2013 AUDI A6 brake

108 Automatic Transmission
This prevents too much stress from being placed on the locking mechanism.
multitronic transmission : Your vehicle is
equipped with
hill hold assist allowing you to
start while on an incline. The system is acti­
vated when the brake pedal is pressed down
and held
for a few seconds. T he brake pres­
sure will hold for
o moment after the brake
pedal loosens to prevent the vehicle from roll­
ing backwards while starting up .
A WARNING
-The vehicle can also roll when the engine
is stopped .
- Unintended vehicle movement can cause serious injury.
- Never leave your vehicle with the engine
running while in gear. If you must leave
your vehicle when the engine is running, activate the parking brake and move the
selector lever to P.
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is running at idle. To
prevent the vehicle from "creeping ", you
must keep your foot on the brake when
the engine is running and the selector lever is in D/S or R or "tiptronic" mode is
selected.
- Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever position
while the vehicle is stationary and the
engine is running.
- Never shift into R or P while driving.
- Before driving down a steep slope, re-
duce your speed and shift into a lower
gear with "tiptronic".
- Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
pedal too often or too long when driving
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substantially re­
duces braking performance, increases
braking distance or causes complete fail­
ure of the brake system.
- To prevent the vehicle from rolling back
when stopping on inclines, always hold it
in place with the brake pedal or parking
brake. -
Never hold the vehicle on an incline with
a slipping clutch. The clutch opens auto­
matically when it becomes too hot from
the overload . An indicator lamp
[O] illu­
minates and a driver message appears
~ page 110 when the clutch is overload­
ed.
- If the engine must remain running, never
have any driving position engaged when
checking under the hood. Make sure the
selector lever has securely engaged and
is locked in P with the parking brake set
~ page 219, Engine comportment. Oth­
erwise, any increase in engine speed may
set the vehicle in motion, even with the
parking brake applied.
(D Note
- 5 tronic ®- and tiptronic transmission :
When stopping on an incline, do not try
to hold the vehicle in place by pressing
the accelerator pedal while a driving gear
is selected . This can cause the transmis­
sion to overheat and can damage it. Acti­
vate the parking brake or press the brake
pedal to prevent the vehicle from rolling .
- 5 tronic ®- and tiptronic transmission : Al­
lowing the vehicle to roll when the en­
gine is stopped and the selector lever is
in N will damage the transmission be­
cause it is not lubricated under those cir­
cumstances.
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the parking brake is re­
leased automatically only when the driv­
er's safety belt is engaged in the buckle.
Hill descent control
Applies to vehicles: with mult itronic/5 tronic/tiptronic
The hill descent control system assists the
driver when driving down declines.
Hill descent control is activated when these­
lector lever is in D/S and you press the brake
pedal. The transmission automatically selects .,.

a gear that is suitable for the incline. Hill de­
scent control tries to maintain the speed ach­
ieved at the time of brak ing, within physical
and technica l limitations. If may still be nec­
essary to adjust the speed with the brakes.
Hill descent control switches off once the de­
cline levels out or you press the accelerator pedal.
On vehicles with the cruise control system*
¢ page 79, hill descent control is also activat­
ed when the speed is set.
.&_ WARNING
-
H ill descent control cannot overcome
physical limitations, so it may not be able
to maintain a constant speed under all
conditions. Always be ready to app ly the
brakes .
Manual shift program
Applies to vehicles: with mult itronic/S tronic/tiptron ic
Using the manual shift program you can
manually select gears.
Fig. 114 Center co nsole: shi fting the gears manually
Fig. 115 Steering wheel: Shift buttons•
"' 8 0 CJ
cb
Automatic Transmission 109
Gear selection with selector lever
The tiptronic mode can be selected either with
the vehicle stationary or on the move.
"' Push the se lecto r lever to the right from D/
S. An M appears in the instrument cluster
display as soon as the transm ission has
shifted.
"' To upshift, push the se lector lever forward
to the plus position
0 ¢ fig . 114.
"' To downshift, push the lever to the minus
position
0 .
Gear selection with paddle levers*
The shift buttons are activated when these­
lector lever is in D/S or the tiptronic manual
shift program .
"'To upshift, touch the button on the rig ht G)
C) fig. 115 .
.,. To downshift, touch the button on the left
0 .
"' If you do not press a sh ift button within a
short time while in the D/S position, the
transm iss ion w ill retur n to automat ic mode.
To keep shifting using the sh ift buttons,
move the selector lever to the r ight out of
t he D/S posit ion.
The transmission automatically shifts up or
down before cr itical engine speed is reached .
The transm ission only a llows manual sh ifting
when the engine speed is w ithin the permit­
ted range.
(D Tips
- When you shift into the next lower gear,
the transmission will downshift only
when there is no possibility of over-rev­
ving the engine.
- When the kick-down comes on, the
transmission will shift down to a lower
gear, depending on vehicle and engine
speeds.
- T iptron ic is inoperat ive when the trans­
mission is in the fail-safe mode.

110 Automatic Tran sm iss ion
Kick-down
Applies to vehicles: with multitron ic/S tronic/t iptronic
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration .
Applies to ve hicle s w ith a multit ro nic ®
t ra nsmission
When you depress the accelerator pedal be­
yond the resistance po int, the transmission
downshifts into a lower gear ratio depend ing
on the vehicle speed and engine speed. As l ong as the accelerator peda l is depressed, the
engine speed is a utomat ica lly regulated for
maximum accelera tion.
Appli es to veh icl es with a S tronic ®-/ ,
tiptronic tran smi ssion
When you dep ress the accele rator pedal be­
yond the resistance po int, the a utomat ic
transmission downshifts into a lower gear, de­
pending on vehicle speed and engine speed.
The upshift into the next higher gear takes p lace once the maximum specified engine
speed is reached.
A WARNING
,-
Please note that the drive wheels can spin
if kick-down is used on a smooth slippery
road - there is a risk of skidding .
Launch Control Program
Applies to vehicles: with S tronic
The Launch Control Program provides the
best acceleration possible when starting from
a stop .
Requirement : The engine must be at operat­
ing temperature and the steering wheel must
not be turned .
.. Press the
I~ O FF I button ¢ page 194 while
the engine is running. The
IJ indica tor light
illuminates in the instrument cluster and
Sta bilization contr ol (ESC ): Off Warn ing!
R educed stabi lit y
appears in the dr iver in­
fo rmat io n system disp lay .
.. Move the selecto r lever to posit ion D/S to
select sport mode (5) or select
D yna mic
mode in Audi dr ive select c:> page 99 .
.. Press the b rake pedal strongly with you r left
foot and hold it down for at least 1 second .
.. At the same time, press the accelerator
pedal down complete ly with your r ight foot
until the engine reaches and mainta ins a
high RPM .
.. Remove your foot from the brake pedal
w ith in
5 seconds c:> ,&. .
_&. WARNING
-Always adapt your dr iving to the tr aff ic
f low.
- Onl y use the Launch Cont ro l Program
when road and t raff ic condi tions a llow i t
and other d rivers w ill not be endangered
or annoyed by your driving and the vehi ­
cle 's acceleration.
- Please note that the driving wheels can spin and the vehicle can b reak away
when ESC is switched off, especially
when the road is slippery .
- Once the vehicle has started moving,
press the
1 1' OFFI button brief ly to turn
the ESC on .
(D Tips
- The transmission temperature may in ­
crease signif icantly after using the
launch control program. If that happens,
the program may not be ava ilable for a
few minutes. It w ill be available again af­
ter a cool-down per iod.
- When accelerating using the launch con­
tro l program, all vehicle parts are subject
to heavy loads . This can resu lt in in­
creased wear .
Transmission malfunction
Applies to vehicles: with multitronic/S tronic/tiptronic
[O] Tran smi ssi on: Pr ess brake pedal and se­
lect gear again
Press the brake peda l and select the desired
selector lever position again. You can the n
continue d riving .
[O] Transmi ssion overheating: Plea se drive
con servatively

124 Homelin k®
Homelink ®
Universal remote
control
General information
Applies to vehicles: with Homelink® unive rsal remote
co ntrol
The Homelink universal remote control can
be programmed with hand-held transmitters
from existing equipment.
With Homelink, you can control devices such
as the garage door, security systems, house lights, etc. comfortably from the inside of you
vehicle.
Homelink makes it possible for you to replace
three different remote controls from devices in your home with one universal remote . Th is
feature works for most garage door and exte­ rior door moto r signals. Programming the in­
d iv idual remote control fo r you r remote con ­
trol takes p lace near the center of the radiator
grille. There is a control module attached at
this location .
A one-t ime programm ing of the sensor mus t
be performed before you are able to use sys­
tems w ith Homelink.
A WARNING
- Never use the Homelink ® transmitter
with any garage door opener that does have not the safety stop and reverse fea­
ture as required by federal safety stand­
ards. This includes any garage door open­
er mode l manufact ured before April 1,
1982.
- A garage door opener which cannot de­
tect an object, signaling the door to stop
and reverse does not meet current feder­
al safety s tandards. Us ing a garage doo r
o pener witho ut these fea tures increases
risk of serious inj ury or death.
- F or safety reasons never release t he
parking brake or s tart the engine while
anyone is standing in front of the vehicle .
- A garage door or an est ate gate may
sometimes be set in motion when the Homelink
® remote control is being pro­
grammed. If the device is repeatedly ac ­
tivated, this can overstrain motor and
damage its electrica l components - an
overheated motor is a fire hazard!
- To avo id possible injuries or property
damage, please always make absolutely
certa in that no persons or objects are lo­
cated in the rang e of motion of any
equ ipme nt being ope rated.
(0 Tips
- If you would like add itional information
on the Home Link® Unive rsal Transce iver,
Homelink compatib le products, or to
purc hase other accessories s uch as the
HomeL ink® Light ing Package, please
contact Homelink at 1-800 -355 -3515 or
on the Internet at www.homelink .com.
- For Declaration of Comp liance to United
States FCC and Ind ustry Canada reg ula ­
tions
¢page 288.
-For security reasons, we recommend that
you clear the programmed b uttons be­
fore selling the vehicle .
Operation
Applies to vehicles: wit h Ho meli nk
Fig . 14 1 Headliner: controls
M 0
9 (!)
~
Req uirement: The bu tto ns must be program­
med ¢
page 125 .
"' To open the garage doo r, press the pro­
grammed b utton. The LED @ will light up o r
flash.
"' To close the ga rage doo r, press the button
again .
Ill>

-never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit sideways
- never lean out the w indow
- never put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or
back of the seat
- never ride in the footwe ll
- never ride in the cargo area
8_ WARNING
Improper seat ing positions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used .
- Always make sure that all vehicle occu­
pants stay in a proper seating pos ition
and are properly restra ined whenever the
vehicle is be ing used.
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
8_ WARNING
Always ma ke su re that the knee a irbag can
inflate without inte rfe rence. Objects be­
t ween yourse lf and the airbag can increase
the risk of in jury in an acc ident by interfer ­
ing with the way the a irbag deploys or by
being p ushed into you as the airbag de­
ploys.
- No persons (ch ildren) or animals should
ride in the footwell in front of the pas­
senger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
can result in serious or fata l injuries.
- No objects of any k ind sho uld be carried
in the footwell area in front of the driv­
er's or passenger's seat . Bulky objects
(shopping bags, for example) can ham­
per or prevent p roper deployment of the
airbag. Small objec ts can be thrown
thro ugh the vehi cle if the airbag deploys
and injure you o r your passengers.
-
Dr iving S afel y 131
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
Make sure that a ll peda ls move free ly without
interfe rence and that nothing prevents them
from return ing to their orig inal positions .
Only use floor mats t hat leave t he pedal area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten­ ers .
If a brake circ uit fai ls, increased brake pedal
trave l is required to b ring the vehicle to a f ull
stop.
8_ WARNING
Pedals that cannot move free ly can cause
loss of vehicle control and increase the risk
of ser ious injury.
- Never p lace any objects in the driver's
footwell. An object cou ld get into the
pe dal area and inte rfe re with pedal func­
tion. In case of sudden brak ing o r an ac­
cident, yo u wo uld not be able to b rake or
accelerate!
- Always ma ke sure tha t no thing can f all
or move into the driver's footwel l.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor mat fasteners and do
not in terfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
"' Ma ke s ure that the floor mats are prope rly
secured and cannot move and in terfere with
t he peda ls ¢ ..&_ .
U se only floor mats that leave the peda l area
u nobst ructed and th at are firmly secu re d so
that they c annot slip o ut o f posi tion. You c an
obta in suitab le floor mats from yo ur aut ho r­
ized Audi Dealer.
Floor mat fastene rs a re in sta lled in your Aud i.
1111>
•
•

192 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorde r (EDR), ins talled by some manu­
facture rs fo r the express p urpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or cras h
event . EDR's are sometimes ca lled "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restr ict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
A ltho ugh yo ur vehicle is not equ ipped wit h an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine f unction, em is­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic contro l modules also record
vehicle-re lated data during norma l vehicle op­
erat ion for diagnostic and repa ir purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded ove r a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a sys tem faul t or o ther
cond ition is sensed by a cont ro l u nit. Some of
the data then stored may re late to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condit ion. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded w ith special equip­
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of ve hicle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects certain difficult driving situat
ions, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
o ut of control and he lps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
whee ls, and/or reducing eng ine power and
providing steer ing ass istance to he lp hold the
vehicle o n the dr iver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
G) in the inst rument cluster
blinks when ESC is ta king action to help yo u
control the veh icle.
ESC has limitations.
It is importa nt to remem­
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics. It wi ll not always be able to help out
under a ll cond it ions you may come up aga inst.
F or example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
s u dden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of
dry road that is sudden ly covered w ith water,
s lush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it wou ld on the dry surface . If the ve hicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con­
tact with the pavement has been in terrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult driving situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic; and weather condit ions. ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a ve hicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
drive r inattent io n. Instead, ESC imp roves the
poss ibil ity of keeping the vehi cle under con ­
trol and on the road during ex treme maneu­
vers by using the d river's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection . If you are traveling at a speed that
ca uses you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.

ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock brake system (ABS) , brake assist sys ­
tem, anti -slip regulation (ASR) , electronic dif­
ferential lock (E DL) and e lectronic interaxle
d ifferential lock*. ESC is swi tched on all the
time. In certain situat ions when you need less
traction , you can switch off ASR by pressing
the button
[ru ~ fig . 177 . Be sure to switch
ASR on again when you no longer need less
traction.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braking. The vehicle can still be steered even during hard braking . Apply steady pres­
sure to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped­
al. A puls ing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is he lping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease brak ing
d istance.
It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake pedal quickly in emer­
gency situations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal until the situation is over . In
vehicles with adaptive cruise control* , the
brake assist system is more sensitive if the
d istance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
small.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ier to
s tart, accelerate and drive up hills.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
all-whee l drive*. This function is available up
to about 75 mph (120 km/h).
I n extreme cases , EDL automatically switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked wheel
from overheating. EDL wi ll switch on again au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to
normal.
Intelligent technology 193
Electronic interaxle differential lock*/
selective wheel torque control*
The electronic interaxle differential lock (front
whee l drive) or the se lective wheel torque
cont rol (all-wheel dr ive) operates when dr iv­
ing through curves . The front wheel on the in­
s ide of the curve or both wheels on the inside
of the curve are braked selectively as needed .
T his min imizes sliding in the front wheels and
allows for more precise driving through
curves . Th e applicable system may no t acti­
vate when driv ing in wet or snowy conditions.
A WARNING
-
-ESC, ABS, ASR, EDL and the electronic in­
teraxle differential lock function* cannot
overcome the laws of physics. This is es­
pecially important on slippery or wet
roads . If the systems begin acting to sta­
bilize your vehicle, you should immedi­
ately change your speed to match the
road and traffic conditions. Do not let
the increased safety provided by these
systems tempt you to t.;1ke risks. Doing
so will increase the risk o f a loss of vehi­
cle control, collision and serious personal
injuries.
-Always adapt your speed to road, traffic
and weather conditions . The risk of los­
ing control of the vehicle increases when
driving too fast, espec ially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when dr iving too close to vehicles up
ahead . ESC, ABS, the brake assist sys­
tem, EDL, ASR and the elec tronic inter­
axle differential lock function* cannot
prevent collisions .
- Always accelerate with special care on
even, smooth surfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even with
these assistance systems that cannot al­
ways he lp to red uce the risk of loss of ve -
hicle control. .,.
•
•

194 Intelligent technology
@ Tips
-ABS and ASR on ly work correctly when
all four wheels are equipped w ith identi­
cal tires. Different tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems
described are working.
- If the indicator light
DJ or 11:11 (USA
models) 1i] (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction¢
page 20,
c> page 19.
Switching on and off
ESC
turns on automatically when you start
the engine.
Fig. 177 Center console w it h ESC OFF button
Switching sport mode on
Press the I~ OF FI button c::> fig . 177. The ac­
tions taken by the ESC system to stabilize the
vehicle are limited. In vehicles with front
wheel drive, the anti-slip regulation (ASR) is
limited. In vehicles with a ll-wheel drive, the
ASR is switched off. The
It) ESC indicator light
turns on and the message
Stabilization con­
trol (ESC): Off Warning! Reduced stability
¢.&. appears in the driver information system
d isplay.
The following examples are unusual situa­
tions where it may make sense to switch sport
mode on in order to allow the wheels to spin:
- Rocking the vehicle back and forth when it is
stuck
- Driving in deep snow or on loose ground
- Driving with snow cha ins
Switching sport mode off
Press the 1.$ OF FI button again. The I indica­
tor light turns off and the message
Stabiliza­
tion control (ESC): On
appears in the driver
information system display .
A WARNING
-
-Drive wheels can spin and you can lose
control of the vehicle more easily when
ASR and ESC are in sport mode, especial­
ly when the road is slippery.
- Sw itch to sport mode only when your
driving skills, traffic and weather condi­
tions permit.
@ Tips
You cannot sw itch sport mode on when
adaptive cruise control* is working.
Braking
General information
What affects braking efficiency?
-
Operating conditions and driving habits
The brakes on today's automobiles are still
subject to wear, depending largely on operat­
ing condit ions and driving hab its
c::> .&. . On
vehicles that are either driven most ly in stop­
and-go city t raff ic or are driven hard, the
brake pads should be checked by your author­
ized Audi dea ler more often than specified in
the
Warranty & Maintenance booklet. Failure
to have your brake pads inspected can result
in reduced brake performance .
On steep slopes, you should use the braking
effect of the engine . This way, you prevent un­
necessary wear on the brake system. If you
must use your brakes, do not hold the brakes
down continuously. Pump the brakes at inter­
vals .
Moisture o r road salt
Under certain conditions, for example, when
driving through water or very heavy rain, or
even after washing your vehicle, the braking
effect can be reduced due to moisture (or in .,,_