2014 AUDI A6 wheel

backrest must be adjusted to an upri ght
posit ion.
- Always make sure that t here is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to s ignal to the A irbag
System that the seat is occupied by a person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occupied by som eone who is heavier
than t he pe rson actually s itting on the
seat. The presence of additiona l obje cts
cou ld cause the passenger front airbag
to be t urned on when it sho uld be off, or
cou ld cause t he airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the
seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switc hed
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
A irbag System in it. These parts incl ude the
capac itive passenger de te ct ion sys tem, wir­
ing, b racke ts, and more . The cont ro l uni t
monitors the system o n the front passenger
seat when the ign ition is switched on and
turns the airbag indicator light on when a
malfunct ion in the one of the system compo­
nents is detected ¢
page 160. Because the
fro nt passenge r seat contains important parts
of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to p revent it from bei ng damaged.
D amage to the seat may preven t the Ad ­
vanced A irbag System for the front passenger
seat from doing its job in a crash .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure ve hicle acceleration/dece le ration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­ bag System about the severity of the crash.
A irbag system 15 5
- An electron ic contro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors fo r front and side impacts .
T he control un it "decides" whether to f ire
the front a irbag s based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
pretens ione rs should be act iva ted .
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas genera tor and
cont ro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer ­
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve inside the instrument panel for
the front passenger .
- A capacit ive passenger detection system un ­
derneath the front passenger seat cover .
This system measu res the ele ct rical capac i­
t ance of the perso n in the seat. The informa ­
t ion registered is se nt cont inuo usly to the
elec tronic con trol un it to regu late dep loy­
ment of the front Advanced Ai rbag on the
passenger side.
-An airbag monitoring system and ind icator
light in the instr ument cluster ¢
page 159.
-A senso r in each front seat registers the dis ­
tance between the respective seat a nd the
steering whee l or instrument panel. The in­
formation reg istered is sent cont inuo usly to
the electron ic contro l unit to regulate de­
ployment of the front Adva need A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght comes
on and stays on in the center of the instr u­
ment panel ¢
page 160, fig. 160 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned off.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r the d riv ­
er and fo r the front seat passenger that
senses whethe r th at safety belt is latched or
no t and tra nsmi ts this informa tion to the
elec tronic con trol un it.
A WARNING
D amage to the fron t passenger se at can
p revent the front air bag from work ing
p roperly.
- Imp roper repai r or disassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly.
-
•
•

-Never place or attach accessories or o th ­
er objects (such as cup hol ders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area
marked ''AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those a reas and yourself. These
objects co uld cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate .
- Never recline the front passe nger's seat
to transport objec ts. Items can also
move into the area o f the side airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a
sudden maneuver . Objects near the air­
bags can become project iles and cause
injury, part icularly when the seat is re­
cl ined .
- Never place or transport ob jects on the
front passenger seat. Objects on the
front passenger seat could cause the ca­ pacitive senso r in the seat to s ignal to
airbag system that the seat is occupied
by a person when it in fa ct is not, o r that
the person on the se at is he avier than he
or she actually is. The change in electric
capacitance beca use of such objects can
cause the passenger front airbag to be
turned on when it sho uld be
off, or can
cause the airbag to work in a way that is
different from the way it wou ld have
worked w ithout objects on the seat.
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenge r detection
system in the s eat to s ignal to the A irbag
System that the seat is oc cupied by a
pers on when it is not, or to sign al th at it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the pe rson actually s itting on the
seat . The presence of an object co uld
cause the passenger front a irbag to be
turned on when it sho uld be
off, or co uld
cause the airbag to work in a way that is
different from the way it wou ld have
worked w ithout the object on the seat. A
irbag
sys tem 159
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems fo r people
with a history of as thma or other breath­
ing cond itions.
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those wi th asthma o r other respiratory
conditions s hou ld get fresh air r ight
away by get ting o ut o f the veh icle or
open ing win dows or do ors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, was h your ha nds and fa ce with
mild soap and wate r be fore eating.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust in to your
eyes, o r into any c uts or sc ratches.
- If the resid ue should get into your eyes,
f lus h t hem w ith wa te r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
fl~ Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advan ced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indi cator light and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF
light.
The Advanced A irbag System ( includ ing the
electron ic co ntro l unit, sensor circu its and sys­
tem wir ing) is monitored con tinuously to
make sure that it is functio ning properly
whenever the ignition is on. Each time you
switch on the ignition, the airbag monitor ing
indicator light
fl will come on for a few sec­
onds (self diagnost ics).
The sy stem must be in spected when the
indicator light
I :
- does not come on when the ignition is
sw itched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignit ion, or
- comes on while driv ing.
If an airbag system malfunc tion is detec ted,
the indicator light wi ll first start f lashing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
llo-
•
•

-Have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection sys­
tem determines that the front passenger seat is empty, the frontal airbag on the
passenger side will be turned off, and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will stay
on .
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi. Installing,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­
lute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploying when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or modify them
in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cup
holders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
Airbag system 163
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB radios, etc .) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can deploy only once .
After an airbag has been deployed, it
must be replaced with new replacement
parts designed and approved especially
for your Audi model version. Replace­ ment of complete airbag systems or air­
bag components must be performed by
qualified workshops only. Make sure that
any airbag service action is entered in
your Audi Warranty
& Maintenance book­
let under
AIRBAG REPLACEMENT RE­
CORD .
-For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separated
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech­
nic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inter­
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified technicians who have the ...
L..._ _____________ _j ...
•
•

164 Airbag system
experience, informat ion and specia l
too ls necessary to perform the work
safely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate Material - special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/haza rdouswaste/per­
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety belts w it h pretens ioners are
s crapped, a ll applicable laws and regula­
tions mus t be observed. Your au thori zed
Audi dea le r is familiar with these requi re­
ments and we recommend that you have
your dea ler perfo rm this serv ice for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced A irbag Sys­
tem pe rforms in a crash. For example, us ing
tire-r im combinations not app roved by Aud i,
lowering the vehicle, ch anging the stiffness o f
the suspension, including the springs, suspen ­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the a irbag
sensors and sent to the electronic control
un it. Some suspension changes can, for exam­
p le, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors a nd make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in w hich it would not dep loy if the
changes had not been made . Other kinds of
ch an ges may reduce the force levels meas­
u red by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it sho uld .
The senso rs in the safety belt buckle fo r th e
d river a nd front passe nger sea t tell the elec ­
tronic control module if the safety belt is
l atched or not .
If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will dep loy at a slightly high­
er rate of vehicle deceleration than if the safe­
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par- t
icu lar collision, it is possible that an airbag
will not dep loy at a seat ing position where the
safety belt is be ing used b ut w ill inflate at the
pos ition where the safety belt is not be ing
used. It is important that nothing interfere
with t he safety be lt buckles so that the sen ­
sors can send the correct info rmation about
safety belt use to the electronic control un it .
_&. WARNING
Changi ng the vehicle's suspension includ ­
i ng use of unapp roved tire-rim combina­
tions can change Advanced Airbag per­
formance and increase the risk of serious pe rsonal injury in a crash .
- Never install suspension components that do not have the same pe rformance
characteristics as the components o rigi­
na lly installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that
have not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
App lies to vehicles : wi th knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants .
Fig . 1 61 Dr iver 's knee a irbag
T he dr iver knee airbag is in the ins trument
pane l underneath the steering wheel
~ fig. 161, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan-
el underneat h the glove compartment. .,.

166 Airbag system
How knee airbags work
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The risk of injury to the leg area can be re­
duced by fully inflated knee airbags.
Fig. 162 Inflated airbags protecting in a frontal colli·
s io n
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the a irbags for the driver and front pas­
senger deploy in certain but not all frontal
collisions.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags
a lso deploy in frontal collisions when the de­
ployment threshold stored in the control unit
is met .
When the system deploys, the airbags fill
with a propellant gas, and inflate between the
lower part of the instrument panel and the
driver and the lower part of the instrument
panel and the front passenger
Q page 157,
fig . 159.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cush ion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower
extremities.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed . The airbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and it is im­
portant for occupant safety that nothing
should be in their way when they deploy.
Fully inflated airbags in combination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim­
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the risk of injury. Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Applies
to vehicles: with knee airbags
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­
ways wear safety belts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
airbags to provide supplemental protection.
A WARNING
-An inflating knee airbag can cause serious injury. Wearing safety belts incorrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect
you properly if you are seated too close
to any of the airbag locations. When ad­
justing their seat positions, it is impor­
tant that both the driver and the front passenger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the following minimum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instru­
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- The risk of personal injury increases if
you lean forward or to the side, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are
not wearing your safety belt . The risk in­
creases even more should the airbag de­
ploy .
- Always make sure that the knee airbag
can inflate without interference. Objects
between you and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by inter­
fering with the way the airbag deploys or
by being pushed into you as the airbag
deploys.
- Never let anybody, especially children
or animals ride in the footwell in front

192 Audi pre sense
Audi pre sense
Preventative passenger
protection
A pp lies to veh icles: with Audi pre se nse
Audi pre sense can initiate steps to help pro­
tect vehicle occupants in certain situations.
The functions described depend on equ ipment
installed in your vehicle:
Audi pre sense basic*
The following functions can be triggered in
certain driving situations:
- Tightening of the safety belts (for example,
during heavy braking) : the front safety belts
have reversible belt pretensioners. If a colli­
sion does not occur, the safety belts loosen
slightly and are ready to be tightened again.
- Closing the windows and the sunroof*: the
windows and the sunroof* close leaving a
small open gap.
Audi pre sense basic functions can be trig­
gered at speeds above 20 mph (30 km/h).
Vehicles with Aud i drive select*: the deploy­
ment time is adapted in
Dynamic mode.
Audi pre sense front (vehicles with
adaptive cruise control*)
Audi pre sense front includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, within the
limits of the system, the likelihood of a colli ­
sion with the vehicle immediately ahead is al­
so calculated . If the system senses an immi­
nent collision the following functions can be
tr iggered :
- Braking guard c::>poge
90
-Tightening the safety be lts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav -
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense rear (vehicles with Audi
side assist*)
Audi pre sense rear includes the functions in
Audi pre sense basic. In addition, the likeli­
hood of a rear-end collision with the vehicle
coming from behind is also calcu lated.
If the risk
of a co llision is detected, the following
functions can be triggered:
- Tig htening the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof* (leav-
ing a small open gap)
Audi pre sense plus*
Audi pre sense plus includes the functions in
Audi pre sense front and Audi pre sense rear.
Error message
Audi pre sense: not available
Preventative passenger protection is not avail­
able. See your authorized Audi dealer immedi­
ately to have the malfunction corrected.
_& WARNING
-=
Audi pre sense cannot overcome the laws
of physics. It cannot prevent a collision. Do
not let the increased safety provided
tempt you to take risks. This will increase
the r isk of a collis ion and serious personal
in juries .
- The sensors cannot always detect all ob­
jects. This increases the risk of a colli­
s10n.
-Aud i pre sense does not detect people or
an im als or objects that are crossing the
veh icle's path c::> page
84.
-The radar sensor's vis ion can be reduced
by heavy rain, ice, snow, heavy road sp ray
and reflections from guard rails, tunnel
entrances, etc. These and similar condi­
tions can prevent vehicles from being ac ­
curately detected and in some cases they
may not be detected at all.
(D Note
The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. This can affect the function of
the Audi pre sense system. Have your au­
thorized Audi dealer check to make sure
that the system is working properly.

194 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), installed by some manu­
facturers fo r the express p urpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
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 lthough your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine function, 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 over a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a system fault or other
cond ition is sensed by a cont ro l unit. 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 with 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 vehicle 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)
out of control and he lps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing eng ine power and
providing steer ing ass istance to he lp hold the
vehicle on 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 you
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.
For 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,
slush 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 available tract ion, or keep a ve hicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
drive r inattent ion. Instead, ESC imp roves the
poss ibil ity of keeping the vehicle 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) , e lectronic dif­
ferential lock ( EDL) and e lectronic interax le
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 <::;> page 196, fig . 178 . Be sure
to switch ASR on again when you no longer
n eed less t raction.
Anti-lock br aking s ystem (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braking . The veh icle can still be steered
even during hard braking . Apply steady pres­
sure to the brake pedal. Do not pump the ped ­
a l. A puls ing in the bra ke peda l 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 p resses the brake pedal quic kly in emer­
gency situations. You must press and ho ld the
b rake peda l 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 d rive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the force to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ie r to
s tart, accelerate and drive up hills.
El ectronic diffe rential lock (EDL )
The ED L brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive powe r to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if the vehicle is equipped with
all-whee l drive*. This function is available up
t o about 75 mph (120 km/h).
I n extreme cases , ED L automatica lly switches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from overheating.
E DL wi ll switch on again au­
tomatically when conditions have returned to normal.
Int ellig ent technolog y 195
Electronic intera xle differential l ock */
se le ctive wheel torque cont rol *
The electronic interaxle differential lock (front
whee l drive) or the se lective whee l 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 p recise d riving through
curves . T he 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 diffe rential 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 veh icle, you should immedi­
ately change yo ur speed to match the
road and traffic cond itions. Do not let
the increased safety provided by these
systems tempt you to take risks. Do ing
so will increase the r isk o f a loss of vehi ­
cle control, collision and serious personal inju ries.
-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 iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead . ESC, ABS, the brake assist sys­
tem, EDL, ASR and the e lectronic inte r­
axle d iffe ren tial lock function* cannot
preven t coll is ions.
- Always accelerate with spec ial care on
even, smooth surfaces su ch 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. .,.
•
•