2013 AUDI A6 open hood

Instrument s and warning /indicator lights 11
Instruments and warning/indicator lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster and controls
The instrument cluster is your central source of information.
Fig. 3 Overv iew of the instrument cluster
CD Coolant temperature gauge .. .
@ Tachometer (eng ine rev counter)
@ Turn signals ............... .
11
12
43
@ Display with
®
®
-Driver information system .. .
- Wa rning/ind icator lights
Tachometer Fuel gauge
@ Tips
23
12
12
The instrument illumination (for dials and
needles) turns on when the ignition is on
and the vehicle lights are turned off. As
the daylight fades, the illumination of the
dials likewise dims automatically and wil l
go out completely when the outside light
is very low. This feature is meant to rem ind
you to switch on the headlights when out­
side light conditions become poor.
Engine coolant temperature gauge
The engine coolant gauge CD¢ fig. 3 only
works when the ignition is on . To prevent
damage to your eng ine, please note the fol­
l owing important points:
Engine cold
If only the LEDs at the bottom of the gauge
turn on, the eng ine has not reached operating
temperature yet . Avoid high engine speeds,
heavy engine loads and heavy throttle applica­
tions.
Normal temperatu re
The engine has reached its operating temper­
ature once the LEDs up to the center of the
gauge turn on under normal driving cond i­
t ions. The LEDs higher up may turn on when
the engine is under heavy load or the exterior
temperature is high. This is no need to worry
as long as the. warning light in the instru­
ment cluster does not illuminate. If the LEDs
in the upper area of the disp lay and the indica­
tor light . in the instrument cluster display
turn on, the coolant temperature is too high
¢page 16.
A WARNING
-Always observe the warn ing in
¢page 219, Engine compartment, be­
fore opening the hood and checking the
engine coolant level.

12 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
-Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dripping from the engine compartment.
You could burn yourself . Let the engine
cool off first until you can no longer see
o r hear steam or coo lant escaping.
@ Note
- Mounting additional lights or accessories
i n front of the a ir inlets reduces the cool­
i ng effect of the rad iator . At h igh outside
temperatures or high eng ine load, the
engine could overheat.
- The front spo iler has been designed to
proper ly distribute the cooling air when
t h e ve hicle is moving.
If the spoiler is
dam aged, th is co uld red uce the cooling
effect and the engine co uld then over­
heat . Ask your authorized Audi dea ler for
assistance .
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
If engine RP M drops be low 1,500, yo u should
downshift to the next lower gear. The red a rea
at the end of the sca le indicates maximum
perm iss ib le engine RPM after the break-in pe­
riod. Before reaching this area, move these­
lector lever to position D/S (Drive) or ease
your foot off the accelerator pedal.
(D Note
The tachometer needle should on ly br iefly
be in the red zone: you could damage your
engine! The beginn ing of the red zone var­
ies depending on the engine .
@ For the sake of the environment
Upshifting early saves fuel and reduces en­
gine noise.
Fuel gauge
The fuel gauge only works when the ignition is
on .
If the fuel level d rops below 2 . 6 ga llons (10 liters), the bottom LED turns red and the
indicator light
Em turns on ¢ page 21. T
he
bottom LED blinks red when the fuel level is
very low.
T he possible range based on the current fuel
level is shown in tab@<=>
fig. 4.
(D Note
Never run the tank completely dry. An ir ­
r egular supply of f uel can cause engine
misfiring and fuel could enter the ex haust
system . The catalytic converter could then
overheat and be damaged.
Warning/indicator lights
Description
The ind icator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or turn on. They indicate funct ions or
malfunc tions <=>,& .
Messages may appear with some indicato r
lights. A warning signal will sound at the
same t ime. The indicator lights and messages
in the center of the displays may be rep laced
by other d isplays . To show them again, select
the tab for ind icator lights and messages us­
i ng the multifunction steering wheel
Q page 23. If t here are several malfunc­
t ions, you can display them one at a time us­
ing the thumbwheel.
Some indicato rs lights in the d isplay can turn
on in severa l co lors.
A WARNING
- F ailure to heed w arning l igh ts and other
important vehicle in forma tion may res ult
in ser io us personal inj ury or vehicle dam­
age .
- Whenever stalled or stopped for repair, move the vehicle a safe d istance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the
emergency flasher<=>
page 42.
-The engine compartment of any motor
veh icle is a potentially hazardous area.
Before you chec k anything in the engine

Instruments and warning/indicator lights 15
•
Canada models: Cruise contro l*
¢ page 79
ra
Adaptive cruise cont rol*
¢page8 4
--
Pl
Adaptive c ruise control*
¢ page84
I
Adaptive cruise control*
¢page8 4
•
Audi active lane assist*
¢ page 92
•
Start-Stop-System *
¢page 76
•
Start-Sto p-System *
¢page 76
•
High beam
¢page 43
BRAKE/( ©) Brake system
The ligh t illum inates when t he igni tion is
sw itche d on.
It goe s ou t aft er the eng ine has
been st art ed. This in dicates tha t th e brake
warn ing light is functioning properly .
If the brake warning light does not light up
when the engine is cranking, there may be a
malfunction in the electrical system. In this
case , contact your Audi dealer.
If t he b rake sys tem warning/ind icator light
tur ns on, t here is a br ake system mal func tion.
1111 (USA models) ;II (Canada models)
Stop vehicle and check brake fluid level
If the indicator light t urns on and the mes­
sage appears, p roceed as follows:
... Pu ll off the road .
... St op t he vehicle.
.,. Turn off t he e ngine.
.,. Check the brake flu id leve l<=>
page 234 .
... Contact your neares t authorized repa ir fa­
c ili ty if n ecessary .
Warning! Fault in brake system . Contact
dealer
If the A BS indicator light ri] (U SA mode ls)/
ri] (Canada mode ls), the ESC in dicator light
Pl and the b rake system indicator light
1111 (U SA mode ls)/ . (Canada models) turn
o n and the message appears, the ABS , ESC
and braking distr ibut ion are not working<=> &..
Carefully drive to your author ized Audi dealer
immediately to have the malfunct ion correct­
ed <=>&. .
1111 (USA models )/. (Canada models)
Parking brake: system fault! Please contact
dealer
- If the in dicator light and the message ap ­
pea r
when stationary or after switching the
ignition on ,
check if yo u can re lease the
parking brake. Afte r releasing the par king
brake, carefully d rive to your authorized
Aud i dea le r i mmediately to have the ma l­
fu nction corrected . If yo u can not releas e th e
park ing brake , see k professiona l assistan ce.
- If the ind icator light and the message ap ­
pear
while dr iving , the emergency bra king
fu nction may not be available.
It may not be
po ssibl e to set th e par king b rake or re lease
i t once i t has been set . See k profess io na l as­
s is tan ce.
( U SA mode ls) : If the war ning light
1111 a nd
the war ning light
£1 appear together, imme ­
dia tely con ta ct y our au thor ized A udi dealer or
qualifie d wor kshop to have all brake pad s in­
spe cte d
¢ page 20.
When the light comes on , an aud ible warn ing
s ignal is also g iven .
A WARNING
-Always o bserve the warn ing s in
<=>
page 219, Engi ne compar tmen t, be­
fore openi ng the hood and c hec kin g the
brake fluid .
- Driving with low brake f lui d is a safety
hazard. Stop t he car and get professiona l
assis tance .
- USA mode ls: I f t he 1111 war ning light,
the
G1 warning light and t he m!ID warn-
ing light come on together, the rear .,.

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 17
If the engine coolant level is correct, then the
radiator fan may be the cause of the malf unc­
tion .
• Coola nt te mpera tur e too high! Plea se let
e n gi ne r un with veh icle st atio nar y
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears in trailer mode*, let the engine
r u n at id le for a few m inutes to cool down.
A WARNING ,_________
- If your vehicle should break down for
mechanical or other reasons, park at a
safe distance from moving traffic, turn off the engine and turn on the ha zard
warning lights
q page 42, Emergency
flasher.
- Never open the hood if you see or hear
steam or coolant escap ing from the en­
gine compartment -you risk being scald ­
ed . Wait until you can no longer see or
hear steam or coo la nt escaping.
- The engine compartment of any veh icle
is a dangerous area . Before you perform
any work in the engine compartment,
t ur n of the eng ine and allow it to cool.
Follow the warning sticke rs
q page 219,
Engine compartment .
(D Note
Do not continue driving if the. symbol
illuminates . There is a ma lf u nct ion in the
eng ine cooling system -you co uld damage
your engine.
0 Battery
This warning/indicator light detects a mal­
function in the generator or in the vehicle's
electrical system .
The. warning/ind icator light illuminates
when you switch on the ignition and must go
out after the engine has started .
• Alternator fault : Batt ery i s not being
c h arg ed
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there is a malfunction in the
generator or veh icle electrical system .
Drive to your authorized A udi dealer or quali­
fied workshop immediate ly . Because the vehi ­
cle batt ery is discharging , turn off all unnec­
essary electrical equipment such as the rad io.
Seek professiona l assistance if the ba ttery
charge level is too low.
(•) Low b atte ry : b atte ry will be cha rged
w hil e driv ing
If the indica tor ligh t turns on and the mes­
sage appears, there may be limited starting
ab ility .
If this message t urns off afte r a lit tle while,
the battery charged enough while driving.
If the message does not turn off, have your
autho rized Aud i dea ler o r qualified workshop
cor rect the ma lfu nction .
,{,_ Safety belts
This warning/indicator light reminds you to
put on your safety belt.
The . warn ing/ indicator light illum inates
when the ignition is switched on to remind
the d river and any front passenger to put on
the safety be lt. Addit ionally, an aco ustic warn­
i ng (gong) wi ll also so und .
For more Informat io n
q page 136, ~ Safety
belt warning light.
't::7: 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 ch eck o il leve l
If the indicator light tu rn s on and the mes­
sage appears, the oi l pressure is too low .
.. Pull off the road .
.. Stop the vehicle .
.. Turn off the engine.

for another vehicle or a transponder is located on the key ring.
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions ¢
page 288.
Power locking system
General description
The power locking system locks or unlocks all
doors and the rear lid simultaneously.
You can lock and unlock the vehicle centrally.
You have the following choices:
- Remote master key¢
page 34,
- Door handles with convenience key*
¢page 35 ,
- Lock cylinder at the driver's door
¢page 36, or
- Power locking switch inside¢
page 36.
Selective unlocking
When you lock the vehicle, the power locking
system will lock the doors and the rear lid.
When unlocking, you can set in the MMI
whether only the driver's door or the entire
vehicle should be unlocked
¢page 34.
Automatic locking
The automatic locking feature locks all the ve­
hicle doors and the rear lid when you drive
faster than 9 mph (1S km/h).
T he car is unlocked again, when the opening
function in the power locking system switch
or at one of the door levers is actuated .
Anti-theft alarm warning system
If the anti-theft alarm warning system de­
tects a break-in into the vehicle, acoustic and
visual warning signals are triggered .
T he anti-theft warning system is activated au­
tomatically when you lock the vehicle . It is de­
activated when unlocking using the remote key, with the mechanical key, and when you
switch the ignition on.
The alarm also turns off when the alarm cycle has expired.
Opening and closing 33
Turn signals
When you unlock the vehicle, the turn signals
flash twice. When you lock the vehicle the
turn signals flash once. If they do not flash ,
one of the doors, the rear lid or the hood is not locked.
Unintentionally locking yourself out
In the following cases there safeguards to
prevent you locking your remote master key in
the vehicle:
- The vehicle does not lock with the central
locking switch¢
page 36 if the driver's
door is open.
- On vehicles with convenience key*, if the
most recently used master key is in the lug­
gage compartment, the rear lid is automati­
cally unlocked again after it is closed.
Do not lock your vehicle with the
remote mas­
ter key or convenience key*
until all doors
and the rear lid are closed. In this way you
avoid locking yourself out accidentally.
Power side door closer*
The vehicle doors are equipped with a power
side door closer. When closing a door, you on­
ly have to let it fall lightly into the latch. The
door will then automatically close by itself
¢..1, .
A WARNING
-
- When you lock your vehicle from outside,
nobody -especially children -should re­
main inside the vehicle. Remember,
when you lock the vehicle from the out­
side the windows cannot be opened from
the inside.
- When you leave the vehicle, always take
the ignition key with you . This will pre­
vent passengers (children, for example) from accidentally being locked in the ve­
hicle should they accidentally press the
power locking switch in the doors.
- Do not leave children inside the vehicle
unsupervised. In an emergency it would
be impossible to open the doors from
the outside without the key.

If the vehicle is unlocked and no door, the rear
lid or the hood is opened within 60 seconds ,
the vehicle locks itself aga in automatically.
This feat ure prevents the ve hicle from be ing
accidentally left unlocked over
a long period
of t ime.
It depends on the settings in the MMI wheth­
er the entire veh icle is unlocked or on ly cer­
t ain doors
Q page 34.
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS¢.&. in
General description on page 33 .
- In order to make sure the locking func­
tion is working, you shou ld always keep
your eye on the vehicle to make sure it is
properly locked .
-
-Do not use the remote control if you are
i nside the car, otherwise you may unin ­
tentiona lly lock the vehicle, and then you
would set off the anti-t heft ala rm when
you try to start the engi ne or open a
door. In c ase this happe ns anyhow, push
the un lo ck button
m .
- The vehicle can only be locked when the
se lector lever is in the P posit ion .
- Use the panic funct ion only if you are in
an emergency situ ation .
Locking and unlocking with convenience
key
App lies to vehicles: wit h co nve nien ce key
The doors and the rear lid can be unlocked
and locked without operating the master key.
F ig. 2 1 Conve nien ce key : Lock ing t he ve hicle
Opening and clo sin g 35
Unlocking vehicle
.,. Take ho ld of t he door handle. The door is
un lo cked automatically.
.,. Pull the handle to open the door.
Locking vehicle
.,. Select the P selecto r lever pos it io n. Othe r­
w ise the veh icle canno t be lo cked.
.,. To lock the veh icle, close the door and touch
the sensor in the door handle
once Q fig . 21 .
Do not reach inside the door handle.
T he veh icle can be locke d and unl ocke d at any
doo r. The master key mus t be within a range
of about 1.5 m from the appropriate door or
the rear lid. It makes no difference whether
the master key is in your jacket pocket or in
your brief case .
It is not possib le to re -ope n the doo r for a
brief period directly after closi ng it. This a l­
l ows you to ensure that the doors are proper ly
locked.
It depends on the settings in the MMI wheth­
er the enti re vehi cle is unloc ked or one of the
doors
Q page 34.
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS Q .&. in
General description on page 33 .
(D Tips
If your vehicle has been standing for an ex­
tended period, please note the following:
- The p rox imity sensors a re deactivate d af-
ter a few days to save power. You then
have to pull on the door handle once to
unlock the vehicle and a second t ime to
open the vehicle.
- To prevent the battery from being d is­
charged and to preserve your vehicle 's
ability to start for as long as possib le,
the energy management sys tem grad u­
ally switc hes off unnecessary conven­
ie nce func tions. It is possib le th at you
w ill not be able to unlo ck you r ve hicle us­
ing these convenience func tions.

48 Clear vis ion
@ Tips
- Commercial hot waxes applied by auto­
matic car washes affect the cleanability
of the windshield.
- You can also use the service position, for
example, if you want to protect the
winds hield from icing by using a cover.
- You cannot activate the service position
when the hood is open.
Mirrors
Adjusting the exterior mirrors
Fig. 44 Forwa rd section of drive r's arm rest: power m ir­
ro r cont ro ls
T urn the knob to the desired position :
Q/P -In th is position, you can adjust the
d river's and front passenger's exter io r mirrors
by tur ning the knob in t he des ired direction.
® -The m irrors are heated depending on t he
outside temperature .
8 -The exterior mirrors fo ld in. In the MMI,
you can se lect if the m irrors fold in automat i­
cally when you lock the vehicle ¢ page
34 .
Tilt funct ion for the pa ssenger' s mi rro r
To help yo u see the c urb when bac king into a
parking space, the surface of the mirror tilts
slightly . The knob must be in the P posit ion
for this to happen .
You can ad just the ti lted mirror s urface by
turning the knob in the desired direction .
When you move out of reverse and into anoth­
er gear, the new mirror posit ion is stored and
assigned to the key yo u are using. T
he mi rror goes back i nto its orig inal position
o nce you drive forward faster than 9 mph (15
km/h) or switch the ign ition off .
A WARNING
--
- Curved (i.e. conve x) mirror surfaces in­
crease your fie ld of view. Remember that
veh icles o r ot he r objects will appea r
smalle r and farther away t han when seen
in a flat mirror. If you use th is m irror to
estimate distances of followi ng ve hicles
when c hang ing lanes, y ou could estimate
i n correct ly and cause an accide nt.
(D Note
- If the m irror housing is moved uninten­
ti onally (for examp le, w hile pa rking your
veh icle), then yo u must first fold t he mir ­
ror electrically. Do not re adj ust the mir­
ror housing man ually . You co uld damage
the motor which controls the mirror .
-If you wash the vehicle in an automatic
car was h, you must fo ld the exter ior mir­
rors in to reduce the risk of damage to
the mirro rs. Never fold power folding ex­
terior mirrors* by hand. Only fo ld them
in and out using the power controls.
{I) Tips
- The exterior m irror settings are stored
w ith the memory function*
¢ page 54.
- If there is a malfunction in the electrical
system, you can sti ll adjust the exterior
m irrors by pressing the edge of the mir­
ror.
Dimming the mirrors
Fi g. 4 5 Auto matic d immin g rearv iew mirro r*

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 .,.