2012 AUDI S6 service indicator

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 17
Follow the warning stickers¢ page 214,
Engine compartment.
@ Note
Do not continue driving if the . symbol
illuminates. There is a malfunction in the
engine cooling system -you co uld damage
your eng ine.
D Battery
This warning/indicator light detects a mal ­
function in the generator or in the vehicle's
electrical system.
The . warning/indicator light illuminates
when you switch on the ignition and must go
out after the engine has started.
• Alternator fault: Battery is not being
charged
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
generator or vehicle e lectrica l system.
Drive to you r authorized Audi dealer or quali­
fied workshop immediately. Because the vehi­
cle battery is discharging, turn off all unnec­
essary electrical equipment such as the radio .
Seek professional assistance if the battery
charge leve l is too low.
(•i Low battery charge : battery will be
charged while driving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there may be limited star ting
ability.
I f this message turns off after a litt le wh ile,
the battery charged enough wh ile driving.
If the message does not turn off, have your
author ized Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop
correct the malfunction.
~ Safety belts
This warning/indicator light reminds you to
put on your safety belt.
The . warning/indicator light illuminates
when the ignition is switched on to remind
the driver and any front passenger to put on
the safety belt. Additionally, an acoustic warn­
ing (gong) wi ll also sound.
For more Information¢
page 133, i Safety
belt warning light.
~ Engine oil pressure malfunction
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol
requires immediate service or repair . Driving
with a low-oil-pressure indication is likely to
inflict severe damage to the engine .
• Switch off engine and check oil level
If the indicator light turns on the message ap­
pears, the oil pressure is too low.
"" Pull off the road .
... Stop the vehicle.
... Tur n off the engine .
"" Check the engine oil level¢ page 225.
"" If the eng ine oil level is too low, add eng ine
oil ¢
page 225. Make sure that the oil pres­
sure warning symbol. appears no longer
in the display before you start dr iv ing again .
"" If the engine oil level is correct and the indi ­
cator light still turns on, turn the engine off
and do not continue driving. Seek professio­
na l assistance .
(D Tips
-The engine oil pressure symbol. is
not an indicator for a low engine oil lev­
el. Do not rely on it. Instead, check the
oil level in your engine at regular inter­
vals, preferably each time you refuel ,
and always before going on a long trip.
- The yellow oil level warning indication
II requires oil refill or workshop serv­
ice without delay. Do not wait until the
red oil pressure warning . starts to
flash before you respond to the low oil ..,

22 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Have the bulb replaced or the connection
repaired by you r aut horized Aud i Service
department.
i,lD Headlight range control
II Headlight range control: defective !
If the symbo l illuminates, t he headlight range
contro l is no longer working properly . Have
the system checked and repaired at your Aud i
dealer .
l§O Adaptive Light
Applies to vehicles: with Adapt ive Light
II Audi adaptive light: system fault
If the indicator light t urns on and th is mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
adapt ive light system . The headlights still
f u nction .
Go to an aut hori zed dea lership to have the
h eadlights or the contro l unit for t he Adapt ive
Light repai red .
~D Light/rain sensor
f'al Automatic headlights /automatic wipers:
system fault
I f th e i ndicator lig ht turns on and t his mes­
sage appears, t he lig ht/ra in sensor is no t
f u nctioni ng cor rec tly .
For safety reasons the low beams are turned
on permanent ly w ith the switch in
AUTO .
However , you can continue to turn the ligh ts
on an d off using the light swi tc h. Y ou can still
con trol a ll fu nct ions tha t are indepe ndent of
t h e rai n sens or throug h the win dshi eld wipe r
l eve r.
Contact your au thor ized Audi deal er as soon
as poss ible to have the prob le m cor recte d.
¢ Q Turn signals
The indicator light blinks when you use either
turn signal .
Whenever yo u use the left B o r th e right rl
turn s ignal , the indicator light blinks. Whe n
you use the emergency flas he rs, both indica­
tor lights flash .
If one of the turn signa l light bulbs b urn o ut,
the turn signal w ill blink twice as fast as nor ­
mal. Carefu lly dr ive to your aut horized Aud i
dealer immed iate ly to have th e malfu nction
cor rected. The indicator lig ht does not indi­
cate a m alfu nction if a tur n signal on t he tra il­
er o r on the veh icle fails in trail er t ow ing
mode .
(D Tips
For m ore inf orm ation on the t urn sign als ,
r e fer to ¢
page 43 .
CRUISE/" (-) Cruise control
The warning/in dicator lig ht mIDJm (U SA mod ­
els)ll'II (Canada models) ill umi nates when
the cr uise c ontrol is activated ¢
page 76 .

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 23
Driver information
display
Overview
Fi g. 4 Dr iver info rmat ion system i n th e inst rum ent
clus te r
Fi g. 5 Display: exa mple of th e informat ion line
The driver informa tion sys tem contains in for ­
mat ion
@ t h at is displayed on tabs@
c::> fig. 4. The following content is possible de­
pending on vehicle equipment:
@
Tab
1
2
3
®
Content
Vehicle functions :
On-board computer c>page 24
Efficiency program* c::> page 25
Digital speedometer
Cr uise control*
c::> page 76
Adaptive cruise control and Audi
braking guard *
c> page 78
Display darkened
Indicator lights and messages
Warning when a doo r, the hood or
t he rear lid is not closed
Service interva l display
c::> page 26
Speed wa rning sy stem c::> page 76
Night vision assistant * c> page 97
--~~-
@ ®
Tab Content
4 Audio/video
Telephone* Navigation*
The second and th ird tabs are only vis ible if at
least one indicator light or message is shown
or if that system is sw itched on .
The status line © is located in the bottom
part of the d isp lay
<=> fig. 4. It displays the ex­
terior temperat ure, time, selector lever posi­
tion, trip odometer and odometer .
For some vehicle f unctions , you can access t he
trip information from the temporary memory
c> page 24 in the line© c> fig. 5.
A WARNING
-
-Never re ly e xclusively on the o utside
temperature display to determ ine if a
road surface is icy or not. Keep in m ind
that road surface s, espec ia lly br idg es
a nd overpa sses, co uld be ice co ve red and
slippe ry even at a n o utside tempe rat ure
above 41 ° F (+ S °C).
- Always remember, even if the "snow­
f la ke" sym bo l (ice warning) does not ap ­
pear in t he dis play, black ice cou ld be on
the road.
- Always red uce your spee d an d drive with
special care in cold weathe r cond itions
when t he chance of enco untering icy
road surfaces increases.
(D Tips
- At tempe ra tu res below 14 ° F (+ 5 °C ) a
snowfla ke symbol a ppears ahead of the
temperat ure display . It is intended to re­
mind the driver to pay special attention
to
ice on the road c> .&. . If the vehicle is
stationa ry, or if you a re driving at a very
low speed, the temperature shown in the
display might be slightly higher than the
actual ou ts ide temperature. This is
c au sed by the heat bei ng r adia ted fro m
th e engine.

26 Instruments and warning /indicator lights
Odometer
Fig . 10 In str ument cl uster: Odomete r an d reset but­
ton
The odometer shows yo u how many mile s
(kilome ters) yo u have driven. You c an switch
the disp lay from mi les to kilome ters and vice
ve rsa via the M MI.
Upper odometer
Th e trip odom eter shows the d istance d riven
si nce i t was last rese t.
It can be used to meas ­
u re shor t distances. The l ast d igit in di cates
1/1 0 of a m ile ( 100 mete rs) .
You can reset th e trip o dom eter to ze ro by
p re ss ing the Reset button~-
Lower odometer
The lower odometer shows the total numbe r
of m iles (k ilometers) d rive n.
Malfunction message
If t here is a ma lfunction in the instrument
cluster ,
DEF will appear in the trip odometer
d isplay area. Contact your authorized Audi
deale r to have the p roblem corrected.
Time and date display
F ig. 11 I n str ume nt cluster : cloc k an d date
You can set the time and t he date disp lay in
the MMI. Refer to the M MI owne r's manual
f or instructions.
When yo u open the driver's door, the date and
time appea r in the inst rument cluster disp lay
for 30 seconds .
Service interval display
The service interval display reminds you when
your next service is due.
Fig . 12 Instrume nt c lu ste r: Se rvice inte rval disp lay
The schedule for the next o il change or inspec­
tion is ca lculated automatically and disp layed
accord ingly . Th e d isp lay works in two stages:
Service reminder
30 days be fore the next service is d ue, a serv ­
ice reminder appears in the display when you
switch the ign ition on
¢ fig. 12.
After about 5 seconds the display switches
back to norma l. The distance and time re­
mai ning are updated each t ime the ignit io n is
switched on until the date due for service is
r eached.
Service due
When the due date for se rvice is reached, the
message
Service due! appears in the instru­
ment cluster immed iate ly after yo u sw itch the
ignition o n. Add it iona lly, a warning tone
sounds . After about 5 seconds the disp lay
switches bac k to normal.
Calling up the service schedules
If or when an oil change or inspection is due,
can be shown in the MMI display by selecting
t h e service interval d isplay in the car menu.
II>

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 2 7
Select the I CAR I func tion button > Car sy s­
tems
co ntrol button > Servicing & check s >
Service inte rval displays . In new vehicles, the
schedu le can only be called up after approx i­
mate ly S00 km.
Resetting the ser vice interval d isplay
Your authorized A udi dealer wi ll rese t the cor ­
respo nding service schedule after performing
the appropriate service on yo ur vehicle. You
also have the possibility to reset the oil
change schedule after having performed an
oil change accord ing to Audi specifications.
Select the
I CAR ! function b utton > Car sys­
tem s
control button > Servicing & checks >
Servic e int erval display s> Reset oil change
interval.
(D Note
If you disconnect the bat tery t ermina ls, no
calc ulatio ns can be made for the servi ce
interv al displ ay d uring this time and no
service remi nder w ill appear. Remembe r
that obse rving the prope r se rv ice intervals
is vita lly impo rtant to extend ing the life of
y o ur veh icle, part icu larly the eng ine, and
maintaining its va lue . Even if th e mileage
driven is low, the maximum period of one
yea r from one se rvice to the next must not
be excee ded.
@ Tips
- Do not reset t he display between o il
changes, o therw ise the display will be i n­
cor re ct.
- The informati on in the Service Reminder
r ema ins sto red even when the vehicle
batte ry is disco nnecte d.
Head-up Display
Applies to vehicles: with Head-up Disp lay
Fi g. 13 Exampl e: indica tors in th e Head -up D isp lay
Fi g. 14 In strument pa nel: k nob for the Head-up Dis­
play
T he Head- up D isplay projects certain warnings
o r se le cted information from the ass istance
systems* o r naviga tion * on t he windshie ld.
T he disp lay appea rs within t he dr ive r's fie ld o f
vision .
Switching on/off
1-Press t he knob~ to switch the Head-up
Displ ay on/off ¢
fig. 1 4.
Adjusting the height
The height of the dis p lay can be adjusted to
the individual drive r.
.. Make s ure you are seated correctly
¢page
124 .
.. Turn the knob~ to adjust the display.
Settings in the MMI
.. Se lect: I CAR I function button > Car systems
cont ro l butto n > Driver assistance > Head·
up D isplay
> Head -up Display content or
Display br ightness . ..,.

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.

With "valet parking" activated, the rear lid
cannot be opened.
~ Remove the mechanical key¢ page 31.
~ Open the glove compartment and activa te
¢
fig. 30 the "valet parking" feature by
pressing the
I VALE T I button. The indicator
light in the switch illuminates.
~ Close the glove compartment and lock it
with the mechanical key.
~ L eave the master key with the service per ­
sonnel for parking and keep the mechan ical
key w ith you .
When the "valet parking" feature is activated:
- the un locking button for the rear lid
e::5 in
the dr iver's door is inactive
- the button
C::5 on the master key is inactive
- the opening hand le in the rear lid is inactive.
The vehicle can be driven and locked and un­
locked w ith the master key. Access to the lug ­
gage compartment is blocked.
When the valet parking function is switched on, the message
Valet parking activated ap­
pears in the instrument cluster display when
you switch the ig nition on.
Sliding/tilting sunroof
Operation
Fig . 31 Sect io n of t he he adlin er: S lidin g/tiltin g sunroo f
b u tto n
@ Tilting and sliding
~ To tilt the sunroof completely, press the
switch briefly to the second leve l¢
fig . 31
briefly.
~ To close the sunroof completely, pull the
switch briefly to the second level ¢
.&_.
Opening and closing 39
~ To se lect an intermediate position, press/
pull the switch to the first level until the de­
sired position is reached .
@ Opening and closing
~ To open the sunroof completely , slide the
button back br iefly to the second level.
~ To close the sunroof completely, slide the
button forward briefly to the second level
¢ .&_.
~ To select a partially open position, slide the
button forward/back to the first level until
the roof reaches the desired position .
A wind deflector integrated into the sliding/
tilting sunroof adapts automatically to the
speed and sunroof pos ition . This reduces wind
noise to a minimum in all sunroof positions .
You can still close or open the sunroof for up
to ten minutes after you have switched the ig­ nition off . The switch is deactivated once the
driver's or front passenger's door is opened .
Solar protection
The solar protection opens automat ically
when the sunroof opens.
The sun shade can be opened and closed by
hand when the sunroof is closed.
A WARNING
-Pay careful attention when closing the
sliding/tilting sunroof -otherwise serious
injury could result! Always take the key
with you when leaving the vehicle .
(D Note
-
Always close your sliding/tilting sunroof
when leaving your vehicle. Sudden rain can
cause damage to the interior equipment of
your vehicle, particularly the electronic equipment .

Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv­
ing style.
F ig. 180 Tire tread: tread wea r ind ica tors (TWI)
Fi g. 18 1 Rotat ing t ires fo r m ore even wea r
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The origina l tires on your veh icle have
1/16 in ch (1.6 mm) high "wear ind icators"
M ....
9 <.7
~
c::> fig . 180 run ning across the tread. Depend ­
ing on the make, there will be six to eight of
them evenly p laced around the t ire . Marks on
the t ire s idewall (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear ind icators . Worn t ires must be replaced.
Different fig ures may apply in other countries
c::> & .
Tir e pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premat ure wear
and can cause sudden tire blow-out . For th is
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
c::> page 241.
Dri ving sty le
Driving fast around curves , heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear. Tires and wheels 245
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your ve
hicl e to have the
same service life, we recomme nd that the
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer 's suggested tire rota­
tion inte rvals. Please remember the follow ­
ing :
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from the
veh icle service inte rva ls o utlined in your
Warranty & Maintenance booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points ; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufactu rer 's suggested
tire rotation intervals .
- Vehicles w ith front-wheel dr ive exper ience
more tread wear on the front wheels com­
pared to all -wheel d rive (quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown
c::> fig. 181.
-Extra care must be taken when rotat ing di-
rection-specific tires
c::> page 263 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new veh icles are balanced .
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unba l­
anced, resulting in vibrat ions you can usually
feel through the steer ing wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, s uspension
and t ires. A whee l must also be reba lanced
when a new tire is insta lled.
Inco rrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wear, impair ing the safety of the vehi­
cle . If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an authori zed
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All-whe el drive
Vehicles wi th quattro ® mus t always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type. For details see
c::> page 193.