2013 AUDI A6 trailer

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
•
•

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.

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

76 On the road
Startin g and automati cally r ele a s ing the
p ark ing b rake
.. When you sta rt to drive as usua l, the park­
ing brake is automatically re leased and your
vehicle begins to move.
When stopping at a traffic signa l or stopping
in city traffic, the parking brake can be ap­
plied. The veh icle does not have to be held
with the footbrake. The park ing brake elimi­
nates the tendency to creep with a drive range
engaged . As soon as you dr ive off as usual,
the park ing brake is released automatically
and the veh icle sta rts to move .
Starting on slope s
When starting on inclines, the starting assist
prevents the vehicle from unintentionally roll­
ing back . The braking force of the parking
brake is not released until sufficient dr iv ing
fo rce has been bu ilt up at the whee ls.
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the park ing brake is re­
leased automatically only when the dr iv­
er 's safety belt is engaged in the buck le.
Starting off with a trailer
To prevent rolling back unintentionally on an
incline, do the following:
.. Keep the switch l pulled and depress the
accelerator. The park ing brake stays applied
and prevents the vehicle from ro lling back­
ward.
.. You can release the switch
C®l once you are
sure that you a re develop ing enough for­
ward momentum at the wheels as you de ­
press the accelerator .
Depending on the weight of the r ig (vehicle
and trai ler) and the seve rity of the incline, you
may roll backwards as you start. You can pre­
vent rolling backwards by holding the parking brake switch(®) pulled out and acce lerating -
just as you would when starting on a hill with a conventional hand brake .
Emergency braking
In the event that the conventional brake sys­
tem fails or locks .
.. In an emergency, pull the switch C®l and
con tinue to pull it to slow your vehicle down
w ith the park ing brake.
.. As soon as you release the switch (®) or ac-
celerate, the b rak ing process stops.
If you pull the switch C®l and hold it above a
speed of about 5 mph (8 km/h), the emergen­
cy brak ing f unct ion is init iated . T he ve hicle is
braked at all fou r whee ls by activating the hy­
draulic b rake sys tem. The brake performance
is similar to making an emergency stop~&. .
In order not to act ivate the emergency brak­
ing by mis take, an audib le warning tone (buz­
zer) sounds whe n the switch(®) is pulled . As
soon as t he sw itch C®l is re leased , or the accel­
erator peda l is depressed, emergency braking
stops.
_& WARNING
-Emergency braking should only be used in
an emergency, when the norma l foot brake
has fa iled or the brake pedal is obstructed.
Using the parking brake to perform emer­
gency b raking will slow your veh icle down
as if you had made a full bra ke application .
The laws of physics cannot be suspended
even with ESC and i ts associated compo­
nents (ABS, ASR, EDL) . In corners and
when road or weathe r conditions are bad,
a full brake application can ca use the vehi­
cle to sk id or the rear end to break away -
risking an accident.
Start-Stop-System
Description
Applies to vehicles: with Start -Stop -System
T he Start -Stop-Sys tem can help increase fuel
e conomy and reduce CO 2 emissions.
In the Start-Stop-mode, the engine shuts off
automat ica lly when the veh icle is stopped,
such as at a traffi c light. The igni tion remains .,.

94 Audi side assist
Audi side assist
Lane Change Assistant
Description
App lies to vehicles: wit h side ass ist
Fig . 97 Se nsor detect ion ra nge
Fig. 98 Display o n the exte rior mirror
Side assist he lps you monitor your blind spot
and traffic behind your veh icle. Within the
limits of the system, it warns you about
vehicles that are com ing closer or that are
traveling wit h you within sensor range
(D
c:> fig . 97 : if a lane change is class ified as c riti·
cal, the display@in the exterior mirror
¢ fig. 98 turns on.
The display in the left exterior mirror provides
assistance when mak ing a lane change to the
le ft, while the disp lay in the right exter ior mir·
ror p rov ides assistance when making a lane
cha nge to the righ t.
Information stage
As long as you do not activate the turn signal,
side assist
informs you about veh icles that are
detected and class ified as cr it ical. The display
in the respective mirror turns on, but is d im. T
he display remains d im intentionally in the
information stage so that your view toward
the front is not disturbed .
Warning stage
If you activate the turn signal, s ide ass ist
warns you about vehicles that are detected
and class ified as critical. The display in the re­
spective mirror blinks brightly . If this hap­
pens, check traffic by glancing in the rearview
mirror and over your shoulder c:>
.&. in General
information on page 95.
(D Tips
- Yo u can adjust the brightness of the dis ­
play @c:>
page 96.
-Please refer to the instructions for tow·
ing a trailer located in
¢ page 95 .

General information
Applies to vehicles: with side assist
®
©
Fig . 99 Driving situations
A UD I
Fi g. 100 Rear of t he ve hicle: positio n of t he se nsors
Side assist functions at speeds above approx i­
mately 19 mph (30 km/h).
@ Vehicl es th at ar e approaching
In certain cases, a vehicle will be classified as
cr itical for a lane change even if it is still
somewhat far away. The fas ter a vehicle ap­
p roaches, the sooner the display in the exteri­
or m irror will t urn on.
@ Vehicles traveling with you
Vehicles traveling w ith you are indicated in the
exterior m irror if they are classified as cr itical
for a lane change. All vehicles detec ted by
side assist are indicated by the time they en­
t er your "blind spot", at the latest.
Aud i side assist 95
@ Veh icles left behind
If you s low ly pass a vehi cle that s ide assist has
detected (the difference in speed between the
vehicle and you r vehicle is less than 9 mph or
15 km/h), the display in the exterio r mir ror
turns on as soon as the vehicle enters your blind spot.
T he disp lay will not t urn on if you quickly pass
a vehicle that side assist has detected (the dif­
ference in speed between the veh icle and your
vehicle is greater than 9 mph or 15 km/h).
Functi onal limitations
The radar sensors are designed to detect the
left and right adjacent lanes when the road
lanes are the normal width. In certain situa­
tions, the d isp lay in the exterior mirror may
turn on even though there is no veh icle locat­
ed in the area that is cr itical for a lane change.
For example:
- if the lanes are narrow or if your are dr iving
on the edge of your lane.
If this is the case,
the system may have detected the vehicle in
another lane that is
not adjacent to you r
current lane .
- if you a re driving through a curve. Side assist
may react to a vehicle that is one lan e ove r
from the adjacent lane.
- if side assist reacts to other objects (such as
high or d isp laced guard rails) .
- In poor weather conditions. The side assist
functions are l imited .
Do not cover the radar sensors with stickers,
deposits, bicycle wheels or other objects, be­
cause this will affect the function . Do not use
s ide ass ist when towing a trailer . For informa­
tion on clean ing, refer to
q page 211.
_&. WARNING
-Always pay a ttent ion to traffic and to t he
ar ea a round your ve hicl e. S ide assist can­
not repla ce a driver's attention. The driv­
er a lone is always responsible fo r lane
changes and similar driving mane uvers.

@ Tips
-Side assist is not active while you are
making the adjustment.
- Your settings are automatically stored
and assigned to the remote control key
being used.
Driver messages
Applies to vehicles: with side assist
If side assist switches off by itself, the LED in
the button turns off and a message will ap­
pear in the instrument cluster display:
Audi side assist: Currently unavailable. No
sensor vision
The radar sensors' vision is affected. Do not
cover the area in front of the sensors with bike
wheels, stickers, dirt or other objects. Clean
the area in front of the sensors, if necessary
c>fig. 100.
Audi side assist: Currently unavailable
Side assist cannot be switched on temporarily
because there is a malfunction (for example,
the battery charge level may be too low).
Audi side assist: System fault!
The system cannot guarantee that it will de ­
tect vehicles correctly and it is switched off .
The sensors have been displaced or are faulty.
Have the system checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility
soon.
Audi side assist: Unavailable when towing.
Side assist switches off automatically when a
factory-installed trailer hitch is connected to
the electrical connector on the trailer. There is
no guarantee the system will switch off when
using a retrofitted trailer hitch. Do not use
side assist when towing a trailer.
Audi side assist 97

(D Note
-Make sure there is enough clearance
above and below the veh icle when park­
ing . The height of the vehicle can change
once it is park ed due to temperature
fluctuations, changes to the load cond i­
tions and changes to the dr iv ing modes,
which can affect clearance .
- When t ransporting the veh icle on a car
carr ier, tra in, ship or by other means, on­
l y tie the veh icle dow n at the runni ng
su rface of the tires , which is the ou ter
ci rcumference . Secur ing t he vehicle at
the a xle components, s uspension str uts
or tow ing eyes is not pe rm itted because
the pressu re in the air suspension st ruts
can change during transport. The vehicle may not be secu red sufficiently if this
happens.
- If you are going to tow a trailer, you
must activate the trailer operation mode
<=> page 204.
{!) Tips
-In some models, the maximum vehicle
speed can only be reached in the
Auto
and Dynami c modes.
- Se lecting the
Dynamic mode results in
spo rty sh ifting character istics. The S
gear posit ion engages automatically.
- In vehicles with spo rt differential", the
Dynamic mode is deactivated when tow ­
i ng a trailer.
Adjusting the Individual mode
Audi dri ve sele ct 99
Selecting the driving mode
You can choose between Comfort, Auto , Dy­
namic and Individual .
Fig. 102 MMI: D rive selec t
.,.. To se lect the mode , se lect the following in
the MMI: IC ARlf unction button>
Comfort ,
Auto , Dynamic or Individual.
You can change the d riv ing mode when the ve­
hicle is stationary or wh ile driving.
If traffic
permi ts, after changing modes, briefly take
yo ur f oot off the acce lerator pedal so that the
recently selected mode is a lso activated for
the engine.
Comfort -prov ides a comfor t-orie nted veh icle
setup and is s uited fo r long drives on h igh­
ways .
Auto -provides an overall comfo rtable yet dy­
nam ic dr iving feel and i s suited for every day
u se .
Dynamic -gives the vehicle a sporty driving
feel and is suited to a spo rty driv ing style .
Individual -<=> page 99.
_.& WARNING
-Pay attention to traffic when operating
Audi d rive select to prevent potential risk
of an acc ident.
-
You can adjust the vehicle settings to your personal preferences .
.,.. Se lect : I CAR I funct ion bu tton> Set indi vid ­
ual
control button . You can now adjust the
i ndividual systems . The
Indi
vidu al driving mode wi ll automatical­
ly be activa ted when you have finished config­
uring the sett ing s.