2012 AUDI A6 tires

Safet y fir st . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Driving Safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Proper occupant seating posit ions . . . 124
Driver and passenger side footwell . . . 128
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Stowing luggage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
R eport ing Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . 13 1
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Why safety bel ts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Safety belt p re tens ioners . . . . . . . . . . 140
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
I mpor tant th ings to know . . . . . . . . . . 1 42
Fr ont airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
M onitoring the Advanced Airbag
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Knee airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Side curta in a irbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Ch ild Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . 168
C hi ld safety seats ............ .... . 174
Install ing a chi ld safety seat . . . . . . . . 179
L A TC H L ower ancho rages and tethe rs
fo r ch ild ren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 2
Addit io nal Informa tion 186
Audi pre sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Pr even ta ti ve passe nger p rotec tion 18 7
Vehicle operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Intelligent technology . . . . . . . . 189
N ot ice about da ta re corded by vehi cle
con trol mo dules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Electronic stabilization program (ESP) 189
Bra king . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Electro-mechanical power assist . . . . . 193
Driving w ith your quattro ® . . . . . . . . . 193
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Table of contents 3
Driving and environment . . . . .
196
T he first 1,000 miles (1 ,500 km) and
afterwa rds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Catalytic co nverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Avoid damaging the vehicle . . . . . . . . . 197
Drivi ng throug h wate r on roads . . . . . 198
Operate your vehicle eco nomically and
min imize poll ution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
D riving with a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
T ra ile r tow ing t ips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Vehicle care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Cleaning and protection . . . . . . 204
General infor mation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 4
C are of ex ter ior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 4
Care o f inte rior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... ... .
215
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
F uel tank. ... .. .... . ... ...... ... . 216
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Engine hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Engine o il . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Engine cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Battery . .. .. .. .... .. ........ ... . 230
Windsh ie ld/headlight washer
c onta iner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
T ires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
T ire pressure mo nitoring system 253
Do-it -yourself s ervice . . . . . . . . . 256
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
T ru nk escape h andle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
E mergency warn ing triangle . . . . . . . . 256
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Changi ng a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
•
•

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 29
In o rder to connect the special diagnostic
equipment, push the plug into the Data Link
Connector (DLC) . The DLC is located to the
right of the hood re lease ¢
fig. 15.
Your authorized Audi dealer or a qualified
service station can interpret the code and per­
form the necessary repair.
Electronic speed limiter
Your vehicle may be factory equipped with
tires that are rated for a maximum speed of 130 mph (210 km/h) . Thi s is less than the
maximum speed of your vehicle . To reduce the
ri sk of sudden tire failure and loss of control if
the vehicle is ope rated at excessive speeds,
your veh icle also has an electronic speed limit­
er. The electronic speed limiter prevents your
vehicle from going faster than the tire speed
rating . For more information ¢
page 246.
If the engine control unit receives faulty vehi­
cle road speed signals, the Malfunction Indi­
cator Lamp (MIL)
II will i lluminate. If this
occurs, contact the nearest author ized Audi
dea ler for assistance.
A WARNING
-
Always observe the posted speed limits
and adjust your speed to suit prevailing
road, traffic and weather conditions . Never
drive your vehicle faster than the maxi­
mum speed rating of the tires insta lled.

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).

130 Driving Safely
&_ WARNING
-
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than
those fitting completely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
&_ WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win­
dows, the power roof* and the rear lid are
securely closed and locked to reduce the
risk of injury when the vehicle is not being
used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es­
pecially with the rear lid left open. A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out . Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle .
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment . Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
(D) Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce window fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open .
-
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la­
bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar.
The tire pressure label lists the recom­ mended cold tire inflation pressures for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured.
For recommended tire pressures for nor­
mal load conditions , please see chapter
r::!) page 2 3 9.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo prop­
erly ¢
page 129, Loading the luggage com­
partment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most
significant factor.
For example , in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb (4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item. This means that
the weight of the item would suddenly be about 200 lbs. (90 kg). You can imagine the
injuries that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item flying
freely through the passenger compartment
could cause in a collision like this.
&_ WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur­
ing hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury.
- Always use suitable mounting straps and properly secure items to the tie-downs in ..,.

@ Tips
-ABS and AS R on ly wor k co rrectly when
a ll fo ur wheels are eq uipped w ith identi­
ca l tires . Different tire s izes can lead to a
r educt io n in eng ine power.
- You may hear noises when the sys tems
desc ribed are working.
- If the indicato r light
D] or m (USA
models) ;£1 (Canada models) appea rs,
there may be a malfunctio n ¢
page 19 ,
¢ pag e 19.
Switching on and off
ESP turns on automatically when you start
the engine .
Fig. 1 64 Center co nsole wit h ESP OFF button
Switching sport mode on
Press th e I,$ OF F I button ¢ fig. 164. The ac­
tions tak en by the ES P syst em to stabili ze th e
ve hicl e are lim ited. In ve hicl es w it h fro nt
wheel drive, the an ti-s lip reg ulat ion (ASR) is
limited . In vehicles wi th a ll-wheel d rive, t he
AS R is switc hed off. The
I ES P i ndicator lig ht
turns on and the message
Caution! Reduced
tract ion ¢.&
appears in the driver informa ­
tion system d isplay.
The fo llow ing examples a re u nusua l situa­
tions where it may make sense to switc h sport
mode on in order to a llow the whee ls to spin:
- Rocking the vehi cle back and forth when it is
stuck
- D rivin g in d eep snow or on loose groun d
- D riving wi th s now cha ins
Intelligent technology 191
Switching sport mode off
Press the In OF FI but ton ag ain. T he ltJ in dica ­
tor lig ht tur ns off an d the message
Stability
program on
appears in t he d river info rmation
system display .
&_ WARNING
-- Drive whee ls can sp in and you can lose
contro l of t he ve hicle more eas ily w hen
ASR and ESP are in sport mode, especial­
ly whe n th e road is slippery.
- Sw itch to sport mode only when your
driving sk ills, traff ic and weat her co ndi­
tions perm it.
@ Tips
You cannot sw itch sport mode on whe n
adaptive c ruise control* is w orki ng.
Braking
General information
Wha t affe cts bra king effici ency?
-
Operating conditions and driving habits
The brakes on today's automobiles a re still
subject to wear, depending largely on operat­ i ng co nd it io ns and driving habits ¢,& . On ve­
hi cles that a re e it h er dr iven most ly in stop­
and-go city t raff ic or are dr iven hard, the
br ake pa ds should be check ed by yo ur au thor­
iz ed Audi dea ler m ore often th an spec ified in
the
Warranty & Maintenance booklet. Failure
to have yo ur brake pads ins pected can result
in reduced brake performance .
On stee p slopes, you sho uld use the br aking
e ff ect o f the engine. This way, you prevent un ­
necessary wear on t he brake system. If you
must use your bra kes, do not hold the brakes
down cont in uous ly. Pump the brakes at inter­
vals.
Moisture or road salt
U nder certa in conditions, for exam ple, when
driving th roug h water or very heavy rain, or
even after washing your veh icle , the b raking
effect can be reduced due to m oist ure (or in ..,.

pressed considerably harder to make up
for the lack of booster assistance.
Electro-mechanical
power assist
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering.
Power steering adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed .
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defective! Stop the vehicle
If this indicator light turns on and stays on
and this message appears, the power steering may have failed.
Do
not continue driving. See your authorized
Audi dealer or other qualified repa ir facility
for assistance.
t -r- fl Steering: System malfunction! You may
c ontinue driving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steer ing may be more diffi­
cult to move or more sensitive than usual.
Drive slowly to your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected.
@ Tips
If the . or t~fl indicator light only stays
on for a short time, you may continue driv­
ing .
Driving with your
quattro ®
Applies to vehicles: with all-wheel drive
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv­
en.
General information
With all-wheel drive, power is distributed to
all four wheels. This happens automatically
depending on your driving sty le and the road
conditions at the time. See also¢
page 189. Intelligent technology 193
T
he all -whee l dr ive concept is designed for
high engine power. Your vehicle is exception­
ally powerfu l and has excellent driving charac­
teristics both under normal driving conditions
and on snow and ice. Always read and follow
safety precautions¢ ,&..
Winter tires
When driving in the winter, your vehicle with
all-wheel drive has an advantage, even w ith
regular tires. In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all-sea­
son tires) for improved driveability and brak­
ing: these tires must be mounted on
all four
wheels.
See also¢ page 250, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this normally also applies to vehicles
with all-wheel drive¢
page 251, Snow
chains .
Replacing wheels/tires
Vehicles with a ll-wheel drive must always
have tires of the same size. Also avoid tires
with different tread depths. For deta ils see
page ¢
page 246, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels.
Off-Road driving?
Your Audi does not have enough ground clear­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle. It is
therefore best to avoid rough tracks and un­ even terrain as much as possible. Also refer to
¢page 197 .
A WARNING
Always adjust your dr iv ing to road and traf­
fic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks.
-Although the all-wheel drive is very ef­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is limited by tire traction. You
should therefore not drive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippery road surfaces.
•
•

196 Driving and environment
Driving and
environment
The first 1,000 miles
(1,500 km) and
afterwards
New engine
The engine needs to be run-in during the first
1,000 miles (1,500 km).
For the fir st 600 miles (1,000
kilometers ):
.,. Do not use full throttle.
... Do not drive at engine speeds that are more
than 2/3 of the max imum permitted RPM.
... Avoid hig h engine speeds.
From 600 to 1,000 mile s (1 ,000 to
1,500 kilometers):
... Speeds can gradually be increased to the
max imum pe rm iss ible road or eng ine speed .
During and after break-in per iod
.,. Do not rev the engine up to high speeds
when it is cold. Th is app lies whether the
transm ission is i n N (Neutra l) or in gear.
After the break-in period
... Do not exceed maximum engine speed un­
der any circumstances.
.,. Upshift into the next hig her gear
before
reaching the red area at the end of the tach­
ometer scale
c:> page 11.
During the first few hours of driving, the en­
g ine's interna l friction is higher than later
when all the moving parts have been broken
in . How well this break- in p rocess is do ne de­
pends to a conside rable extent on th e way the
ve hicl e is driven d uring the first 1,0 00 miles
(1, 500 k ilome ters).
0 Note
E xtremely high engi ne speeds are auto­
mat ica lly reduced. However, these rpm
lim its are progr amme d for an engine well
r u n- in, not a new engine .
{® For the sake of the environment
Do not drive with unnecessarily high en­
g ine speeds - upshifting ear ly saves fuel,
reduces no ise and protects the environ­
ment.
, New tires
If your vehicle is runni ng on new tires, drive
part icularly caref ul for the first 350 miles
(500 kilomete rs) afte r fitt ing .
A WARNING
New tires tend to be sl ippery and mus t al­
so be "broken -in" . Be s ure to remember
this dur ing the fi rst 350 mi les ( 500 kilo ­
meters) . Brake gently . Avoid fo llow ing
closely behind other vehicles or other sit­
uations that m ight require sudden, hard
braking .
New brake pads
Remember that new brake pads do not have a
full bra king effect dur ing the fi rst 250 m iles
(400 kilomete rs) afte r they a re insta lled .
New brake pads have to be "burnished in" be­
fo re t hey have optima l grab
c:> A .
During the break- in period, you should avoid
putting severe loads on the brakes. Severe
l oads include, for example, sudden hard brak­
i ng, in particular at very high speeds or, for
example, on mounta in passes .
A WARNING
New b rake pa ds don't have t he bes t stop­
pi ng power and mus t be "broke n-in " dur­
i ng the in iti al 1 00 to 150 mi les (150 to
20 0 k ilometers) of no rma l city driving . You
can compensate for this by pressing the
br ake peda l mo re f irm ly . This also applies
l ater when new pads are installed.

198 Driving and en vironm ent
Driving through water
on roads
Note the following to avoid vehicle damage
when driving through water, for example on
flooded roads:
- The water must not be any higher than the
bottom of the vehicle body.
- Do not drive faster than wa lking speed.
A WARNING
After driving through water, mud, slush,
etc., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because of wet brake rotors and pads. Dry
the brakes first by braking carefully to re­
sto re the full braking effect.
@) Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmiss ion, suspension or electrical sys­
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through water.
- Check the depth of the water before dr iv­
i ng through it.
- Do not stop the vehicle, drive in reverse
or switch the engine off when driving
through water .
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may create waves that raise the water
level and make it too deep for your vehi­
cle to drive through safely.
- Avoid dr iving through salt water because
i t can cause corrosion.
Operate your vehicle
economically and
minimize pollution
General
Your personal style of driving will determine
the economy of your vehicle, as well as ex­
haust and noise levels.
Fuel economy, environmenta l impact, and
wear on your engine, brakes and tires largely
depend on three factors:
- your personal driving style
- operating conditions
- technical limitations
If you anticipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, you can easily cut your
fuel consumpt ion by 10-15 percent . This sec­
t ion will give you some tips on how you can
help the env ironment and your pocketbook.
@ Tips
The consumption estimates as published
by ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
(EPA) and Transport Canada may not corre­
spond to your actual consumption on the
road, which will vary depending upon vehi­
cle load and speed, road and weather con ­
ditions, trip length, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout
ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac­
celerating.
.,. Avoid unnecessary accelerating and braking.
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac­
ce lerating. If you anticipate what is going to
happen next, you will need to brake less and,
thus, acce lerate less . Let the vehicle coast
whenever possible - for example when you see
that the next traffic light is red.