2012 AUDI A6 airbag

the head restraint again immediately o nce the child seat is removed. Dr iving
without h ead restraints or with h ead re­
straints that are not properly adjusted
increases the risk of ser ious or fatal neck
injury dramat ica lly .
- Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
ous ly injured or even kill ed when an a ir­
bag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for e xamp le the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the ca rgo a rea of
your vehicle .
-Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forwar d, si tting s ideways o r out of posi­
t io n in any way during an acc iden t can be
st ruck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sul t in se rious personal injury or deat h.
- If you mus t in stall a boos ter seat on the
front passenger seat be cause of e xcep­
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch­ ed on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
<=> page 154, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child rest raint off the front pas ­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave­
hicle is being use d
<=>page 133, Safety
belts, <=> page 1 42, Airbag system
and
<=> page 168, Important things to know.
_& WARNING
A child in a boos te r seat inst alled with t he
standar d safety belt on t he rear sea t may
play with unused rear seat safety belts and
become entangled res ulting in ser ious per­
sonal injury and even death.
Child Sa fet y 1 79
-Always secure unused rear seat sa fety
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by properly rout ing them
around the head restraint for the seat ing
posi tion where the child rest rain t is in­
stalled .
- Never activate the switchable lock ing re ­
tracto r when routing the safety be lts
around the head restraints.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger can be locked with the convertible locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats.
T he safety belts eme rgency locking retracto rs
fo r the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenger's seat safety be lt have a co n­
vertib le lo cking ret ractor for child re straints.
T he safety belt m ust be locked so tha t be lt
web bing cannot unree l. The retrac to r can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety be lt webbing from loosening up
during norma l dr iving . A chi ld safety seat can
o nl y be prope rly installed w hen t he safety belt
is locked so that t he ch ild and child safety
seat w ill stay in place .
A lways remember: Even tho ugh your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ldren, especially those 12 years and young ­
er, sho uld always r ide in the back seat prope r­
l y restrai ned fo r the ir age and size .
A WARNING
Improperly ins talled chi ld safety sea ts in­
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a co llision .
- Always ma ke sure tha t t he safe ty belt re­
tr actor is lo cked w hen in sta lling a child
safety sea t. An unlocke d safety bel t re -
tracto r cannot hold the child safety seat
Ill>
•
•

180 Child Safety
in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat backrest to which the center rear safety
belt* is attached is securely latched
whenever the rear center safety belt is
being used to secure a child restraint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward together with the back­ rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be seriously in­
jured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­ ger airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats or in­
fant carriers installed on the front pas­
senger's seat may interfere with the de­
ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
r::;,page 168 . Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
r::;, page 144, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
& WARNING
-
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
r::;, page 154, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas­ senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child.
-Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- After checking to make sure that the child restraint is properly installed, make
certain that the child restraint is correct­ ly recognized by the capacitive passenger
detection system in the front passenger
seat and that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light signals the correct front pas­
senger frontal airbag status.
& WARNING
-Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up, against or very near the in­
strument panel.

-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
.8, WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be
killed if the front airbag inflates -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception­
al circumstances.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur­
er's instructions when installing a child re-
Child Safety 181
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver­
tible locking retractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat , prefera­
bly on the rear seat.
.,. Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
.,. Route it around or through the child re­
straint belt path
¢ A -
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.,. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position .
.,. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat.
.,. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retractor. The con­
vertible locking retractor is now activated.
.,. Make sure that the red release button is fac­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
.8, WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
-
•
•

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

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 .
•
•

grease or dye must be patted off using ab ­
sorbent materia l. It may be necessary to re­
treat the areas with detergent paste a nd wa­
ter.
I n the case of genera l soiling of the uphols­
tery and cover material, we recommend hiring
a specialist that has the equ ipment to clean
the seat covers and other fabric surfaces by
shampooing and spray extraction.
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
the information
Q page 204.
Open Velcro fasteners on your clothing can
damage the seat cover. Please make sure
that Velcro fasteners are closed.
Plastic parts and instrument panel
Always use a clean cloth moistened in clear
water to clean these areas. For pers istent dirt
use an Audi approved
s olvent -fr ee plasti c
cleane r/pro te cta nt.
A WARNING
So lvents can change the properties o f
some plastics and make it ha rder for the
airbag to dep loy.
- Never clean the instr ument pane l o r the
s u rface of airbag modules with cleaning
products that contain solvents.
- Products containing solvents w ill make
the surface o f th is part porous.
- Serious injuries can result if plastic pa rts
come loose whe n the airbag is deployed .
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS and
ot her information~
page 204 .
(D Note
Cleaning agents containing solvents will
a tt ack t he mater ial and ca n change the
way i t behaves .
Cleaning and protec tion 21 1
Trim and molding
Trim and molding in the vehicle inte rior can
be clean ed wi th a dry m icrofiber cloth. To pre­
vent scratches, do not use any cleaning so lu­
tions.
Natural leather
Appl ies to vehicles: with natural leather
Audi makes great efforts to maintain the
properties, natural look and feel of interior
leather .
General
We offe r ma ny d iffe rent types of leathe r o n
ou r vehicles. Most are diffe rent types of nappa
l eather, which has a smooth surface and
comes in various colo rs .
T he intensity of the co lor determ ines the visu­
al cha racteristics and appea ran ce. If the su r­
f a ce of the leather has a typ ica l na tural look,
then the leather is a nap pa lea ther that has
been left in a relative ly natura l condition . This
leather offers particularly good comfort and
breathes well. Fine veins, closed grains, insect
bites, sk in fo lds, and subt le variations in color
rema in v isible. These character istics demon­
strate that the mate rial is natural.
Natura l nappa leather is not covered by a co l­
or finish. It is therefore more sens it ive to soil­
ing and wear, which is someth ing you need to
conside r if ch ildren, animals or other factors
might prove to be part icu larly hard o n the
leat her .
By contrast, leather types that are covered by
a colo red finish layer are more durable. This
has a positive effect on the leather 's resist­
an ce to wea r and soiling in da ily use. On the
othe r hand, the typica l charac teristics of natu­
ral leathe r are barely or not appa ren t. Howev­
er, this does not mean that the leathe r itse lf
is of infe rior quality. •
•