2013 AUDI A6 brake

freezing conditions ice) on the brake pads. A
few careful brake applications sho uld d ry
off
the brake pads or remove any ice coatings.
When you are driving at h igher speeds wit h
the windshield wipers on, the brake pads will briefly touch the brake discs in regular inter­
va ls so as to improve reaction t ime when brak­
ing on wet surfaces. You the driver w ill not no­
tice anything.
The effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is dr iven on a salt -covered
road and the brakes are not used . Here too,
you should clean
off accumulated salt coat ing
from brake discs and pads with a few careful
applications of the brake
¢ ,&..
Cor ro sion
There may be a tendency for dirt to bui ld up
on the brake pads and corrosion to form on
the discs if the car is not dr iven regularly or
only for short trips with little use of the brakes .
If the brakes are not used frequently, or if cor­ rosion has formed on the discs, it is advisable
to clean
off the pads and discs by braking
f irmly a few times from a moderately high
speed ¢,&. .
Fa ult s in the b rake system
If you should notice a sudden increase in
brake pedal travel, then one of the two brake
circu its may have failed
c> ,&..
Lo w brak e flu id le vel
Malfunctions can occur in the brake system if
the brake fluid level is too low . The brake fluid
level is monitored electronically.
Brake boo ste r
The brake booster works with vacuum pres­
sure which is created only when the engine is
running ¢ ,&. .
Brake lining w ear statu s
Brake lining wear may be checked by vis ual in­
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the openings in the whee l. If neces-
Int ellig ent technolog y 195
sary, the wheel may be removed for this in­
spection ¢
page 263 , Changing a wheel.
A WARNING
- You should perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system only if road conditions permit.
Other road users must not be put at risk -
you may cause an accident!
- Before descend ing a steep grade, reduce
speed and sh ift transmission into a lower
gear or lower dr iving range . Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long o r too often . Th is could cause the
brakes to get hot and diminish braking
efficiency .
- Do not "ride the brakes" by rest ing you r
foot on the pedal when you do not intend
to brake . This may cause the brakes to
overheat, p remature wear and increased
stopping distance.
- Under certain cl imatic and operating
conditions such as passing thro ugh wa ­
ter, dr iv ing in heavy rain or after washing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced . In winter, ice can
accumu late on the brake pads, lin ings,
discs and drums . Carefully app ly brakes
for a test. Brakes will dry and ice coat­
ings w il l be cleaned
off after a few care­
fu l brake applicat ions.
- Driving for an extended period o f time on
salt- covered roads wi thout using your
brakes can a lso affect braking efficiency .
Clean
off accum ulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few careful
brake applications.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler, be sure the air
f low to the front brakes is not obstruct­
ed. Otherw ise the brake system could
overheat reducing the effectiveness of
the entire brake system.
- Failure of one brake circuit will impair
the braking capab ility result ing in an in­
creased stopping distance . Avoid driving
the vehicle and have it towed to the near-
est A udi dealer or qualified wo rkshop.
~
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196 Intellig ent technolog y
-Never let the vehicle roll to a stop with
the engine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not working, for
example when towing your vehicle, or
because the brake booster has somehow
been damaged, the brake pedal must be
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 stee ring adapts electronically based on
the veh icle speed.
Indicator lights and messages
• Steerin g d efecti ve! Stop th e vehicl e
If this indicator light turns on and stays on
and this message appears, the power steering may have fa iled.
Do
not continue driving . See your authorized
Aud i dealer or other qualified repa ir facility
for assistance.
lor-ij St eerin g: S yste m malfun ction ! You m ay
c ont inue driv ing
If the indicator light turns on and the mes ­
sage appears, the steering may be more diffi­
cult to move or more sensitive than usual.
Drive s low ly to your author ized Audi dealer or
q ua lified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected .
(D Tips
If the . or 'Iij indicator light only stays
on for a shor t time, you may contin ue driv­
ing .
Driving with your
quattro ®
Applies to vehicles : with all-wheel drive
With all-wheel drive , all four wheels are driv­
en .
General info rmation
With a ll Wheel Drive, power is distributed to
all four wheels. This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
condit ions at the time. See also ¢
page 192.
With the sport differential*, power distribu­
t ion to the rear wheels is va riable and can be
adjusted with Audi drive select*
r::¢, page 98.
Always read and follow safety precautions
Q _& .
Winter tires
When driving in the winter, your vehicle with
all-wheel drive has an advantage, eve n wit h
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 mo unted on
all fou r
wheel s. See also ¢ page 255 , Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this no rma lly also app lies to ve hicles
with all-wheel drive r::¢,
page 256, Snow
chains.
Replacing wh eels /tires
Vehicles with all-wheel drive m ust always
have ti res of the same s ize. A lso avo id tires
with different t read depths . For detai ls see
page r::¢,
page 251, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels .
Off-Road driving?
You r Audi does not have e nough ground clea r­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle . It is
t h erefore best to avoid rough tracks and un ­
even terrain as much as possib le . Also refer to
r::¢, page 200. ..,_

Driving and
environment
The first 1
1000
miles
(11500 km) and
afterwards
New engine
The engine needs to be run-in during the first
1,000 miles (1,500 km) .
For the first 600 mile s (1,000
kilometers ):
.,. Do not use full throttle.
.,. Do not d rive at engine speeds that are more
than 2/3 of the max imum permitted RPM .
.. Avoid high engine speeds.
From 600 to 1,000 miles (1 ,000 to
1,500 kilometers):
.. Speeds can gradually be increased to the
maximum 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. This applies whether the
transmission is i n N (Neutra l) or in gear.
After the break- in peri od
.. Do not exceed maximum engine speed un­
der any circumstances.
.,. Upshift into the next higher gear
before
reaching the red area at the end of the tach­
ometer scale
¢ 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
i n. How well this break-in p rocess is done de­
pends to a considerable extent on the way the
ve hicl e is driven d uring the first 1,000 miles
(1,500 ki lome ters).
(D Note
Extremely h igh engine speeds are auto­
mat ica lly reduced. However, t hese rpm
lim its are progr amme d for an eng ine well
r u n- in, not a new engine .
Driving and environment 199
@) For the sake of the environment
Do not drive with unnecessarily high en­
g ine speeds -upshifting ear ly saves f uel,
reduces noise and protects the environ­
ment.
New tires
If your vehicle is running on new tires, drive
particularly caref ul for the first 350 miles
(500 kilomete rs) afte r fitt ing.
.&, WARNING
N ew tires tend to be sl ippery and mus t al­
so be "b roken -in" . Be sure to remember
this dur ing the f irst 350 m iles (500 kilo­
meters) . Brake gently . Avoid fo llowing
closely behind other vehicles or other sit­
uations that m ight require sudden, hard
b raking .
New brake pads
Remember that new brake pads do not have a
full brak ing effect dur ing the first 250 m iles
(400 ki lomete rs) afte r they are installed.
New brake pads have to be "burnished in" be­
fore they have optima l grab¢ .&. .
D uring the brea k-in period, yo u should avo id
putting severe loads on the brakes. Severe
l oads include , for example, sudden hard brak­
i ng, in particular at very h igh speeds or, for
example, on mounta in passes .
.&, WARNING
New b rake pads don't have the best stop­
p ing power and must be "broken-i n" dur­
ing the initi al 100 to 150 miles (150 to
200 kilometers) o f no rma l ci ty driving . You
can compensate for this by pressing the b rake peda l more firm ly . This also applies
later when new pads are installed.
•
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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
store the full b raking effect.
([) Note
-Vehicle components such as the eng ine,
transmission, suspension or electr ical
system can be severely damaged by driv­
i ng th rough water.
- Always switch off the Start-Stop-System
when driving through water~ page 76.
(D Tips
-Check the depth of the water before dr iv­
i ng t hrough it.
- Do not stop the veh icle, dr ive in reverse
or switch the eng ine off whe n driving
through water .
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles
may create waves that raise the water
level and make it too deep fo r your vehi­
cle to drive t hrough safely.
- Avoid dr iv ing through salt water because
i t can cause corrosion.
Dri vin g and en vironm ent 201
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 eng ine, brakes and tires largely
depend on three factors:
- your pe rsonal d riving style
- operating conditions
- technical limitat ions
If you ant ic ipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, you can easily cut you r
fuel consumpt io n by 10-15 percent . T his sec­
tion w ill give you some tips on how you can
help the env ironment and your po cketbook.
@ Tips
The consumption estimates as published
by ENVIRONMENTAL PROT ECTI ON AGENCY
( E PA) a nd Tra nspo rt Canada may no t corre­
spond to your actual consump tion on the
road, which will va ry 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 f ue l when they a re ac ­
ce le rat ing. If you ant icipate what is going to
happen next, you will need to brake less and,
th us, acce lerate less . Let the vehicle coast
whenever possible - for examp le when you see
that the next traff ic light is red.
•
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204 Trailer towing
Trailer towing
Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a trailer, p lease remember
that the additional load will affect durability,
economy and performance .
Trailer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
For this reason, always fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
@ Note
If you are going to tow a trai ler, you must
activate the trailer operation mode
c:::> page 204, Operating instructions.
Technical requirements
Trailer hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer weight. The hitch must be suita­ ble for your vehicle and trailer and must be
mounted securely on the veh icle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a trailer
hitch with a removable ball mount. A lways
check with the trai ler hitch manufacturer to
make sure that you are using the cor rect
hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
The hitch must be installed in such a way that
it does not interfere with the impact-absorb­
ing bumper system. No modifications should
be made to the vehicle exhaust and brake sys­
tems . From time to time, check that all hitch
mounting bolts remain securely fastened.
When you are not towing a trailer, remove the
trai ler hitch ball mount. This prevents the
h itch from causing damage should your veh i­
cle be struck from behind
c:::> A .
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is equipped with a brak ing sys­
tem, check to be sure that it conforms to all
regulations.
T he trailer hydraulic brake system must not be
directly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system .
Safety chains
Always use safety chains between your veh icle
and the trailer.
Trailer lights
Trailer lights must meet all regulations. Be
sure to check with your Audi dealer for correct
wiring, switches and relays.
Mirrors
If you are unable to see the traffic behind you
using the regular outside mirrors, then you
must install extended mirrors. It is important
that you
always have clear v is ion to the rear .
A WARNING
--
After removing the trailer hitch, do not
store it in your vehicle . In case of sudden
braking, the hitch could fly forward and in­
jure you or your passengers.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
A tra ile r for your vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 tra ile r.
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the load in the trailer is held securely
in place to prevent it from shift ing forward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
c:::> A in Driving instructions on page 206 .
Engine cooling system
Towing a trailer makes the engine work hard­
er . It is important that the cooling system 's
performance is up to the additional load.

Make sure that the cooling system has enough
f luid .
Tire pressure
When tow ing a trai ler, inflate the t ires of your
vehicle to the cold tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open).
Inflate trailer tires to trai ler and tire manufac­
turers' specifications.
Lights
Check to make sure both veh icle and trailer
lights are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure tra iler safety cha ins are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
hicle. Leave enough slack in the chains to per ­
mit turning corners . When you install safety
chains, make sure they wi ll not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains should cross under the tra ile r
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
sepa ration from the hitch.
Adjusting the Audi drive select
Make sure the veh icle is on a level surface be­
fore hitching up the tra iler and before adjust­
in g the tongue weight. The vehicle must be in
auto or comfort dr iving mode and not raised
qpage 98, q(D .
Make sure that the vehicle is lowe red. In Info­
tainment, se lect:
ICARI f u nction button> Low­
er
control button.
If you must drive under poor road condit ions,
you can raise the veh icle
after coupling the
traile r or
after adjusting the tongue weight
qpage 100.
- Changes in temperatu re or load can af­
fect the height of the veh icle.
- Always se lect
auto or comfort mode.
Otherwise, the tongue load spec ified for
you r vehicle will no longer be applicable.
Trailer towing
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration .
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle
and trailer, please note the following:
... Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car it­
self is not loaded.
... Be especially careful when passing other
veh icles.
... Observe speed lim its .
... Do not dr ive at the maximum permissible
speed.
... Always apply brakes early .
... Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded trailer with an empty car re­
sults in a highly unstable distribution of
weight. If this cannot be avoided, drive at very low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control.
A "balanced" rig is easier to operate and con­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and permissi­
ble, while keeping the trailer as light as possi­
ble under the circumstances. Whenever possi­
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com­
partment of the tow vehicle while observing
tongue load requirements and vehicle loading
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficult it be­
comes for the driver to contro l the rig. Do not
drive at the maximum permissible speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -particularly
when going downhill.
Reduce vehicle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest sign of swaying.
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds
for vehicles towing trailers are lower than for
regular vehicles. .,.
205
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206 Trailer towing
Always apply brakes early. When driving
downhill, shift into a lower gear to use the en­
g ine braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge¢ page 11
must be observed carefully. The coolant tem­
perature can increase if you drive on long in­
clines in a low gear at high engine speeds. Re­
duce your speed immediately if the LEDs in
the top part of the display turn on .
For more information about indicator lights,
refer to. ¢
page 16 .
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident . Never let anyone r ide in your car
who is not properly wear ing the restraints
provided by Aud i.
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle handles differently when towing
a trailer because of the additional weight and
different weight distribution . Safety, perform­
ance and economy w ill greatly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig .
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turn ing, stopp ing and back ing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you
have become comp lete ly familiar with the way
your ve hicle-trai ler comb ination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice .
Backing up with a tra iler generally requi res
steering act ion opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the trailer, you wi
ll need a larger than normal
turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot ac­
celerate as fast as you norma lly would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass . After passing, a llow
plenty of room for your trailer before chang ­
ing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts , sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load¢
page 285.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on o slope with a trailer. If it can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol­
lowing:
When parking:
.,. App ly the foot brake .
.. Have someone pla ce chocks under both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels.
.. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes until the whee l chocks absorb the
load .
.. Turn the wheels towards the curb .
.. Apply the parking brake.
.. Select the P selector lever posit ion .
When restarting after parking:
.. Apply the foot brake.
.. Start the engine.
.. Select the D/S selector lever position .
.. Release the parking brake and slowly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks .
.,. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks .
Ill-

@ Tips
If you move the selector lever of the auto­
mat ic transm ission to P before app lying
the parking brake and before blocking the
wheels, you may have to use more force later to move the lever out of the P posi­
tion .
Trailer towin g 207
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