2012 AUDI A6 open hood

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 11
Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster and controls
The instrument cluster is your central source of information.
Fig. 3 Overv iew of the instrument cluster
CD Coolant temperature gauge .. .
@ Tachometer (eng ine rev counter)
@ Turn signals ............... .
@ Display with
®
®
-Driver information system .. .
- Wa rning/ind icator lights
Tachometer Fuel gauge
@ Tips
11
12
43
23
12
12
The instrument illumination (for dials and
needles) turns on when the ignition is on
and the vehicle lights are turned off. As
the daylight fades, the illumination of the
dials likewise dims automatically and wil l
go out completely when the outside light
is very low. This feature is meant to rem ind
you to switch on the headlights when out­
side light conditions become poor.
Engine coolant temperature gauge
The engine coolant gauge CD¢ page 11, fig. 3
only works when the ignition is on. To prevent
damage to your eng ine, please note the fol­
l owing important points:
Engine cold
If only the LEDs at the bottom of the gauge
turn on, the eng ine has not reached operating
temperature yet . Avoid high engine speeds,
heavy engine loads and heavy throttle applica­
tions.
Normal temperatu re
The engine has reached its operating temper­
ature once the LEDs up to the center of the
gauge turn on under normal driving cond i­
t ions. The LEDs higher up may turn on when
the engine is under heavy load or the exterior
temperature is high. This is no need to worry
as long as the. warning light in the instru ­
ment cluster does not illuminate . If the LEDs
in the upper area of the display and the indica­
tor light . in the instrument cluster display
turn on, the coolant temperature is too high
¢page 16.
A WARNING
-Always observe the warn ing in
¢ page 214, Engine compartment, be­
fore opening the hood and checking the
engine coolant level.

12 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
-Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dripping from the engine compartment.
You could burn yourself . Let the engine
cool off first so that you cannot hear or
see any steam or engine coolant .
@ Note
-Mounting additional lights or accessories
i n front of the a ir inlets reduces the cool­
i ng effect of the rad iator . At h igh outside
temperatures or high eng ine load, the
engine could overheat.
- The front spo iler has been designed to
proper ly distribute the cooling air when
t h e ve hicle is moving.
If the spoiler is
dam aged, th is co uld red uce the cooling
effect and the engine co uld then over­
heat . Ask your authorized Audi dea ler for
assistance .
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
If engine RP M drops be low 1,500, yo u should
downshift to the next lower gear. The red a rea
at the end of the sca le indicates maximum
perm iss ib le engine RPM after the break-in pe­
riod. Before reaching this area, move these­
lector lever to position "D/S (Drive)" or ease
your foot off the accelerator pedal.
(D Note
The tachometer needle should on ly br iefly
be in the red zone: you could damage your
engine! The beginn ing of the red zone var­
ies depending on the engine .
@ For the sake of the environment
Upshifting early saves fuel and reduces en­
gine noise.
Fuel gauge
The fuel gauge only works when the ignition is
on .
If the fuel level d rops below 2 . 6 ga llons (10 liters), the bottom LED turns red and the
indicator
light~ turns on ¢
page 21. The
bottom LED blinks red when the fuel level is
very low.
T he possible range based on the current fuel
level is shown in tab@¢
page 23, fig . 4 .
(D Note
Never run the tank completely dry. An ir ­
r egular supply of f uel can cause engine
misfiring and fuel could enter the ex ha ust
system . The catalytic converter could then
overheat and be damaged.
Warning/indicator Lights
Description
The ind icator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or turn on. They indicate funct ions or
malfunctions ¢,& .
Messages may appear with some indicato r
lights. A warning signal will sound at the
same t ime. The indicator lights and messages
in the center of the displays may be rep laced
by other d isplays . To show them again, select
the tab for ind icator lights and messages us­
i ng the multifunction steering wheel
¢
page 23. If t here are several malfunc­
t ions, you can display them one at a time us­
ing the thumbwheel.
Some indicato rs lights in the d isplay can turn
on in severa l co lors.
A WARNING
- F ailure to heed w arning l igh ts and other
important vehicle in forma tion may res ult
in ser io us personal inj ury or vehicle dam­
age .
- Whenever stalled or stopped for repair, move the vehicle a safe d istance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the
emergency flasher¢
page 42.
-The engine compartment of any motor
veh icle is a potentially hazardous area.
Before you chec k anything in the engine

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 15
malf u ncti on in th e ele ctri cal sys tem. In th is
c as e, co nt act yo ur Audi de aler.
If the b rake system warning/ind icator light
turns on, there is a brake system malfunction.
- (USA models) JIIII (Canad a model s)
St op veh icle and ch ec k brak e fluid l evel
If the indicator lig ht turns on and the mes­
sage appears, proceed as follows :
.. Pull off the road .
.. Stop the vehicle.
.,. Turn off the engine .
.. Check the brake fluid level
c::> page 229 .
.,. Contact your nearest authorized repa ir fa-
c ili ty if necessary.
W arnin g! Fau lt in brake syst em . Contact
de aler
If the ABS indicator light ii] (USA models)/ §
(Canada models), the ESP indicator light
G1
and the brake system indicator light
- (USA models)/ . (Canada models) turn
on and the message appears, the ABS, ESP
and b raking distribution are not wo rking
c::> .&,. .
Carefully drive to your authorized Audi dealer
immed iately to have the malfunction correct­
ed
c::> .&,. .
- (U SA mode ls)/. (Can ada mode ls)
P a rk ing br ake: system f ault! Pl ease conta ct
d ea ler
- If the indicator light and the message ap­
pear
when s tat ionar y or a fter sw itch ing the
i gn ition on ,
check if you can release the
park ing brake. After releas ing t he parking
brake, carefully dr ive to your authorized Au­
di dealer immediate ly to have the malfunc­
t ion corrected. If you cannot re lease the
parking brake, seek pro fessional assistance.
- If the indicator light and the message ap­
pear
wh ile drivin g, the eme rgency braking
func tion may not be ava ilable.
It may not be
possib le to set the parking brake or release
it once it has been set. Seek professional as­
sistance . (USA mode
ls): If the warning light - and
the warning light
Ei] appea r together, imme­
diately contact your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop to have a ll brake pads in­
spected
c::> page 20.
When the light comes on , an audible warning
s ignal is also g iven.
_& WARNING
-Always observe the warn ings in
c::> page 214, Engine compartment, be­
fore opening the hood and check ing the
brake fluid .
- Driving with low brake fluid is a safety
hazard . Stop the car and get professional
assistance .
-USA models: If the - warning light,
the
G] warning light and the m warn­
ing light come on together, the rear
wheels could lock up f irst under hard
brak ing. Rear wheel lock-up can ca use
loss of vehicle control and an accident .
Have your vehicle repaired immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer or a quali­
fied workshop. Dr ive slowly and avoid
sudden, hard brake applications.
- Canada models: If the brake warning
light ., the
DJ warn ing light and the
ABS warning light
(il come on together,
the rear wheels could lock up first under hard braking. Rea r wheel lock-up can
cause loss of vehicle contro l and an acci­
dent. Have your veh icle repa ired immedi­
ately by your a uthorized Audi dea ler or a
qua lified workshop. Drive s low ly and
avoid sudden, hard brake applications .
- I f the b rake w arning/ind icator light does
not go out after a few seconds and the
parking brake released, or lights up wh ile
you are driving, the fluid level in the brake fluid reservoir is too low. If you be­
lieve that it is safe to do so, proceed im­
mediately at low speed to the nearest
author ized Audi dealer or qualified repair
facility and have the b rake system in-
spected.
~

16 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
-Always keep in mind that after several
brake applicat ions, you will need greater
pressure on the brake pedal to stop your
vehicle . Do not rely on strained brakes to
respond w ith maximum stopp ing power
in critical situations. You must a llow for
increased bra king distances. The extra
distance used up by fad ing brakes could
lead to an acc ident .
PARK /(®) Electromechanical parking
brake
The warning/indicator light monitors the
electromechanical parking brake .
If the indicator light - (USA models) ;II
(Canada models) turns on, the park ing brake
was set. If the parking brake is set when the ignition is
off, the indicator light turns off af ­
ter about 20 seconds .
The warning/indicator light will go out when
the parking brake is released .
-(USA model s) /. (Canad a mo dels )
Caution : Vehi cle parke d too s teep
If the indicator light blinks and the message
appears, there is not enough braking power to
keep the vehicle from ro lling. The brakes have
ove rheated. The vehicle could ro ll away even
on a small incline.
Pre ss brak e pedal to r eleas e parking br ake
To release the parking brake, press the brake
pedal and press the button~ or start driving
with start ing ass ist at the same time
¢ page 74.
Pleas e rele ase p ark ing brake
To release the parking brake manua lly, press
the brake pedal and press the button ~ at the
same time. The parking brake on ly release au ­
tomatically if the dr iver's safety belt is fas­
tened.
BJ Par king brake!
If the BJ indicator lig ht t urns on and this
message appears, there is a parking brake
malfunction . Drive to your authorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop immediately to
have the malfunction corrected.
-L Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engine cooling system
must be repaired as soon as possible.
• Switch off en gine and che ck cool ant le vel
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the coolant temperature is too
high or the coolant level is too low.
.. Pull
off the road .
.. Stop the vehicle .
.,. Turn
off the engine .
.,. Check coolant leve l~
page 22 7 .
.. Add coo lant if necessary ~
page 228.
.,. Continue dr iv ing on ly after the engine cool­
ant warning/indicator light goes out .
.. Contact your authorized Audi dealer for as-
sistance if necessary.
If the engine coo lant level is correct, then the
radiator fan may be the ca use of the malfunc­
tion .
• Cool ant t emp erature too hi gh! Pl ease l et
en gin e r un wit h ve hicl e s tat ion ary
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appea rs in trailer mode*, let the eng ine
run at idle for a few minutes to cool down .
A WARNING
- If your vehicle should break down for
mechanical or other reasons, park at a
safe distance from moving traffic, turn
off the eng ine and turn on the hazard
warn ing lights
¢ page 42, Emergency
flasher.
-
- Never open the hood if you see or hear
steam or coo lant escaping from the en­
g ine compartment -you risk being scald­
ed. Wait unt il you can no longer see or
hear steam or coolant escap ing .
- The engine compartment of any vehicle is a dangerous area . Before you perform
any wo rk in the engine compartment,
turn of the engine and allow it to cool.

32 Openin g and clo sing
- The vehicle cann ot be starte d if an unau­
thorized key is used. The ve hicle may not
start if another radio device such as a key
for another vehicle or a transponder is
located on the key ring.
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions ¢
page 281.
Power locking system
General description
The power locking system locks or unlocks all
doors and the rear lid simultaneously.
You can lock and un lock the veh icle centrally.
You have the following choices:
- Remote master key¢
page 34,
-Door handles with convenience key"
¢ page 34,
-Lock cylinder at the dr iver's door
¢page 35, or
- Power locking switch inside
¢ page 35.
Select ive unloc king
When they a re closed, the door and rea r lid
are locked . When unlocking, you can set in the
M MI whether only the driver's door or the en­
tire vehicle sho uld be unlocked ¢
page 33 .
Automatic locking
The automat ic locking feat ure locks all the ve­
h icle doors and the rear lid when you drive
faster than 9 mph ( 15 km/h) .
The ca r is un locked again, when the opening
f u nction in the power loc king system sw itch
or at one of the doo r levers is ac tuated. The
Auto Lock function can be turned on and
off in
the MMI
¢ page 33.
Anti-theft alarm warning system
I f the a nti-theft alarm warning system de ­
tec ts a break- in into the vehi cle, acoust ic and
visua l wa rning signals are triggered. The anti
-theft wa rning system is activated au ­
tomatica lly when you lock the vehicle . It is de­
activated when unloc king using the remote
key, with the mechan ica l key, and when you
switch the ign ition on.
The alarm a lso t urns
off when the alarm cycle
has expired .
Turn signals
When you u nlock the veh icle, the turn s ignals
flash twice . When you lock the vehicle the
tu rn signals f lash once. If they do not flash,
one of the doors, the rear lid or t he hood is
not locked.
Unintentionally locking yourself out
In the fo ll ow ing cases there safeg ua rds to
prevent yo u lock ing your remote master key in
the ve hicle:
- The vehicle does not loc k w it h t he cen tral
loc king switc h¢
page 35 if the drive r's
door is open.
- On veh icles with convenience key*, if the
mos t recen tly used master key is in the l ug­
gage compartment, the rear lid is a utomat i­
cally un locked again after it is closed.
Do no t lock your veh icle w ith the
remot e m as ­
ter key or co nvenience ke y*
unti l all doors
and the rear lid are closed. In this way you avoid locking yourself o ut accidentally .
Power side door closer*
The vehicle doo rs are equipped with a power
s ide door closer. W hen closing a door, you on­
ly have to le t it fall light ly in to the latch . The
door will then automatically close by itself
¢ ,1. .
_8 WARNING
-When you loc k yo ur vehicle from o utside,
nobody- espec ially children -shou ld re­
main inside the vehicle. Remember,
when you lock the vehicle from the out­
side the wi ndows cannot be opened from
the inside. ..,

34 Openin g and clo sing
locking and unlocking the vehicle with
the remote control
F ig. 19 Remote control: function buttons
N 0
9 (!)
~
Either the driver's door only or the entire veh i­
cle will unlock when the unlock button
III( @)
is pressed once, depend ing on the settings in
the MMI
¢page 33.
.. Press button III( @) to unlock the vehicle
¢fig .19 .
.. Press button fij (@ ) to lock the vehicle¢.&,
in General description on page 32 .
.. Press b utton c:s (@ ) briefly to un lock the
rear lid .
.. Push the red
!PANIC I button( @) to activate
the panic f unction. The horn sounds and the
turn signals flash. Push the red
!PANIC I but­
ton aga in to deact ivate the panic function.
If the vehicle is unlocked and no door, the rear lid or the hood is opened within 60 seconds,
the vehicle locks itself again automatically.
This feature prevents the vehicle from being
accidentally left unlocked over a long period
of time .
It depends on the settings in the MMI wheth­
er the entire vehicle is unlocked or only cer­
tain doors
¢ page 33.
A WARNING
Read and follow a ll WARNINGS c:> .&. in
General description on page 32.
@ Tips
- In order to make sure the locking func­
tion is working, you should always keep
your eye on the vehicle to make sure it is
properly locked. -
Do not use the remote control if you are
inside the car, otherwise you may unin­
tentionally lock the vehicle, and then you
would set off the anti-theft alarm when
you try to start the eng ine or open a
door. In case this happens anyhow, push
the unlock button
III-
- The vehicle can only be locked when the
selector lever is in the
P posit ion.
- Use the panic function only if you are in
an eme rgency s ituation.
locking and unlocking with convenience
key
Applies to vehicles : with convenience key
The doors and the rear lid can be unlocked
and locked without operating the master key .
Fig . 20 Conven ience key: Lock ing the vehicle
Unlocking vehicle
.. Take ho ld of the door handle. The door is
un locked automatically.
.. Pull the handle to open the door.
locking vehicle
.. Select the P selector lever position . Other­
w ise the vehicle cannot be lo cked.
.. To lock the veh icle, close the door and touch
the sensor in the door handle
on ce c:> fig . 20 .
Do not reach inside the door handle.
T he veh icle can be locked and unlocked at any
doo r. T he master key must be within a range
of about 1.5 m from the appropriate door or
the rear lid. It makes no difference whether
the master key is in your jacket pocket or in
your brief case.

48 Clear vis ion
@ Tips
- Commercial hot waxes applied by auto­
matic car washes affect the cleanability
of the windshield.
- You can also use the service position, for
example, if you want to protect the
winds hield from icing by using a cover.
- You cannot activate the service position
when the hood is open.
Mirrors
Adjusting the exterior mirrors
Fig. 43 F orwa rd section of drive r's arm rest: power m ir­
ro r cont ro ls
T urn the knob to the desired position :
Q/P -In th is position, you can adjust the
d river's and front passenger's exter io r mirrors
by tur ning the knob in t he des ired direction.
® -The m irrors are heated depending on t he
outside temperature .
8 -The exterior mirrors fo ld in. In the MMI,
you can se lect if the m irrors fold in automat i­
cally when you lock the vehicle ¢ page
33 .
Driv er exter io r mirro r tilt function
To help yo u see the c urb when bac king into a
parking space, the surface of the mirror tilts
slightly . The knob must be in the P posit ion
for this to happen .
You can ad just the ti lted mirror s urface by
turning the knob in the desired direction.
When you move out of reverse and into anoth­
er gear, the new mirror posit ion is stored and
assigned to the key yo u are using . T
he mi rror goes back into its orig inal position
o nce you drive forward faster than 9 mph (15
km/h) or switch the ign ition off .
A WARNING
--
- Curved (i.e. conve x) m irror surfaces in­
crease your fie ld of view. Remember that
veh icles o r ot her objects w ill appea r
smalle r and farther away t han when seen
in a flat mir ror. If you use th is m irror to
estimate distances of followi ng ve hicles
when c hanging lanes, yo u cou ld estimate
incorrect ly and cause an accide nt.
(D Note
- If the m irror housing is moved uninten­
ti onally (for examp le, w hile pa rking your
veh icle), then yo u must first fold t he mir ­
ror electrically. Do not re adj ust the mir­
ror housing man ually . You co uld damage
the motor which controls the mirror .
-If you wash the vehicle in an automatic
car was h, you must fo ld the exter ior mir­
rors in to reduce the risk of damage to
the mirro rs. Never fold power folding ex­
terior mirrors* by hand. Only fo ld them
in and out using the power controls.
{I) Tips
- The exterior m irror settings are stored
w ith the memory function*
¢ page 53.
- If there is a malfunction in the electrical
system, you can sti ll adjust the exterior
m irrors by pressing the edge of the mir­
ror.
Dimming the mirrors
Fi g. 44 Auto matic d immin g rearv iew mirro r*

larger, unclosed openings in the door
panel.
- Never d rive w ith int erio r door tr im pan­
els removed.
- Never d rive when parts have been re­
moved from t he ins ide door panel and
the openings they leave have not been
properly closed.
- Never d rive w hen loudspeakers in the
doors have been removed unless the
spea ker holes have been properly
closed.
- Always make cer tai n t hat openings are
covered or filled if additional speake rs
or other equi pment is installed in the
inside door panels.
- A lways have work on t he doors done by
a n authorized Audi dealer or qualified
wo rkshop .
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag system can provide
supplemental protection to properly restrain ­
ed occupants.
Fi g. 152 Side curtai n airbags, dri ver 's s ide: side cu rtai n
ai rbag locat ion
The side curtain airbags are located on both
sides of the interior above the front and rear
side windows ¢
fig. 152 . They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG" on the windshie ld
frame and the center roof pillar.
The s ide curtain airbag system supplements
the safety belts and can help to reduce the
risk of injury for occupa nts' heads and upper
torso on the side of the veh icle tha t is struc k
Airba g system 165
in a side collision. The side cu rtain airbag in­
flates in side impacts and only when the vehi­
cle acceleration registered by the control un it
is h igh eno ugh. If this rate is below the refer­
ence value programmed into the control unit,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re­
sult of the co llision . It is not possib le to de­
fine an airbag triggering range that will cover every possib le ang le of impa ct, sin ce the cir­
c u mstances will vary cons iderably be tween
one collision and anothe r. Important factors
incl ude , for example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact,
vehicle speed, etc. ¢
page 166, How side cur­
tain airbags work.
Aside from their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to help keep the driver or front passenger in position in the event of a colli­
s ion so that the side curtain airbags can pro­
vide protection .
The airbag system is not a substit ute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. Al­
ways remember that the a irbag system can
o nly help to protect you if you are wear ing
you r safety be lt and wearing it proper ly. This
i s a nothe r reason why you should a lways wear
your sa fe ty be lts, no t ju st because the law re­
quires you to do so ¢
page 133, General
notes .
It is important to remember that wh ile the
s ide cu rtain air bag system is desig ned to help
reduce the likelihood of serious injuries, other
injur ies, for examp le, swelling, bruising, fric­
tion burns and minor abrasions can also be as­
sociated w ith these airbags upon dep loyment.
Remember too, these airbags will deploy only
once and only in certain kinds of accidents -
your safety belts a re always there to offer pro­
tection .
The side curtain airbag sy stem basic ally
consists of :
- The electronic control module and external
side impact sensors
ll>-