2015 AUDI A6 Owners Manual

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Safety belt preten­
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In fron t, side and rear-end collisions above a
parti cular severi ty and in a rollover, safety
b e lts ar e te nsion ed automatically .
Reversible safety belt tensioners
The safety belts on the front seats are equip­
ped wit h power reve rsible tensioners . T he fo l­
l ow ing f un ct ions are available w hen the dr iv ­
e r' s/fron t passenger 's sa fety bel ts are fas­
tened :
- Automatic tensioners: at the start of a d rive,
the safety be lts automatically adjust to the
passenge r aft er a certai n time period o r ve­
hicle speed. To switch the automa tic ten­
s ioners off, select the fo llow ing in the M MI:
I CAR I funct ion button > (Car )* systems > Ve·
hide sett ings
> Seats > Driver 's seat or Pas ­
senger's seat
> Automat ic belt tensione r >
Off.
-In certa in driving situations, the safety belts
may t ighten with a reversib le tensioning
function
¢ page 190.
-The safety belts may also tighten w ith this
r evers ible tension ing funct ion in mino r colli­
s ions .
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
The safety be lts are equipped with safety be lt
pretensioners. The system is activated by sen­
s o rs in fron t, side and rear-end collisions of
great severity and in a rollover . Th is tightens
the bel t and takes up be lt slack ¢&.
in Service
and disposal of safety belt pre tensioner on
page 144.
T aking up the s lack helps to redu ce
forward occup ant movemen t during a colli ­
sion.
A WARNING
- It is possib le for the pre tensioners to de­
ploy i ncor rect ly .
- T he pyrotechnic sys tem can only provide
protection for one co llision. If the pyro -
Safety belts 143
technic pretensioners deploy, the preten­
sioning system must be replaced .
(D Tips
The pyro technic safety be lt pretensioners
ca n only deploy once .
- T he safety bel t pretensioners do not de­
ploy in minor frontal and s ide collisions,
in rear-end co llisions, i n rollovers and in
co llisions involving very little impact
f o rce.
- A fine dust is released w hen the py ro­
technic safety be lt pretensioners dep loy.
Th is is normal and is not caused by a fire
in the vehicle.
- The re levant safety requi rements must
be observed when the vehicle or compo­
nents of the system are scrapped . A
qualified dealership is fam iliar with
these regulations and will be please d to
pa ss o n the information to yo u.
- Be sure to observe all safety, env iron­
ment al and ot her regu la tio ns if t he ve hi­
cle or ind ividu al p ar ts of t he system, par­
t ic ular ly the s afe ty belt or airbag, are to
be disposed. We recommend you have
your authorized A udi dealer perform this
service fo r you .
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner
The safety belt pretens ione rs are parts of the
saf ety be lts on your Aud i. Insta lling, remov­
i ng, se rv ici ng o r repair ing of be lt pre tension­
ers can dam age the safe ty belt sy stem and
prevent it from working correctly in a co lli­
sio n.
T he re a re some impo rtan t thi ngs you have to
kn ow to m ake su re th at the effectiveness o f
t h e sys tem w ill not be impaired and tha t dis­
ca rded components do not cause injury o r pol -
lu te the environment . ..,_ •
•

144 Safety belts
,8. WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretens ioner from act ivat ing when needed
or act ivat ing it unexpectedly:
- The belt pretensioner system can be acti­
vated only once. If belt pretens ioners
have been act ivated, the system must be
replaced.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety belt system.
- Safety belt systems includ ing safety be lt
pretensione rs cannot be repaired. Spe­
ci al procedures are required for removal,
installation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system,
we strongly recommend that you see
your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
technician who has an Audi approved re­
pair manual, training and specia l equip­
ment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and preten ­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -specia l hand ling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/haza rdou swaste/per­
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts w ith pretens ioners are scrap­
ped, all applicable laws and regulations
must be observed. Your authorized Aud i
deale r is familiar with these requ irements
and we recommend that you have your
dea ler perform this service for you.

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Airbag system Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 12 7,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢ page 53,
""Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 139,
"" Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect ch ildren
r::::> page 171.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplementa l airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated prope rly . T herefore in order to help the
a irbag to do its job, it is impo rtant, both as a
d river and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keep ing room between your body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenge r
compartment, the airbag can i nflate fully and
comp lete ly and provide supp lemen tal protec­
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
r::::> page 12 7,
Proper occupant seating positions . For deta ils
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
trols ¢
page 53.
It's espe cially important that children a re
p roperly restrained
r::::> page 171.
There is a lot that the d river and the passen­
ge rs ca n and must do to help the individua l
safety features ins talled in your A ud i work to­
gether as a system.
P rope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the dr iver s ide ca n do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con-
A irbag system 145
dition that prevents yo u from sitting properly
o n the driver seat with the safety belt properly
f astened and reach ing the peda ls, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation o f the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified wo rkshop, o r call Audi Customer Re­
l ations at 1-800-822-2834 fo r poss ible modi­
fica tions to your veh icle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener ­
ator will fill t he a irbags, break open the pad­
ded cove rs, and inflate between the steer ing
whee l and the dr ive r and between the instru­
ment pane l and the fron t passenger. The a ir­
bags will deflate immedia tely after dep loy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
thro ugh the windshie ld again witho ut inter­
ruption .
A ll of th is takes place in t he blink o f an eye, so
f ast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Front a irbags in combination with properly
wor n safety belts slow down and lim it the oc ­
c u pant's fo rward movement . Togethe r they
help to preve nt the drive r and front seat pas­
senger from h itti ng pa rts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces act ing on the
occupant dur ing the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts o f the
body.
Both front airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The trigge ring of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
ca used by the co llision and registered by the
elec tron ic control unit. If t his rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con ­
tro l unit, the airbags will not b e trigge red,
even t hough the car may be bad ly damaged as
a res ult of the co llision . Ve hicl e damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is not necessarily an indica tion of whether an
airbag shou ld inflate or not . .,. •
•

146 Airbag sys te m
Since the cir cumstances will vary considerab ly
between one collision and anot her, it is not
possib le to def ine a range of vehicle speeds
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
of impact t hat will always trigger the airbags.
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rea r collisions, or in ro ll-overs.
Al ways rememb er: Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in k inds of co llisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
a re not supposed to deploy, or when they have
a lready deployed; for example, when your ve­
hicle strikes or is struck by another vehicle af­
ter the first co llision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
a supplementary restraint and is not a substi­
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effect ively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts¢
page 136.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will dec rease the effec­
t iveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of personal injury in a collision.
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instrument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the s teer ing whee l, investi­
gate whethe r adaptive equipmen t may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
- All veh icle occupants and especia lly chil ­
dren must be restrained properly when­
ever riding in a vehicle. An unrestra ined
or improperly restrained child could be
injured by striking the inter ior or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An unre­ st rained or imp roperly rest rained child is also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is m uch h igher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if yo u are up aga inst
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
flates - even w ith an Advanced A irbag.
- To reduce the risk of injury when an a ir­
bag inflates, always wear safety belts
properly ¢
page 139, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12
or younge r always ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they may be severe ly inju red or killed when an
ai rbag inflates.
- Never let children ride un restrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad­
just the front sea ts prope rly.
- Never ride with the back rest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the inst rument panel
¢pag e 127.
- Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the floor in front of the seat to he lp preven t serio us in ju ries to the legs
a nd h ip s if the airbag infla te s.
- Never re cline the front passenger 's sea t
to transport ob jects. Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide airb ag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sudden maneuve r. Objects near the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
in jur y when an airbag inflates.
A WARNING
-Airbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap­
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
~

and diagnostic equipment to properly re­
place any airbag in your vehicle and
assure system effectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air­
bags to be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat -some
important things to know
.. Be sure to read the important informat ion
and heed the WARNINGS for important de­
ta ils about ch ildren and Advanced Airbags
¢page 171.
Even though your vehicle is equ ipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make ce rtain that
all chi ldren, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat p roperly
restrained for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a
potentially dangerous place for a chi ld to ride.
The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward-facing child seat. It can be a
very dange rous place for an infant or a ch ild in
a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the require­
ments of United States Federal Motor Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your ve hicle was manufactured .
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("sup ­
pressed") if a c hild up to about one yea r of
age restra ined in one of the rear-facing or fo r­
ward-facing infan t restra ints listed i n Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with w hich
the Advanced Ai rbag System in you r vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front
passenger seat. For a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
¢ page 173.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad -
M vanced Airbag on the passenger side has been N
o turned off by the electronic control unit. <.J 'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1"1 ,...., 1.1"1 ,....,
A irbag system 147
Each time you switch on the ignition , the PAS·
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and :
- w ill stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occ upied,
- w il l stay on i f th e e lec trica l capacitan ce
meas ured by the capacitive passenger de­
tection system for the front passenger seat
equa ls the combined capacitance of an in­
fant up to about one year of age and one of
the rearward-facing or forward-facing ch ild
restrai nts listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
cert ified . Fo r a listing of the chi ld restraints
t ha t were used to certify you r veh icle's com­
pliance w ith the U.S. Safety Standard
¢ page 173.
-w il l stay on i f the re is a small ch ild or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- w il l go off if the front passenger sea t is oc­
c upied by an adult as registered by the c a­
pacitive passenger detection system
c:> page 157 , Monitoring the Advanced Air,
bag System.
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when e lec trical capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equa l to or less than
the comb ined capacitance of a typical 1 year­
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward-facing chi ld restraints listed in Feder­
al Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your ve­
hicle was certified .
If the total e lectr ical capacitance registered
o n the front passenger seat is more than that
of a typical 1 year -o ld child but less than the
weight of a small adu lt, the front airbag on
t h e passenger side can deploy (the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t does no t come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front airbag on the passen­
ger side has not been turned off by the e lec­
tron ic cont ro l uni t and ca n deploy if the con­
trol unit senses an impact tha t mee ts the co n-
ditions s to red in its memory .
111>
•
•

148 Airbag sys tem
For exa mple , the ai rb ag ma y depl oy if:
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whe ther the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
¢ page 173), or
- a ch ild who has outg rown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the ins trumen t cluster and stays on .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the F ederal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criteria to reduce
the r isk o f injury through interaction with the
ai rbag . "Low risk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that take place at lower decelerations
as defined in the electronic control unit
¢ page 158, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
A lways remember, a chi ld seat or infant carri ­
er insta lled on t he front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapidly in­
flating passenger's airbag in a frontal colli­
sion. The airbag could greatly reduce the ef­
fectiveness of the child restraint and even se­
riously injure the child during inflat ion.
For this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest place for children - when properly
restra ined accord ing to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit
i n the back seat¢
page 171, Child Safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System.
- T he inflating a irbag will hit the child seat
or infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
- Always insta ll rear-facing child seats on
the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child seat on the front passenge r seat because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by you r Audi dealer.
- Forward-facing child seats installed on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the dep loyment of the a irbag and
cause serious persona l injury to the
child.
A WARNING
If, i n except iona l circumstances, you m ust
i nsta ll a forward -facing child res traint on
the front passenge r's seat:
- Always make sure the forwar d-fa cing
seat has been designe d and cer tified by
its manufacture r for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never p ut the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always move the passenge r seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int. The
backrest must be adj usted to an up right
position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all t he
time wheneve r the ignit ion is switched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious inju ry, m ake
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill be displayed whenever a child re ­
straint is insta lled on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, perform the checks de­
scribed
c> page 15 7, Monitoring the Ad-
vanced Airbag System. ..,.

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"' rl
"' rl
-Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer immediately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when in­
stalling child restraints .
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child
restraint on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
seat or carrier.
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to signal to the Airbag
System that the seat is occupied by a person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the person actually sitting on the
seat . The presence of additional objects
could cause the passenger front airbag
to be turned on when it should be off, or
could cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would have worked without the object on the
seat.
Airbag system 149
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemen tal
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants.
Fig. 157 Locat io n of drive r airbag : in steering wheel
Fig. 158 Locat ion of fron t pa ssenger' s airbag: in the in·
st rument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured. The safety belts
for the seats have "pretensioners " that help
to take slack out of the belt system. The pre­
tensioners are also activated by the electronic
control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
wheel hub
~ fig . 157 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
¢ fig. 158. The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the .,..

150 Airbag system
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in ­
fants and small children.
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental protection .
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve­
hicle is properly restrained .
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering
wheel rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00
o'clock positions to help reduce the risk
of personal injury if the driver's airbag in­
flates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any­
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of severe injury to the arms, hands, and
head if the driver airbag deploys.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
and/or by being pushed into you as the air­
bag inflates.
-Always make sure nothing is in the front
airbag deployment zone that could be
struck by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag
deploys and cause serious personal in­
Jury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use .
-
-Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the
doors; never attach then to the doors or
the windshield; never place them over or
near or attach them to the area marked
.,AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel or the seat backrests; never place them between these areas and you
or any other person in the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such
as accessory GPS navigation units or mu­
sic players. Such objects could cause seri­
ous injury in a collision, especially when
the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move
into the deployment area of the side air­
bags or the front airbag during breaking
or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near
the airbags can fly dangerously through
the passenger compartment and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined and the airbags inflate.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pecially infants and small children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the ,,low risk" option
for 3- and 6-year-old children under the