2013 AUDI A6 warning light

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 19
There is a malfunction that can resu lt in re­
stricted driving stability.
Ca refully drive at a maximum speed of 35
mph
(60 km/h) to your authorized Aud i dealer
or qualified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected.
• Air suspension: service mode. Vehicle
can only be moved with restrictions
Carefully drive to your authorized Aud i dealer
or qualified workshop immediately to have
the service mode deactivated.
II Air suspension fault
There is a system malfunction that can result
in restricted driving stability or reduced
ground clearance.
Drive to your authorized Audi dea ler immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
II Air suspension: vehicle too low. Ground
clearance reduced
The ground clea rance is very low due to a sys ­
tem malfunct ion. Wait until the air suspen­
sion system has restored normal ground clear­
ance . Otherwise, conditions s uch as an uneven
road surface can lead to vehicle damage.
m1 !f Safety systems
The fl (USA models)/ E,I (Canada models) in­
d icator light monitors the safety systems (e .g.
a ir bags, pretensioners) and illuminates for a
few seconds each time you switch the ignition
on.
If the
(I (USA models)/ E,i (Canada mode ls)
indicator light does not go out, or if it illumi ­
nates while you are driv ing, or if it starts to
blink, then there is a malfunction somewhere
in the system. If the light does not illumi nate
when you switch the ignition on, this also
means there is a malfunction.
A WARNING
If you have a malfunction in the safety sys­
tems, contact your authorized Audi dealer
immediately. Otherwise the safety sys- terns may not work
properly in an acci­
dent.
;;,/ {A Electronic Stabilization Control
(ESC )
This warning/indicator light monitors the
Electronic Stabilization Control.
When you switch the ignition on, the ind icator
li ght
G1 turns on briefly to check the f unction.
If the
J.ii) indicator lamp blinks while driving,
the ESC or ASR (Anti-Slip Regu lation) is active­
l y regu lating .
If the
J.ii) indicator lamp illum inates, the sys­
tem has switched the ESC off.
If the indicator light II turns on, the ESC was
switched to ESC sport mode with the button
@ c:> page 192. If this is case, you can reacti­
vate the ESC by switching the ignition off and
then on again . The warning/indicator light
shou ld go o ut to show that the system is fu lly
funct ional aga in.
Stabilization control (ESC/ABS): Fault! See
owner's manual
If the indicator light Ji) and the ABS indicator
light~ (USA models)
![I] (Canada mod ­
els) turn on and the message appears, there is
a malfunction in the ABS system or electronic
differential lock. This also interrupts the ESC.
The brakes still function with their normal
power, but ABS is not active.
Drive to your authorized A udi dealer immedi­
ate ly to have the malfunction corrected.
If the battery terminals were disconnected
and re-connected, the vehicle was jump start ­
ed or the battery is very weak, the ESC sensor
system goes through a learning process for
the first few yards. The warning/indicator
light illuminates. The warning/indicator light
goes out as soon as the learning process is
complete.
For more information about the ESC
c:>page 192.

20 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
ABS/{ @) Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
This warning/indicator light monitors the ABS
and the electronic differential lock (EDL) .
The warning/indicator light & (USA mod­
e ls)
;tlJ (Canada mode ls) will co me on fo r a
few seconds when the igni tion is switched on .
Th e ligh t w ill go out after an a utomatic chec k
se quence is completed.
There is a malfunction in the ABS when :
-The warni ng/i ndicator lig ht does not ill umi ­
nate whe n yo u switch the ign ition on .
- The warni ng/indicator lig ht does not go out
after a few seconds .
- The wa rning/indicator lig ht ill uminates
wh ile dr iving.
The ESC indicator light a lso ill uminates if
there is a malfunction in the ABS . T h e mes­
sage
Stabilization control (ESC/ABS ): Fault!
See owner's manual
a lso appea rs in the in ­
strument cluster display and a warning tone
sou nds .
The brake system will still respond even
without the assistance of the ABS system .
See your authorized Audi dealer as soon as
possible to restore full braking performance.
For mo re in forma tion regarding the A BS
¢ page 192.
Malfunction in the brake system
If the brake wa rning light ¢ page 15 and t he
ABS warning ill uminate
together there may be
a malf u nc tion in the ABS, and there may also
be a ma lf u n ct ion in the b rak e system itse lf
¢ ,&. . The ABS will not work and you will no­
tice a change in braking response and per­
formance.
I n the eve nt of a malfunction in the brake
system
t h e warn ing/ indicato r light 1111
(USA model s). (C an ada models) in th e i n­
s tru men t cluster flashes¢
page 1 5.
Malfunction in the electronic differential
lock (EDL)
The EDL works t oget he r with the A BS. T he
A BS w arning ligh t will come on i f there is a malfunction in the
ED L sys tem
¢ page 192.
See your author ized Audi dealer as soon as
poss ible.
A WARNING
"---
- I f the E (U SA mo de ls)l ii] (Canada
models) warning light does not go out,
or if it c om es on whi le driving, t he ABS
sys tem is not wor king properly . Th e vehi ­
cl e ca n th en be sto pped on ly wit h th e
st an dard b rakes (with out A BS). Y ou w ill
no t have the pro te ct ion ABS pro vide s.
Con tact your Audi de aler as so on as pos­
sible .
-USA m odels: If th e 1111 warn ing ligh t,
the
J;.J w ar nin g light and t he & warn ­
in g light come on together, the rear
whee ls could lock up first under har d
b rak ing. Rear wheel lock-up can ca use
l o ss of vehicle control and an acci dent .
Have your vehicle repaired immediately
by your au thoriz ed A udi deale r or a quali­
fi ed workshop. Dr ive sl ow ly and avo id
sud de n, hard bra ke a ppli catio ns.
- Canada models: If the brake warning
light ., th e
DJ warning light and t he
A BS war ning ligh t
[(Gia come on toget her,
the re ar wheel s could lock up firs t under
ha rd br aking. Rea r whee l loc k-up ca n
cause loss of ve hicl e contro l and an acci­
dent . Have your veh icle repa ired immedi­
ately by your authorized Audi dealer or a
qua lified w ork shop. Drive s lowly and
av oid sudden, hard b rake applications .
{0) Worn brake pads
EtJ Brake pads!
If the warning light i lluminates, immed iate ly
contact your a uthori zed Audi dea ler or qua li­
fied workshop to have all brake pads i nspect­
ed . On USA mode ls t he war ning ligh t
EtJ
comes on toge ther w ith the warn ing light
1111 . Both se ts of brake pads on an ax le
mu st always be re place d at th e same t ime.

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 21
A WARNING 1= ~
Driv ing with bad brakes can cause a coll i-
sion and serious personal injury .
- If the warning light
EiJ and the warning
light
11111> w ith the message B rake
pad s!
comes on in the instrument cluster
display, immediately contact your au­
tho rized Aud i dealer o r qualified work­
shop to have a ll brake pads chec ked or
replaced if necessary.
EPC Electronic power control
This warning/indicator light monitors the
electronic power control.
The Ga warn ing/ indicator light (Electron ic
Power Control) illuminates when you switch
the ignition on as a function check .
(D Tips
If this warning/indicator light illuminates
while you are dr iving, then there is a mal­
function in the engine elect ron ics. Have
the malfunction co rrected as soon as pos­
sible by yo ur autho rized Aud i dea ler o r
qualified repair facility.
Ci Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL)
The Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) is part
of the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD II) system.
The symbot
¢1111ij lights up when the ignit ion is
switched on and w ill turn
off after the engine
has started and has settled at a constant idle
speed. Th is ind icates that the MIL is working
properly .
The warning light illuminates when there is a
malfunct ion in the engine electronic system.
Contact your author ized Audi dealer and have
the ma lfunction corrected.
An improperly closed fuel filler cap may also
cause the MIL light to illum inate
c.> page 222.
For more information c.> page 29.
1) - : USA mod els only
!'1 Engine speed limitation
App lies to veh icles : w ith eng ine speed limitatio n
(I! Engine sp ee d ma ximum XXXX RPM
The eng ine speed is automatically limited to
the speed d isplayed in the dr iver information
system . Th is protects the engine from over­
heating.
The eng ine speed limitation deactivates once
the engine is no longer in the critical tempera­
ture range and you have re leased the acce lera­
tor pedal once.
If the engine speed limitation was activated
by an engine control malfunction, the indica­
tor light
Ga a lso turns on. Make sure that the
speed does not go above the speed disp layed.
Drive to your author ized A udi dealer immedi­
ate ly to have the malfunction corrected.
~, Engine oil level
II Add o il, ma x. x qt (l). You ma y continue
dri ving
When the symbol II and dr iver message ap­
pear, add the amount of oil appearing in the
display at the next opportunity¢
page 230.
~ •. Engine oil sensor
II Oil le vel! Sensor d efecti ve
If the symbol i lluminates, contact your au­
thorized Audi dea ler and have the oil sensor
inspected. Until you have this done, check the
oi l level each time you refue l just to be on the
safe s ide
c.> page 230.
Bil Fuel level indicator
Ii] Ple ase re fuel
If the indicator light turns on for the first
time and the message appears, there are
about 2.6 gallons (10 liters) of fuel left in the
tank. Time to refuel
c.> page 221.
Ii] Tank system malfun ction! Contact dealer ..,_

22 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
If the indicator light t urns on and th is mes ­
sage ap pears, the re is a ma lfunction in the
tan k system.
D rive to yo ur aut hori zed Au di dealer i mmedi­
ate ly to have the mal func tion cor rected .
C> Windshield washer fluid level
Ill Please refill washer flu id
If th e sym bol illum inates, add w indshield
washer fluid to the was her system/ headlight
washer system* ~
page 239.
'1:> Windshield wipers
g._5 Windshield wiper defective
T here is a mal funct io n with the w indshield
wipers.
Dr ive to yo ur aut horized Aud i dea le r immedi ­
ate ly to have the mal func tion cor re cte d.
~ /0$ Defective light bulb warning
rs)-If the indicator light turns on, a bulb has
failed. The message indicates the location of
the bulb .
&II-if a re ar fog l amp has f ailed, the indic ator
lig ht tu rns on to indica te the location on t he
ve hicl e.
Vehicle lights: malfunction
If the message appea rs, there is a malfunc ­
tion in the hea dlights or light switch .
Drive to your authori zed Audi dea ler immedi­
ately to have the mal function cor rected.
A WARNING
- Light b ulbs are pressurized and co uld ex­
plode whi le they are being changed caus­
ing ser ious perso na l inju ry.
- Wor k w ith due care w hen handling the
hig h-voltage section of gas d ischa rge
( x enon) lig hts. Fa ilur e to d o so co uld re­
sul t in deat h or seriou s inju ry.
(D Tips
Have t he b ulb replaced or the co nnect ion
r epaire d by y our authorized A udi Se rvice
department.
i,0 Headlight range control
II Headlight range control : defective!
If the symbol illuminates, the headlig ht range
control is no longer working properly. Have
the system checked and repaired at you r A udi
dealer .
~D
Adaptive Light
Applies to vehicles: with Adaptive light
mFJ Audi adaptive light: system fault
If the indicator light turns on and this mes ­
sage appears, there is a malfunct ion in the
adaptive light system. The head lights sti ll
func tion.
Go to an authorized dealersh ip to have the
headlights or t he c ontrol un it for the Adaptive
Light repa ired .
@:> Light/rain sensor
!'al Automatic headlights /automatic wipers :
system fault
If the indicato r light turns on and this mes­
sage appears, the light/ rain sensor is not
funct ioning corr ect ly .
For safety reasons the low beams are t urned
o n pe rmanently with the sw itch in
AUTO .
However, you can co ntinue to turn the lights
o n and off using the light switch . Yo u can st ill
c o ntrol a ll functions that are independent of
t h e ra in sensor th roug h th e w ind shield wipe r
lever .
Co ntact you r authorized Audi dea le r as soon
as possib le to have t he p roblem corrected .
}-: Sport differential
Applies to vehicles: with sport different ial
Ill Sport differential: system fault

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 23
There is a malfunct ion with the sport differen ­
tial.
D rive to yo ur aut ho riz ed Aud i dea le r i mmedi ­
ately to have the mal func tion cor re cted.
II] Sport differential : overheating
The transmission temperature has increased
sign ificantly due to the sporty dr iving manner .
Dr ive in a less spo rty manne r unt il the tem­
perat ure returns to the no rma l range and the
in di cator lig ht switches of.
& WARNING
Con ta ct yo ur a uthori ze d Au di d ealer o r a
qu alifi ed workshop if the spor t diffe ren tial
is faulty or ma lfunctioni ng . The repa ir
must be perfo rmed by trai ned person ne l
using the cor rect oil in orde r to ensure
safety.
¢i 9 Turn signals
-
The indicator light blinks when you use either
turn signal.
W henever you use the left II or the rig ht II
turn sig na l, the ind icator light blinks . When
you use the emergency flashers, both indica ­
tor lights f las h.
I f o ne of the tu rn s ignal light bu lbs burn out,
t he t urn signa l will blink tw ice as fas t as nor ­
mal. Carefully drive to your author ized A udi
dea ler immediately to have the malfunction
corrected. The indicator light does not indi­
cate a malfunction ifa turn signa l on the trail­
er or on the vehicle fails in trailer towing mode .
@ Tips
For mo re i nfo rmation on the turn signals,
refer to
c::> page 43 .
CRUISE , .. \"i Cruise control
The warning/ind icator light [1jim~i~ (USA mod­
e ls)/ lil (Canada mode ls) illum inates when
t he c ruise c ont ro l is activa ted
c::> page 7 9 .
Driver information
display
Overview
Fi g. 4 Drive r in fo rm atio n syste m in th e i nst ru m ent
cl ust er
Fig. 5 Disp lay : examp le of t he info rmatio n lin e
The dr iver information system con tains infor ­
mation @ that is displayed on tabs @
c::> fig. 4. The following content is possible de ­
pending on veh icle equipment:
@
Tab
1
2
®
Content
Vehicle functions :
On-board computer c::> page 25
Efficiency program* c::> page 25
Digital speedometer
C ruise control*
c::> page 79
Adaptive cruise con trol and bra king
g uard *
c::> page 82
Aud i active lane ass ist * c::> page 91
Display dar kened
Ind icator lights and m essages
Warning when a door, the hood or
the rear lid is not closed
S ervice interval displ ay
c::> page 2 7
Speed warning system
c::> page 79

24 In str um ents a nd warning /indic ato r li ghts
®
Tab
3
4
5
6
®
Cont ent
Night vision assistant*¢ page 101
Telephone*
Navigation*
The second and thi rd tabs are only visib le if at
least one indicator light or message is shown
or if that system is switched on.
The status line © is located in the bottom
part of the display¢
fig. 4. It displays the ex­
terior temper ature, time, selector leve r pos i­
tion, trip odometer and odometer .
For some veh icle functions, you can access the
tr ip informat ion from the temporary memory
¢
page 25 in the line @ ¢ fig. 5 .
.&_ WARNING
-Never rely exclusively on the outside
temperature display to determine if a road surface is icy or not. Keep in mind
that road surfaces, especially bridges and overpasses, could be ice covered and
slippery even at an outside temperature
above 41
°F (+5 °().
- Always remember, even if the "snow­
flake" symbol (ice warn ing) does not ap­
pear in the display, black ice could be on
the road .
-Always reduce your speed and drive with special care in cold weather conditions
when the chance of encountering icy road su rfaces increases.
@ Tips
-At temperatures below 14 °F (+ S 0
() a
snowflake symbol appears ahead of the
temperature disp lay.
It is intended to re­
mind the dr iver to pay spec ial attention
to
i ce on th e road ¢ ,&. . If the veh icle is
stationary, or if you are driving at a very
l ow speed, the temperature shown in the
display might be slight ly higher than the
actual outside temperature. This is caused by the heat being radiated from
the engine .
- You can select the units used for temper­
ature, speed and other measurements in
the MMI.
- For information on the audio/video and
navigation* functions, refer to the sepa­
rate MMI owner's manua l.
Operation
The driver information system is operated us­
ing the buttons on the multifunction steering wheel.
F ig . 6 Multifunction steering wheel: operating the driv ·
er informat ion system
Fig. 7 Driver information system: opening the vehicle
functions menu
O pera tin g con cept
.,. Switch the ignition on.
.,. To switch between the tabs, press the rock­
er switch @to the left or right¢
fig. 6.
.,. To access additional information below or
above, rotate the thumbwheel @down or
up .
.,. To confirm a select ion, press the thumb­
wheel @.
.,. Press the~ button @ to open a submenu
for an active tab. ..,.

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 25
~ Press the button @ to access a func tion fo r
t h e p rog rammable stee ring w heel button* .
Accessing Vehicle functions
~ Select t he fi rs t t ab wi th the roc ker switch
(D .
~ Press the button ~ @. T he Vehicle func­
tion s
menu appears ¢ fig. 7.
~ To select a men u item, turn a nd p ress the
t hu mbwheel @.
Resetting values to zero
~ Select t he on-board computer / Efficien cy
program
men u it em in the Vehicle func­
tion s
menu.
~ You can now select between the long-te rm
memo ry and short-te rm memory .
~ To reset the va lues in a memory, press and
hold the thumbwhee l@ for one second.
Assigning a function to the
programmable steering wheel button*
~ Se lect : ICAR lf u nct ion button> ( Car) * sys­
tems
control button > Vehicle settings >
Steering wheel button .
The last function se lected displays when you
switch the ignition o n.
On-board computer
You ca n call u p the following informa tion in
the on-board computer:
- D ate
- Driv ing time (h) from the s ho rt- term memo-
r y
- Ave rag e co nsump tion in
MP G (l/ 100 km)
from the s ho rt -term me mory
- Ave rag e spe ed in mph (km/h) from the
sho rt-term memo ry
- Distance driven in m iles (km) from the
sho rt-term me mory
- Cu rrent fuel consumption in
M PG (l/100
km)
- Sho rt-term memo ry overview
- Long-term memo ry overview
The sho rt-t erm memo ry co llec ts dr iving info r­
mat io n from the time the ignition is switched
on until it is switched off. If yo u continue dr iv - ing within
two ho urs a fter switch ing the ign i­
tion off, the new values are incl uded when cal­
c ul ating the c urrent t rip informati on.
Unlik e the s ho rt-t erm memory, t he lo n g- term
memo ry is not erase d automatically. Yo u can
select t he time pe riod for evaluating trip in­
format ion y ourse lf.
F o r so me vehicle f uncti ons, you can a ccess t he
trip informa tion from t he tem porary memory
in the line CD¢ fig .
5.
The current fue l consumption can be d is­
played using a bar ¢ fig.
10 . The a verage c on­
s u mption (mpg) store d in the sho rt-term
memo ry is a lso displayed . E lectr ica l ene rgy
can be sto red in the battery when the vehicle
is coast ing or d riving downhill (recupe rat ion) .
The bar will move toward
D .
Efficiency program
The efficiency program ca n he lp you to use
l ess fue l. It evaluates drivin g info rmation in
reference to f uel consumption and sh ows oth­
er equipment influencing consumption as well
as shift recomme ndat ions . ¢
page 26. Fu el
economy messages
c> page 26 prov ide t ips
fo r eff ic ient driving . The efficiency program
uses d istance and cons umption data from t rip
c ompu ter
1.
To d isp lay the eff ic iency p rogram, call up Ve­
hicle function s
and select the menu opt io n
Efficiency program . If the data are del eted in
th e eff icie ncy prog ram, those values a re a lso
r e set in t rip comp ute r.
(D Tips
-All stor ed values will be lost if t he vehi­
cl e bat tery is disc onnec ted.
- Fu el co nsump tions (average and cu r­
re nt) , r ange and speed a re disp laye d in
m etric units on Cana dian mod els.

26 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Other equipment
Fig. 8 Tri p comp uter : other eq uipment
Requirement : The efficiency program must be
displayed
c:;, page 25.
.. Turn the thumbwhee l until the other equip-
ment appears in the disp lay.
Other equipment that is currently affecting
fuel consumption is listed in the efficiency
program. The display shows up to three other
items of equipment @. T he equipment using
the most fuel is listed first. If more than three items using fue l are switched on, the equip­
ment that is currently usi ng the most fuel is
d isplayed .
A scale @ also shows the current total con­
sumpt ion of all other equipment.
Fuel economy messages
Fig. 9 D isp lay: exa mple of a fue l eco nomy message
Fu el economy messages are displayed when
fuel consumption is increased by certain con­
ditions . If you follow these fuel economy mes­
sages, you can reduce your vehicle's consump­
tion of fuel. The messages appear automati­
cally and are only displayed in the effic iency
program . The fuel economy messages turn
off
automatically after a certain period of time. ..
To turn an economy message
off immedi ­
ately after it appears, press any button on
the mult ifunction steering wheel.
(D Tips
- Once you have turned a fuel economy
message
off, it will on ly appear again af­
ter you turn the ignition on again.
- Th e fuel economy messages are not dis­
played in every instance, but rather in in­
tervals over a period of time.
Cylinder on demand System
Applies to vehicles: wit h 4.0 TFS! eng ine
F ig . 10 Instrume nt clust er: fue l cons ump tion
T o save fuel, the engine automatically turns
four cy linders on or
off , depending on the
amount of power needed. This action is not
felt by the passengers.
Displaying cylinder mode
Requirement: the on-board computer is dis­
played
c:;, page 25.
"" Tur n the thumbwheel unt il the current fuel
consumption display is shown in the instru­
ment cluster. If the green bar is displayed,
you are driving in 4-cylinder mode.
Basic requirements for 4-cylinder mode
4-cylinder drive mode is used automatica lly if
certain basic requirements are fulfilled. These
i nclude :
- A low power output requirement .
- Driving in third gear or higher .
- Engine speed between 960 and 3 ,500 RPM.
- A warm engine.