
- oil changes, and
- cleaning or replacing the air filter .
(® For the sake of the environment
By regularly maintaining your vehicle, you
help make sure that emission standards
are maintained, thus minimizing adverse
effects on the environment.
Important considerations for you and
your vehicle
The increasing use of electronics, sophisticat­
ed fuel injection and emission contro l sys-
tems, and the genera lly increasing technical
liJJ,

Child safety . ... .... .... ... .. .. .. ... 168
Convertible locking retractor . . . . . . . . . 179
Important safety instructions fo r using
chi ld safety seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 2
Important things to know when dr iv ing
with chi ldren ............... ... ... 168
Tether anchors ... .. ...... .. .. .. .. . 185
Tet her straps ......... ...... .... .. 185
Ch ild safety lock
Reardoo~ .............. .... .. .... 37
Ch ild safety sea ts ....... ... .. .. .. ... 174
Booster seats .... ..... ... .. .. .. ... 177
Convertible c hild seats . ... .. .. .. .. . 175
Convertible locking retractor .. .. .. .. . 179
H ow do I properly install a child safety
seat in my vehicle? ............ ... .. 172
Infant seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4
Install ing .. ................ ... ... 179
I nstal ling a chi ld restraint using the
L A T C H sys tem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
L A TCH sys tem ............ .. .. .. .. . 184
L owe r ancho rages ..... ... .. .. .. .. . 183
M ounting and releasing the ancho rage
hook .... .. .. .. ........... .. .. ... 184
Safety instructions ........ .. .. .. .. . 172
C igare tte lig hte r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
C lea ning and protection .......... .... 204
A lcantara (synthet ic suede) ..... ... .. 213
E ng ine compartment ...... .. .. .. .. . 214
E xha ust tail pipes ......... .. .. .. .. . 210
Fa brics and fabr ic coverings .. .. .. .. . 210
I ns trumen t panel . ..... ... .. .. .. .. . 2 11
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
L eather .... .. .... .... ... .. .. .. ... 212
MMI disp lay/controls ...... .. .. .. .. . 210
P lastic and v inyl .......... .. .. .. .. . 207
Plastic pa rts ... .. .. ...... .. .. .. .. . 211
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
tr im str ips .... ........... ... ... .. 208
T rim str ips . ............. .... .. ... 207
Climate control Air vents . ................ ... ... ... 65
Climate controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Climate con trol (four-zone)
Opera tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Climate control (three-zone) Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
C lock ..... .. .. ... .. ..... ... .. .. .... 26
Inde x 285
Closing
Sliding/ti lting s unroof ... .... ... .. .. . 39
Cold tire infla tion p ress ure ............ 239
Coming home . .. .. ................. . 43
Compac t spa re tire ... . ... .... ... .. .. 257
Compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Compliance ... .. .. .. . .. ... .... ... .. 281
Consumer Informa tion.......... 131, 278
Consumption (fuel) .. . ... .... ... .. .. . 24
Contacting NHTSA ... . .. ..... ... .. .. 131
Convenience key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Star ting t he engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Stopping the eng ine (S TAR T E NGINE
S TOP b utton) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Switching the ignition on .... ... .. .. . 70
U nlocking and loc kin g vehicle . ... .. .. . 34
Conve rtib le child safe ty seats ..... .... 175
Convertib le loc king retractor
Activating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Deact ivat ing . .. .. .. . .. .... .... .. .. 182
U si ng to secure a child safety seat 1.79, 181
Coolant
refer to E ng ine coolant ......... .... 227
Cooling mode (automat ic climate control) 66
Cooling mode (climate control) . . . . . . . . . 64
Cornering light .. .. ................. . 95
Cruise cont ro l
Changi ng speed . ... . .. ..... ... .. .. . 76
Presetting your speed ... .... ... .. .. . 77
Switching off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Switching on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Warning/ind icator lights ........ .. .. . 22
( upholder .. .... .. .................. 55
D
Data ....... .. .. .. ... ............ .. 276
Data recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Date d isp lay . ..... ... .. .. ..... ... .. . 26
Dayt ime runn ing lights ... .. .. ... ... .. . 41
Declarat ion of compliance
Adaptive cruise control ......... .. .. 281
Audi s ide ass ist .. ................. 281
Ce ll phone package . ............... 281
Co nvenience key .. .. . .. .. .. ... ... .. 281
El ectronic immob ilizer .......... .... 281
•
•

Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Mounting and releasing the anchorage
hook .. .. .. .. .. ........ ... .. .. .. . 184
L eather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 1
Leather (clea ning) .......... ......... 212
L eaving home . .. .. ..... ... .. .. .. .... 43
Lifting jack ..... ........... ...... .. 26 1
Lifting vehicle ............. .... .. ... 272
Light Ambience lighting ..... ... .. .. .. .. .. 4 4
Coming/ Leaving home .. ... .. .. .. .. .. 43
Daytime running lights .... .. .. .. .. .. 41
Emergency flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Exterior lighting .......... .... .. .... 41
H eadlight range control ............. 41
H igh beam .... .. .. ... ... .. .. .. .. .. 43
L ow beam ......................... 41
Rear fog lights ..................... 41
Side marker ligh ts ........ .. .. .. .. .. 4 1
Turn signa ls .... ...... ... .. .. .. .. .. 4 3
Light/ra in sensor
H eadlig hts ........................ 41
I ntermittent (windshield wipe rs) .. .. .. 46
Sensor defective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Loading the roof rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
L ocking
Power locking switch ... ... .. .. .. .. .. 35
Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Using the key . ........... .. .. .. .... 35
L ow beams . ... ... ..... ... .. .. .. .... 41
L ower universa l anchorages (Canada) 182
Luggage compartment
Cargo net .. ............. .... .. .. .. 61
Enlarg ing .. .. ........... .. .. .. .... 60
Loading .. ..... ........... ...... ... 59
Ski sack .. ..... ........... ...... ... 61
Stowing luggage .................. 129
T ie-downs .. ............. .... .. .. .. 6 1
M
Maintenance ............... ...... .. 278
Malfunct ion Indicator Lamp (MIL) . . 20, 28
M echanical key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Inde x 289
Mirro rs
Adjusting th e exterior mirrors .... .. .. . 48
dimming . ... .. .. .. . .. ... .... ... .. . 48
Vanity mirrors . .. ................. . 45
Moni toring the Advanced Ai rbag System 15 4
Mult ifunct ion steer ing whee l ..... .... .. 24
multitron ic ... .. .... . ... ...... ... .. 101
Automat ic Shift Lock (ASL) .......... 103
Driving ... .. .. .. .. ............... 101
Dynam ic shift program ............. 104
Emergency mode .................. 106
K ick-down .............. .......... 104
Manua l shift program . ......... .. .. 105
Se lector lever .. .. .. .. ......... .. .. 102
N
Natura l leather ........... .......... 211
New tires and wheels
N HT SA 246
Contacting . ..... .. . .. .. ..... ... .. 131
N ight vision assistant .. .. .... ...... .. . 97
Cleaning came ra lens .............. . 206
Number of seats ... ............... .. 133
0
Occ upant seating positions 124
O ctane rat ing . .. .. .... ........... .. 215
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
OFF (automatic climate con trol) . . . . . . . . 66
OFF (climate co ntrol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Oil
refer to Engine oil ............. .. .. 222
On-board compu ter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
On-Board D iagnost ic System (OBD)
Data Link Connector ( DLC) .......... .. 28
El ectronic speed limiter .............. 29
Malfunction Ind ic a tor Lamp (M IL) .. .. . 28
Open door/hood/rear lid warning .. ... .. 23
Opening Hood ... .. .. .... .. . .. .. ..... ... .. 220
Power w indows .. .. ............... . 38
Slid ing/ti lting sunroof ............ .. . 39
Operate yo ur vehicle economically and
minimize poll ution ... . .. .. ..... ... .. 198
Other equ ipment (efficiency program) .. . 25
•
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