2013 AUDI A6 tow

Error messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Trailer hitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Homelink ® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Universal remote control . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Safety fir st . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Driving Safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Gene ral notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Proper occupant seating posit ions . . . 12 7
Driver and passenger side footwell . . . 131
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Stowing luggage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Report ing Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Ge neral notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Why safety be lts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Safety bel t pre tens io ners . . . . . . . . . . 1 43
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
I mpo rtant th ings to know . . . . . . . . . . 145
Fr ont airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 49
M on itoring the Advanced Airbag
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Knee airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Side curta in a irbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Child Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . 171
C hi ld safety seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Install ing a child safety seat . . . . . . . . 182
L ATC H Lower ancho rages and tethe rs
for ch ild ren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Addit ional Information 189
Audi pre sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
P reven tat ive passenger p rotection 190
Vehicle operat ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Intelligent technology . . . . . . . . 19 2
Not ice about da ta re cor ded by veh icle
control mod ules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Elect ronic Stabilization Control (ESC) . 192
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
E lectro-mechanical power assist . . . . . 196
Table of contents 3
Driving with your q uattro ® . . . . . . . . . 196
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Driving and environment . . . . . 199
The first 1,000 miles (1,500 km) and
afterwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Avoid damaging the vehicle . . . . . . . . . 200
Drivi ng throug h wate r on roads . . . . . 201
Operate your vehicle economically and
min imize poll ution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Trailer towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
D rivi ng with a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
T ra ile r tow ing tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Vehicle care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Cleaning and protection . . . . . . 208
General infor mation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Care of ex ter ior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Care of interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
220
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
F uel tank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Engine hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Engine oi l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Engine cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Windsh ield/headlight washer
co ntaine r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
T ires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
T ire pressu re mo nitoring system 258
Do-it-yourself service . . . . . . . . . 261
What do I do now? . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
T ru nk escape handle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
E mergency warn ing triangle . . . . . . . . 261
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 2
Changing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
•
•

4 Table of contents
Fuses and bulbs .... ... .. .. ... .
Fuses . ..... ... . ...... ... .. .. ... .
Bulbs . ... .. ... ... .... ... .. .. ... .
Emergency situations ... .. ... .
General .... ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Starting by push ing or tow ing . .. .. . .
Starting with jumper cab les .. .. .. . .
Use of jumper cab les .. .. .. .. .. .. . .
Eme rgency towing with commercial
tow truck .. ................ ... . .
Lift ing vehicle . ........... .... ... .
Technical data ............. .. . .
General information .. .. .. .. . .
Explana tion of te chnical data . .. ... .
Vehicle iden tifica tion .... ...... .. . .
Weights ... ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Dimensions .... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
Data .. .. .. .. .. .. .... ... .. .. .. . .
A6 211 hp, 2.0 liter 4 -cylinder engine
A6 310 hp, 3.0 liter 6-cyli nder engine
S6 420 hp, 4.0 lite r 8-cylinder engine
Consumer Information ..... . .
Warranty coverages .... ... .. .. ... .
Operating your vehicle o utside the
U.S.A. o r Canada ......... .. .. .. . .
Aud i Service Repair Ma nua ls and 270
270
273
274 274
274
274
275
276 278
280 280
280
280
280 28 1
282
28 2
283 284
285
285 285
Li terature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
M aintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Addit ional accesso ries , modifications
a nd parts replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 7
D eclaration o f Compliance,
Te lecommunication and E lectronic
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

18 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
• Check the engine oil level¢ page 230.
• If the engine oil leve l is too low, add engine
o il ¢
page 23 0. M ake sure that the oil p res ­
s ur e warning symbol. appea rs no longe r
i n t he d is pl ay before you sta rt d rivi ng a ga in.
• If the engi ne oil leve l is cor rect and the indi ­
cator lig ht st ill tur ns on, tur n the eng ine off
and do not co nti nu e dr iving. Se ek pr of essio­
n al assista nce.
(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
l!I 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 level warning
1!11. By then, your engine
may already have suffered serious dam­
age.
!::;. , Engine oil level
• WARNING: Please add oil immediately
When the symbo l and the dr iver message ap­
pea r, the oil has to be re plenished r igh t now
¢pag e 227.
If the indicator lig ht and the message appear,
add e ngine oil immediate ly ¢
page 230 .
II Add oil , max. x qt (l). You may continue
driving
Wh en t he symbo l an d t he dr ive r message ap­
pea r, add the amo unt of o il ap pear in g i n the
di sp lay at the ne xt opport unity ¢
page 22 7.
@-Steering column lock
• Do not drive vehicle: Steering defective
If th e indicator lig ht t urns on and the mes­
sage ap pears, the re is an elect ronic steer ing co
lumn lo ck mal func tion. You canno t sw itch
t h e ignit io n on .
D o
not tow yo ur vehicle beca us e it ca nnot b e
s tee re d . S ee k profession al assi sta nce .
ell Steering lock: system fault. Please con­
tact dealer
If the indicato r light turns on and the mes­
sage appea rs , t here is an e lectronic stee ring
co lumn lock malfunc tion.
Drive to y our auth orized A udi dealer immed i­
ate ly to have the ma lfu nction corrected .
A WARNING
-Yo u r ve hicle m ust no t be tow ed in t he
ev ent of a malfu nction in th e ele ctr oni c
stee ring colum n lock be cau se it cann ot be
s teere d due to the l ock ed st eeri ng. If it is
to we d wi th t he steer in g lock ed , there is
the r is k of an accident .
©-Engine start system
• Engine start system fault. Please con­
tact dealer
If the indic ator ligh t turn s on an d the m es­
sage a ppe ars, do
not swi tch the ig nition o ff
because you may not be a ble to sw itch it on
again .
Dr ive to y our au thori zed A udi deal er i mme di­
a te ly to have the m alfunction correc te d .
1111 Engine start system fault . Please con­
tact dealer
If th e indicato r ligh t turns on and the mes ­
sag e appea rs, there is a malf unct ion in th e en­
gine sta rt system.
Drive to your author ized Audi dealer immed i­
ately to have the malfu nction correc ted .
0 Air suspension
Applies to veh icles: w it h air suspens io n
• Air suspension: system fault. Can contin-
ue slowly with max . 35 mph.
ll>

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

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.

42 Clear vision
& WARNING
-Automatic headlights are only intended
to assist the driver . They do not relieve
the driver of his responsibility to check
the headlights and to turn them on man­
ually according to the current light and
visibility conditions. For example, fog
cannot be detected by the light sensors.
So always switch on the headlights
io
under these weather conditions and
when driving in the dark.
- Crashes can happen when you cannot see
the road ahead and when you cannot be
seen by other motorists. Always turn on
theheadlightssothatyoucanseeahead and so that others can see your car from
the back .
- Please observe legal regulations when
using the lighting systems described .
(D Note
The rear fog lights should only be turned
on in accordance with traffic regulation, as
the lights are bright for following traffic.
{D) Tips
- The light sensor* for automatic head­
light range control* is located in the rear
view mirror mount . You should therefore
not apply any stickers to the windshield
in this area in order to prevent malfunc­
tions or failures .
- In the event of a light sensor malfunc ­
tion, the driver is notified in the instru­
ment cluster display ~
page 22 .
-You will hear a warning tone if you open
the driver door when the exterior lights
are switched on.
- In cool or damp weather, the inside of
the headlights, turn signals and tail lights can fog over due to the tempera­
ture difference between the inside and
outside. They will clear shortly after
switching them on. This does not affect
the service life of the lighting.
Emergency flasher
The emergency flasher makes other motorists
aware that you or your vehicle are in an emer­
gency situation .
Fig. 34 Ce nte r co nso le: em erg en cy flash er sw itc h
.. Press the switch I:;,,. ~fig. 34 to turn the
emergency flashers on or off.
When the emergency flasher is on, all four
turn signals blink at the same time. The turn
signal indicator lights
B Nin the instrument
cluster, as well as the light in the emergency
flasher switch
I:;,,. blink likewise. The emergen­
cy flashers also work when the ignition is
turned off.
The emergency flashers will turn on automati­
cally if you are in an accident where the airbag
has deployed.
@ Tips
You should turn on the emergency flashers
when:
- you are the last vehicle standing in a traf­
fic jam so that any other vehicles coming
can see you, or when
- your vehicle has broken down or you are
in an emergency situation, or when
-your vehicle is being towed by a tow
truck or if you are towing another vehicle
behind you.
Adjusting the exterior lighting
The settings ore adjusted in the MMI.
.. Select: !CAR ! function button> (Car)* sys­
tems
control button > Vehicle settings > Ex-
terior lighting.
Ill>

Automatic headlights
You can adjust the following settings in the
Automatic headlights menu:
Headlights activation time -You can adjust if
the headlights switch on
Early, Med . or Late
according to the sensitivity of the ligh t sensor.
Audi adaptive light* -You can switch adaptive
light
On and Off.
Daytime running lights
USA models:
You can switch the dayt ime run­
n ing lights
on and off .
Canada models :
The function cannot be
turned off . It is activated automatically each
time the ignition is switched on. This menu
item is shown "greyed out" .
Coming home, Leaving home
The coming home function illuminates the
area outside the vehicle when you switch the
ignition off and open the driver's door. To turn
the function on, select
Lights when leaving
car > On .
The leaving home function illuminates the
area outside the vehicle when you un lock the
vehicle. To turn the funct ion on, select
Lights
when unlocking car > On .
The coming home and leaving home functions
only operate when it is dark and the light
switch is in the
AUTO position.
Clear vision 43
Turn signals and high beam lever
The lever on the left side of the steering col­
umn is used to operate the turn signals and
the high beam as well as the headlight flash­
er.
Fig. 35 Tu rn signal and high beam lever
The turn signal and high beam lever has the
following functions:
Turn signals ¢ 9 ©@
.. 0 .... ~
.,. Push the leve r up as far as it can go to turn
on the right turn signa l or down to turn on
the left tu rn s ignal ¢
fig. 35.
... Move the lever briefly until you meet resist­
ance and re lease it to flash three times.
.,. Move the lever (up or down) until you meet
resistance and hold it there to determine
the flashing time for the turn signals.
High beam ~D @
... Push the lever forward to switch on the high
beam .
.,. Pull the lever back towards you to sw itch
off
the high beam.
Headlight flasher ~D ©
... Pull the lever toward the steering wheel to
use the headlight flasher.
Notes on these features
-The turn signals on ly work w ith the ignition
sw itched on. The indicator l ights
B or Bin
the instrument cluster¢ page 12 also blink.
-After you have turned a corner, the turn sig-
n al switches
off automatically.
- The
high beam works only when the head-
lights are on. The indicator light
El in the .,.

44 Clear vis ion
instrument cluste r illuminates when the
high beams are on.
- T he
headlight flash er works only as long as
yo u hold the lever - even if there are no
l ights turned on. The indicator light
II in
the instrument cluster il luminates when you
use the headlight flasher.
A WARNING
Do not use the high beam or headlight
flasher if you know that these could blind
oncoming traffic.
Interior lights
Front and rear interior lighting
Fi g. 36 Headliner: Front interior ligh ts
Fig . 37 Re ar headli ne r: Readi ng light
Press the appropriate button q fig . 36:
El-Interior lighting on/off
I]]-Door contac t sw itch . The inter ior lighting
turns on automatica lly when you unlock the
vehicle, open a door or switch the ignition off.
The interior lighting turns off several seconds
after you close the doors, when you lock the
vehicle or when you sw itch the ignition on.
When a door is open, the light t urns off afte r
a few minutes.
L:!l -Read ing lights on/off
~ - Switching the rear read ing lights on/off
from the cockpi t.
I" REARI * - Switching the rear reading lights
o n/off from the cockpit.
Ambience lighting
Applies to vehicles: with ambience lighting
You can adjust the br ightness for the ambi­
ence ligh tin g.
.. Select in the MMI: ICARlfunction butto n>
(Car )* sys tem s control button > Vehicle set­
ting s
> Interi or lighting > Brightne ss.
.. To increase or reduce the b rightness , turn
t he knob and press it .
T he ambience light ing tu rns on when you turn
t h e headlights on wh ile the ig nition is swi tc h ­
ed on.
(D Tips
The setti ng is automati cally sto red and as­
s igned to the remo te contr ol key t hat i s in
u se .
Instrument illumination
You can adjust the brightness of the instru­
men t and di splay illumination a s well as the
Head-up Display*.
Fi g. 38 Instrume nt illumina tion
... Press the knob to re lease it.
.. Turn the knob toward"-" or"+" to reduce or
increase the br ightness .
.. Press the knob aga in to return it to its origi-
na l posit ion . ...