2012 AUDI A6 tow

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
•
•

4 Table of contents
Fuses and bulbs ....... .. .. ... .
Fuses . ..... ... . ...... ... .. .. ... .
Bulbs . ... .. ... ... .... ... .. .. ... .
Emergency situations ... .. ... .
General .... ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Starting by push ing or tow ing . .. .. . .
Starting with jumper cables .. .. .. . .
Use of jumper cab les .. .. .. .. .. .. . .
Eme rgency towing with commercial
tow truck .. ................ ... . .
Lift ing vehicle . ........... .... ... .
Technical data ............. .. . .
General information .. .. .. .. . .
Explana tion of te chnical data . .. ... .
Vehicle iden tifica tion .... ...... .. . .
Weights ... ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Dimensions .... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Data .. .. .. .. .. .. .... ... .. .. .. . .
2 11 hp, 2 .0 l iter 4-cylinder engine .. .
3 10 hp, 3 .0 lite r 6-cylinder engine .. .
Consumer Information ..... . .
Warranty coverages .... ... .. .. ... .
Operating your vehicle o utside the
U.S.A. or Canada ......... .... ... .
Audi Service Repair Man uals and 264
264
267
268 268
268
268
269
270 27 2
274
274 274
274
274 275
276
27 6
277
278
278
278
Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
M aintenance .. .. ...... .... ... .. .. 278
Addit ional accesso ries, modifications
a nd pa rts replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
D ecl aration of Compliance,
Te lecommunication and Electronic
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

18 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
level warning 11!1. By then, your engine
may already have suffered serious dam·
age .
~ Engine oil level
• WARNING: Please add oil immediately
When the symbo l an d the driver message ap­
pear, the oil has to be replenished r ight now
co page 222.
If th e indica tor light and the message appear,
a d d engine oil immed iate ly
co page 225.
Ill Add oil, max . x qt (l). You may continue
driving
W hen the symbol and the dr ive r message ap­
pear, add t he amo unt of o il appearing in the
d is pl ay a t the next opport unit y
co page 222 .
~- Steering column lock
• Do not drive vehicle: Steering defective
If t he indicator light tu rns on and t he mes­
sage a ppears, t he re is an ele ct ro nic steer ing
col um n lo ck ma lf u nction. You c annot sw itch
the ign ition on.
D o
not tow your vehicle because i t ca nnot be
s teered. Seek professional ass istance.
1!!11 Steering lock : system fault . Please con­
tact dealer
If the indicator light t urns on and t he mes­
sage appears , th ere is an elect ronic steer ing
column lock ma lfunction .
Drive to yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r i mmedi­
ately to have the mal function corrected.
A WARNING
Your vehicle must not be towed in the
event of a malfunct io n in the electron ic
s te eri ng colum n loc k because i t cannot b e
s teer ed du e to t he locked s teering . If it is
to wed w ith the s tee ring lo cked, there is
t he ri sk of an accide nt.
© -Engine start system
• Engine start system fault. Please con­
tact dealer
If th e indicato r ligh t turns on and the mes ­
sage app ears, do
not switch the ig nitio n off
be cause you may no t be a ble to sw itch i t on
ag ain .
D rive to your authorized A udi dealer i mmed i­
ate ly to have th e ma lfu nction corr ected .
II! Engine start system fault. Please con ­
tact dealer
If the indicato r light turns on and the mes ­
sage appears, there is a malfunct ion in the en­
gine sta rt system.
Drive to your authorized A udi dealer immedi ­
ate ly to have the ma lfunction corrected.
~ii !i: Safety systems
The fl (USA models)/ E,i (Canada models) in­
dicator light mo nitors the sa fety systems e.g.
airbags , pretensione rs and illuminates fo r a
f e w s econds each time you switch the ign it io n
o n .
If the
fl (USA models)/ E,i (Canada mode ls)
i ndicato r light does not go o ut, or if it illum i­
na tes whil e you are driving, o r if it s tarts to
blink, then there is a malfu nctio n so mewhe re
i n t he sys te m .
If the light does no t illumina te
whe n you swi tch the ig nitio n on, this also
mea ns there is a mal funct ion .
A WARNING ~
If yo u have a ma lf un ction in t he safety sy s-
tems , contact you r authorized Audi dea le r
i mmediately. Othe rwise the safety sys­
tems may not work pr operly in an acc i­
dent.

42 Clear vision
visibility conditions. For example, fog cannot be detected by the light sensors.
So always switch on the headlights
io
under these weather conditions and
when driving in the dark.
- Crashes can happen when you cannot see
the road ahead and when you cannot be
seen by other motorists . Always turn on
the headlights so that you can see ahead and so that others can see your car from
the back.
(D Note
The rear fog lights should only be turned
on in accordance with traffic regulation, as
the lights are bright for following traffic.
@ Tips
-In the event of a light sensor malfunc­
tion, the driver is notified in the instru­
ment cluster display~
page 22.
- You will hear a warning tone if you open
the driver door when the exterior lights
are switched on.
- Please observe legal regulations when
using the lighting systems described .
Emergency flasher
The emergency flasher makes other motorists
aware that you or your vehicle are in an emer­
gency situation.
Fig. 33 Center console : emerge ncy flasher switch
• Press the switch~~ fig. 33 to turn the
emergency flashers on or off.
When the emergency flasher is on, all four
turn signals blink at the same time. The turn signal
indicato r lights ¢ Q in the instrument
cluster, as well as the light in the emergency
fl asher switch ~ blink likewise. The emergen­
cy flashers also work when the ignition is
turned off.
The emergency flashers will turn on automati­
cally if you are in an accident where the airbag
has deployed .
(D Tips
You should turn on the emergency flashers
when:
- you are the last vehicle standing in a traf­
fic jam so that any other vehicles coming
can see you, or when
- your vehicle has broken down or you are
in an emergency situation, or when
- your vehicle is being towed by a tow
truck or if you are towing another vehicle
behind you.
· Adjusting the exterior lighting
The settings ore adjusted in the MMI.
• Select: I CAR I function button > Car systems
control button > Vehicle settings> Exterior
lighting.
Automatic headlights
You can adjust the following settings in the
Automatic headlights menu :
Headlights activation time -You can adjust if
the headlights switch on
Early , Med. or Late
according to the sensitivity of the light sensor .
Audi adaptive light* -You can switch adaptive
light
On and Off .
Daytime running lights
USA models:
You can switch the daytime run­
ning lights
on and off.
Canada models:
The function cannot be
turned off.
It is activated automatically each
time the ignition is switched on. This menu
item is shown "greyed out".

Coming home , Leav ing home
The coming home function il luminates the
area outside the vehicle when you switch the
ignition off and open the driver 's door . To turn
the function on, select
Light s when le aving
c a r > On .
The leav ing home function illuminates the
area outside the vehicle when yo u un lock the
veh icle . To turn the function on, select
Li gh ts
when unloc kin g ca r> On.
The coming home and leaving home functions
only operate when it is dark and the light
switch is in the
AUTO pos ition.
Turn signals and high beam lever
The lever on the le~ side of the steering col­
umn is used to operate the turn signals and
the high beam as well as the headlight flash­
er .
Fig. 3 4 Tu rn signal a nd h igh beam lever
The turn s ignal and high beam lever has the
followi ng functions:
Tu rn sign als ¢ ¢ @@
.. Push the lever up as far as it can go to turn
on the r ight turn signal or down to turn on
the left turn sig nal
c:::;, fig . 34 .
.. Move the lever b riefly until you meet resist­
ance and release it to flash three times .
.. Move the lever (up or down) unti l you mee t
resistance and ho ld it there to dete rmine
the f las hing t ime for the turn signals.
High beam [D @
.. Push the lever forward to switch on the high
beam.
Clear vi sion 43
.. Pull the lever back towards you to switch off
the high beam.
Headlight fla sher [D ©
.. Pull the lever towa rd the stee ring wheel to
use the headlight flasher.
Note s on these features
- The turn signals on ly work with the ignition
sw itched on . The indicator lights
f,j or II in
the inst rument cluster~
page 12 also blink.
- After you have turned a corner, the turn s ig -
nal switches off automatically .
- The
high beam works only when the head ­
lights are on . The indicator light
Ill in the
instrument cluster illuminates when the
h igh beams are on.
- The
headlight flasher works only as long as
you hold the lever -even if the re a re no
lights turned on. The indicator light
Ill in
the inst rument cluster i lluminates whe n you
use the headlight flasher.
(D Note
Do no t use the high beam or headligh t
flasher if yo u know that these could blind
oncoming traffic.

44 Clear vis ion
Interior lights
Front and rear interior lighting
Fig. 35 Head liner: Fron t int eri or ligh ts
Fig. 36 Rear headlin er: R ead in g light
Press the appropriate b utton ~ fig. 35:
El -Interior lighting on/off
[j) -Door contact switch . The inter io r l ight ing
turns on automatically when you unlock the
vehi cle, open a doo r or switch the ignition off .
The interior lighting turns off several seconds
after you close the doors , when you lock the
vehicle or when you switch the ignition on.
When a door is open, the light t urns off after
a few minutes.
51 -Reading lights o n/off
~ -Sw itch ing the rear readi ng lights on/off
from the co ckpit.
I .,.. REAR !* -Switch ing the rear reading lights
on/off from the cockp it .
Ambience lighting
Appl ies to vehicles: wit h ambience lighting
You can adj ust the brightness for the amb i­
ence lighting. .,.
Select in the MM I: ICARlfunction button>
C ar sys tem s control button > Vehicle set­
ting s
> Interio r light ing > Brightne ss .
.,. To increase or reduce the brightness, turn
the knob and press it .
T he ambience lighting turns on when you turn
the headlights on while the ignition is switch­ ed on.
@ Tips
The setting is automatically stored and as­
signed to the remote control key that is in
use.
Instrument illumination
You can adjust the brightness of the instru ­
ment and display illumination as well as the
Head-up Display *.
F ig. 37 In strume nt ill umin ation
.,. Press the knob to re lease it .
~ 0 "'
.,. Tur n the knob toward "-" or"+" to redu ce or
increase the br ightness.
.,. Press the knob aga in to retu rn it to its origi ­
na l position .
(I} Tips
The instrumen t illum ina tion (for dials and
needles) lights on when the ignition is
switc hed o n and the vehicle lights are
turned off . As the daylight fades, the illu ­
mination of the dia ls likewise d ims auto­
matically and will g o out completely when
the outs ide light is very low. This feature is
meant to rem ind yo u to sw itch on the
headlights when outsid e light conditions
be come poo r.

Vision
Sun visors
( J
Fig. 38 Sun v isor
The sun visors for the driver and passenger
can be released from their brackets and
turned toward the doors
c::> fig. 38 @.
The mirror light switches on when the cover
over the vanity mirror @opens.
Sun shad e
Applies to vehicles: with s un shade
Fig . 39 Sun s hade pulled up on th e rear w indow
Fig. 40 Cockp it: sun shade sw itc h
Rear door sunshade*
.,. Pu ll the sun shade out and attach it to the
hoo ks on the upper doo r frame
c::> fig. 39.
Clear vi sion 45
Rea r window sun shad e*
.,. To extend/retract the sun shade, press the
button~
c::> fig . 40 .
You can adjust the settings for the rea r sun
shade so the shade re tracts automatically
when you select the reverse gea r. Select:
CAR
function button > Car system s control b utton
> V ehicle settings > Automatic re ar blind >
O n. The settings are automatically stored and
ass igned to the remote control key. The sun
shade extends again as soon as the vehicle be­
gins traveling forward at a speed greater than
9 mph (15 km/h), as long as the ig nition has
not been sw itched off in the meantime.
,&. WARNING
When lowering or ra is ing the sunshade,
make sure there is nothing in its way and
that it has a free path to travel. This co uld
cause persona l inj ury .
(j} Tips
- If the sun shade is ope rated repeatedly
w ithin a short t ime, the built- in overlo ad
pro te ct io n circuit may be tripped . If th is
occurs, you will have to wait briefly be­
fore yo u can operate the shade again.
- Because of the decrease in the f lexibility
of the shade materia l at temperatures
below freezing, t he e lectr ica l circuit
w hich operates the shade shuts off when
the temperature in the vehicle falls be­
low
14 °F (-10 °C). The shade cannot be
operated until the passenger compart­
ment warms up above t his temperature .

maximum capacity specified by the
manufacturer of the roof rack system.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used
to secure items to the roof rack can fail during hard braking or in a collision and
cause serious personal injury .
- Make sure the roof rack is installed exact­
ly as specified above¢
page 57 .
- Always use suitable mounting straps for
securing items to the roof rack to help
prevent items from shifting or fly ing for ­
ward.
- Items on the roof rack must always be
securely mounted.
- The use of a roof rack can negatively af­
fect the way a vehicle handles . Cargo
that is large, heavy, bulky, long or flat
will have a greater negative influence on
the vehicle's aerodynamics, center of
gravity and overall handling . Always
dr ive slowly, avoid sudden braking and
maneuvers when transpo rting cargo on
the roof of your vehicle.
- Never exceed the maximum permissible
load carrying capacity of the roof of your
vehicle , the permissib le axle weights and
the permissible total weight of your veh i­
cle ¢
page 274, Weights.
-Always drive slowly, avoid sudden brak­
ing and maneuvers when transporting
cargo on the roof of your vehicle .
@) For the sake of the environment
Sometimes it may be easier to leave a roof
rack insta lled even though you are not us­
ing it . Due to the increased air resistance
your veh icle will unnecessar ily use more
fuel. Remove the roof rack if you are not
going to use it .
.
Sea ts a nd s to rage 59
Luggage compartment
Loading luggage compartment
Items of luggage must be stowed securely.
Fig. 60 Pla ce hea vy o bject s as far forward a s possible .
Note the following to preserve the vehicle's
good handling charac teristics.
.,.. Distribute the load as evenly as possible .
... Place heavy objects as far forward as poss i­
ble ¢
fig. 60 .
... Secure the items of luggage w ith the cargo
net* or w ith non -elastic retaining straps to
the tie-down rings * ¢
page 61.
A WARNING
- Loose objects in the l uggage compart­
ment can slide about suddenly and a lter
the vehicle's handling characteristics.
- Loose objects in the passenger compart­
ment can fly forward during abr upt ma­
neuvers or accidents and injure occu­
pants .
- Always store objects in the luggage com­
partment and use suitable straps, partic­
ularly with heavy objects .
-
-When you transport heavy objects, al­
ways remember that a change in the cen ­
ter of gravity may result in a change in
the vehicle's handling characteristics.
- Follow all warnings¢
page 123, Driving
Safely .
(D Tips
The tire pressure must be ad justed to the
load - see the t ire pressure sticker located
on the dr iver's side B -pillar .