2015 AUDI A6 cooling

70 Warm and cold
Four-zone automatic climate control
Operation
Applies to vehicles: with four -zone automa tic clima te control
We recommend pressing the IAUTO I button and setting the temperature to 72 °F (22 °C).
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'i ~ ~-~ AU.O ;
~• J;a:=IIT 11
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SYNC ~ .jA __,
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Fig. 72 Four-zone automat ic climate contro l: controls
Fig . 73 Fou r-zone automatic cl imate cont ro l: rear con ­
trol s
Press the buttons to turn the functions on or
off. Use the dials to adjust the temperature,
the blower speed and the air distribution. The LED in a button will light up when the func­
tion is switched on. The settings are shown in
the climate control display and are also shown in the MMI display for a few seconds . The driv­
er and front passenger sett ings can be adjust­
ing separately.
The settings can also be adjusted in the rear
<::;> fig. 73.
IOFFj Switching the climate control
system on/off
The I O FFI button switches the climate control
system on or off .
It also switches on when you
turn the dia l or press any button. Airflow from outside is blocked when the
climate control
system is switched off .
You can activate the residual heat function
whe n the ignition is off by pressing and hold­
ing the ~ button. The residua l heat from the
coolant is used to heat the vehicle interior .
The residual heat function switches off auto­
matically after about 30 minutes.
jA/C j Switching cooling mode on/off
The air is not coo led and humidity is not re­
moved when cooling mode is switched off.
T his can cause fog on the windows. Cooling
mode switches off automatically when the
outside temperature is be low zero .
1- 1 Switching recirculation mode on/off
In recircu lation mode, the air inside the vehi ­
cle is circu lated and filtered. This prevents the
unfiltered air outside the vehicle from enter­
ing the vehicle interior . We recommend
switching recirculation mode on when driving
through a tunnel or when sitting in traffic
¢ .&, .
The !AUTO I button or l switches recirculation mode off.

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IAUTO I Switching automatic mode on
Automatic mode maintains a constant tem­
perature inside the vehicl e. Air temperature,
airflow and air distribution are controlled au­
tomatically.
Adjusting the temperature
Temperatures between 60 °F (+16 °C) and
84 °F ( +28 °C) can be set. Outsid e of this
range,
lo or hi wi ll appear in the climate con ­
trol system disp lay. At both of these settings,
the climate control system runs continuously
at maximum cooling or heating power. There
is no temperature regu lation.
~ Adjusting the airflow
You can adjust the airf low manually to suit
your needs . To have the airf low regulated au­
tomatically, press the
IAUTO j button.
li!J Adjusting the air distribution
You can manually select the vents where the
air will flow. To have the air distribution regu­
lated automatically, press the
IAUTOI button .
~I~* Adjusting seat heating/
ventilation*
Pressing the button switches the seat heat­
ing/ventilation on at the highest setting ( level
3). The LEDs indicate the heating/ventilation
level. To reduce the heating/venti lation, press
the button again. To switch the seat heating/
ventilation off, press the button repeatedly
until the LED turns off.
After 10 minutes, the seat heating automati­
cally switches from level 3 to level 2.
l The windshield and side windows are defrost­
ed or cleared of condensation as quickly as
possible. The maximum amount of air flows
mainly from the vents below the windshield.
Recirculation mode switches off. The tempera­
ture should be set to approximately 72 °F (22
°() .
The IAUTO I button switches the defroster off.
Warm and cold 71
liiii REAR! Switching rear window heater
on/off
The rear window heater only operates when
the engine is running. It switches off auto­ matically after 10 to 20 minutes, depending
o n th e outside temperature.
To prevent the rear window heater from
switching off automatically, press and ho ld
the
l liiil REARI button for more than 2 seconds.
This remains stored until the ign ition is
switched off .
I SYNC I Synchronization*
When synchronization is switched on, the
same settings are applied to both the driver
and front passenger, except for the seat heat­
ing/ventilation*. The rear zone is also
synchronized. Synchronization switches off
when the settings for the front passenger s ide
or rear are adjusted.
You can also switch synchronization on by pressing and holding a dial. For example, if
you press and hold the dial on the front pas­
senger side, the settings for that side are
transferred to the driver side. The same ap­
plies to the rear.
Air vents
You can open or close the center and outer
vents in the cockpit and the vents in the rear
cente r console and door pillars using the
ridged thumbwheels. The levers adjust the di­
rection of the airflow from the vents.
&_ WARNING
-=
-Do not use the recirc ulation for extended
periods of time . The windows could fog
up since no fresh air can enter the vehi­
cle. If the windows fog up, press the air recirculation butto n aga in immediately
to switch off the air recirculation func­
tion or se lect defrost.
- Individuals w ith reduced sensitivity to
pa in or temperature could deve lop burns
when using the seat heating function . To
red uce the risk of injur y, these individu-
als should not use seat heating. ..,.

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,...., ..,., ,....,
Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durab ility,
economy and performance .
Trailer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
F or this reason, a lways fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
(D Note
If you are going to tow a trai le r, you must
ac tivate the trailer operation mode
c::> page 205, Operating instructions.
Technical requirements
Trailer hitch
Use a weig ht-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer we ight. The hitch must be suita­
b le for your veh icle and trailer and must be
mounted secure ly on t he ve hicle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a trail er
hi tch w ith a removab le ball moun t. A lways
check wi th t he tra ile r hi tch man ufactur er to
make sure that you are using the cor rect
h itch.
Do not us e a bumper hitch.
The hitc h m ust be installed in such a way that
i t does not interfe re with the impac t-absorb­
i ng bumper syst em. No mod ificat ions should
b e made to the vehi cle e xhaus t and br ake sys­
tems . From t ime to time, check th at a ll hitc h
mo unt ing bo lts rem ain securely fas tened.
When you are not towing a trail er, remove the
tra ile r hi tch ball moun t. T h is prevents the
hi tch from causing damage sho uld your ve hi­
cle be str uck from behind~ .& .
Trailer towin g 205
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is equippe d wi th a bra king sys­
tem, check to be s ure that i t conforms to all
regulations .
T he trailer hyd ra u lic bra ke sys tem mus t not be
d irec tly connec ted to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system .
Safety chains
Always use safety chains be tween your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Trai ler lights must meet all reg ulations. Be
su re to c heck with your Audi dea ler for correct
wir ing, switches and relays .
Mirrors
If you a re unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regula r outside mirrors, then you
must insta ll extended mir rors. It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rear.
_&. WARNING
-
Afte r removi ng the t railer hitch , do no t
stor e it in yo ur v ehicl e. In case of sudden
b raki ng, the hi tch co ul d fly forwar d and in­
j ur e you o r yo ur pass enge rs.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
A tra ile r fo r you r vehi cle is l imited to a typi cal
cla ss 1 o r class 2 tr ailer.
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the load in the tra ile r is held secure ly
in place to p revent it from shift ing fo rward,
ba ckward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
c::> .& in Driving instructions on page 207 .
Eng ine cooling sy stem
Towing a t railer ma kes the engine wor k hard­
er . It is impo rtant that the cooling system's
performance is up to the additional load.
•
•

206 Trailer towing
Make sure that the cooling system has enough
fluid .
Tire pressure
When towing a traile r, inflate the tir es of your
vehi cle to the cold tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open) .
Inflate trailer t ires to trai ler and tire manufac­
turers' specifications.
Lights
Check to make sure both vehicle and trailer
lights are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure tra iler safety cha ins are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
hicle. Leave enough slack in the chains to per ­
mit turning corners. When you install safety
cha ins, make sure they wi ll not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains should cross under the trailer
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Adjusting the Audi drive select
Make sure the vehicle is on a level su rface be­
fore
hitching up the traile r and before adjust­
ing the tongue weight. The vehicle must be in
auto or comfort driving mode and not raised
q page 100, q(D _
Make sure that the vehicle is lowered. In Info­
tainment , se lect:
ICARI f unc tion button> Low­
er
control button.
I f you must dr ive under poor road condit ions,
you can raise the vehicle
after coupling the
tra iler or
after adjusting the tongue weight
qpage 102.
-Changes in temperature or load can af­
fect the height of the vehicle.
- Always se lect
auto or comfort mode.
Otherwise, the tongue load specified for
your vehicle will no longer be applicable.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration .
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle
and trailer, please note the follow ing:
.,. Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car it­
self is not loaded.
.,. Be especially careful when passing other
veh icles.
.,. Observe speed limits .
.,. Do not dr ive at the max imum permissib le
speed.
.,. Always apply brakes early .
.,. Mon itor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded trailer with an empty car re­
su lts in a highly unstable distribution of
we ight. If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control.
A "ba lanced " rig is easier to operate and con­
t ro l. This means that the tow vehicle should
be load ed to the extent possible and permissi­
ble , while keeping the trailer as light as possi­
ble under the circumstances . Whenever possi­
ble , transfer some cargo to the luggage com­
partment of the tow veh icle while observing
tongue load requirements and vehicle load ing
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficult it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig . Do not
drive at the maximum permissible speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -particularly
whe n going downhill.
Red uce vehicle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing .
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds
for vehicles towing tra ilers are lower than for
regular veh icles . .,.

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Using the proper engine oil is important for
the functionality and service life of the en­
gine. Your engine was factory -filled with a
high-quality oil which can usually be used
t h roughout the entire year.
Your Limited New Vehicle Warranty does not cover damage or malfunctions due to
failure to follow recommended mainte­
nance and use requirements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet .
- Use only a high quality engine oil that ex­
pressly complies with the Audi oil quality
standard specified for your vehicle's en­
gine . Using any other oil can cause seri­
ous engine damage.
- Do not mix any lubricants or other addi­
tives into the engine oil. Doing so can
cause engine damage.
If you need to add oil and there is none
available that meets the Audi oil quality
standard your engine requires, you may
add a total of no more than 0.5 quart/liter
of a high-quality "synthetic"oil that meets
the following specifications.
- Vehicles with gasoline engine: ACEA A3
or API SM with a viscosity grade of
SAE 0W-30, SAE SW-30 or SA E SW-40.
- Vehicles with diesel engine: ACEA C3 or
API CF with a viscosity grade of
SAE 0W-30 or SAE SW-30.
- For more information about engine oil
that has been approved for your vehicle, please contact either your authori zed
Audi dealer or Audi Customer Relations
at 1 (800) 822 -2834 or visit our web site
at www.audiusa.com or
www.audicanada .ca.
Checking and filling 225
Engine oil consumption
T he engine in your vehicle depends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts .
In order to provide effec tive lubrication and
cooling of internal engine components, all in ­
ternal combustion engines consume a certain
amount of oil. Oil consumption varies from engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typically, engines
with a specified break-in period (see
c::> page 200) consume more oil during the
break-in period than they consume after oil
consumption has stabili zed.
Under normal conditions , the rate of oil con­
sumption depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road condi tions. Further fac­
tors are the amount of oil dilution from water
condensation or fuel residue and the oxida­
tion level of the oil. As any engine is subject to
wear as mileage builds up, the oil consump­
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
With all these variables coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es ­
tablished or specified . There is no alternative
to regular and frequent checking of the oil lev­
el , see
Note.
If the yellow engine oil level warning symbol
in the instrument cluster
II lights up, you
should check the oil level as soon as possible
c::> page 226. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience
c::> page 226.
A WARNING
--
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
c::> & in Working in the engine
compartment on page 222.
(D Note
Driving with an insufficient oil level is like-
ly to cause severe damage to the engine. .,.
•
•

228 Check ing and filling
- Always dispose of used engine oil proper ­
l y . Do not dump it on garden soi l, wood­
ed areas, into open streams or down
sewage dra ins.
- Recycle used engine oil by taking it to a
used engine oil collection facility in your
area, or contact a service station.
Engine cooling system
Coolant
The engine coolant performs two functions: it
keeps the engine from overheating and it pro­ tects the engine from freezing in the winter.
The cooling system is sealed and generally re­
qu ires little attention.
The cooling system has been filled at the fac­
tory with a permanent coolant which does not need to be changed. The coolant consists of a
mixture of spec ially conditioned water and the
manufacturer's glycol-based coolant addi-
tive G13 antifreeze with ant icorros ion addi­
tives (50% for USA models; 60% for Canadian
models). This mixture both assures the neces­
sary frost protection and protects metal com­
ponents in the engine's coo ling system from
corrosion and scaling . It also raises the boil­
ing point of the coolant.
Do not reduce the concentration of the coo l­
ant in the summer by adding plain water.
The
p ropo rtion of coolant add itive must be at
l e a st 50 % but not mo re th an 60 %
to ma in­
tain antifreeze protection and cooling efficien­
cy . If the coolant frost protect ion is too low,
the coo lant cou ld freeze and damage the veh i­
cle heating and eng ine cool ing system.
For year-round driving, antifreeze is added at
the facto ry for temperatures down to:
- -31°F(-35°C)USA
- -40 °F ( -40 °C) Canada.
If you m ust add coo lant, use a m ix tu re of wa ­
ter and coo lant addit ive . M ixing the coolant
additive with disti lled water is recommended .
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS~ &.
in Working in the engine
compartment on page
222 .
(D Note
-Before winter sets in, have the coolant
checked to see if the coolant additive in
your vehicle is sufficient to meet the cli­ mate conditions. This is especia lly impor­
tant if you live in a reg ion where t he win ­
t er is ex treme ly cold. If necessary, in­
crease the p roportion of coo lant add it ive
to 60% .
- When adding coolant addi tive to yo ur
c ooling sys tem, remembe r:
- We recommend us ing on ly coolant ad­
d itive G12++ or G13 (check the label)
for your vehicle . This coolant additive is
ava ilable at autho rized Aud i dea le rs.
Other types of antifree ze ca n sign ifi­
ca ntly reduce co rros io n protec tion. The
res ulting corrosion c an cause a loss of
coolant and serious engine damage.
- Do not add any type of r ad iator le ak seal­
ant to yo ur vehicle 's engine coolant .
Adding radiator repair flu id may adverse­
ly affect the function and performance of
your cooling system and cou ld resu lt in
damage not covered by your New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Checking the engine coolant level
-
The engine coolant level can be checked with
a quick glance.
F ig. 1 91 Engi ne compartment: cover on the coola nt
expansio n tank

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Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
al ways r ead and heed all W ARN­
ING S r=;, A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 222.
.. Park your vehicle on a level surface.
.. Switch
off the ignition .
.. Read the eng ine coolant leve l from the cool­
ant expansion tank¢
fig. 191, ¢ page 224,
fig. 188.
With a cold engine, the coolant
level should be between the "min" and
"max" markings. When the engine is warm,
the leve l may be slightly above the "max"
mark ing .
The location of the coolant expans ion tank
can be seen in the engine compartment illus­
tration ¢
page 224.
To obta in an accurate read ing, the engine
must be switched
off.
The expansion tank in your vehicle is equipped
with an electric coolant level sensor.
When the coo lant level is too low, the warning
light in the Auto-Check System
¢ page 16 will
illum inate until yo u add coolant and the level
has been restored to normal. Even though
there is an electric coo lant level sensor, we
still recommend you check the coolant leve l
from time to time .
Coolant loss
Coolant loss may indicate a lea k in the cooling
system. In the event of coolant loss, the cool­
ing system should be inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer . It is not
enough merely to add coola nt.
In a
sealed system, losses can occur only if
the boiling point of the coolant is exceeded as
a result of overheat ing .
A WARNING
The coo ling system is unde r pressure and
c an get ve ry ho t. Reduce the risk of s cald­
ing from h ot coolan t by followi ng these
steps .
- T urn
off the engine and allow it to coo l
down.
Checkin g and fillin g 229
-Protect your face, hands and arms from
escaping flu id and steam by covering the
cap with a large, th ick rag.
- Turn the cap slowly and very carefully in
a counter-clockwise d irect ion while ap­
plying lig ht, downward pressure on the
top of the cap .
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill anti­
freeze or coolant on the exhaust system
or hot engine parts. Under certa in cond i­
tions, th e ethylene glycol in engine coo l­
ant can catch fire.
(D Note
Do not add any type of radiator leak sea l­
ant to your ve hicle's engine coolant. Add-
i ng radiator repa ir flui d may adverse ly af­
fe ct the funct ion a nd pe rfo rma nce of you r
co oling system and could re sult in damage
not covered by your New Vehicle Limi ted
War ranty.
Adding coolant
Be very careful when adding engine coolant.
Before you ch eck anyth ing in the eng ine com­
partment,
alway s re ad and heed all WARN­
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine compar t­
ment on page 222.
.. Requirement: The re must be a residua l
amount of coolan t in the expansion ta nk
¢(D .
.. Tu rn off the engine.
.. Let the engine cool down.
.. Place a thick rag ove r th e coo lant expansion
tank
¢ page 228, fig . 191 and carefully
twist the cap counte r-clockwise ¢.&, .
.. Add coo lant m ixed in the correct ratio
¢
page 228, Coolant up to the MAX mark ­
ing .
.. Make s ure that the flu id leve l remains sta-
b le. Add more coo lant if ne cessary.
.. Twis t the cap o n again
t ightly.
Replacement engine coo lant must confo rm to
exact spec ificat ions
r=;, page 228, Coolant. ..,.
•
•

230 Check ing and filling
We recommend using on ly coo lant addi-
tive
Gl2++, Gl3 or in an emergency Gl2 +. Do
not use a different additive . In an emergency
use plain water unt il you can get the correct
additive and can restore the correct ratio. This
should be done as soon as possible .
If you have lost a cons iderable amount of
coolant, then you should add co ld antifree ze
and cold water only when the engine is co ld.
A lways use
new engine coolant when refilling.
Do not fill coolant above the "MAX" mark. Ex­
cess coolan t will be forced out through the
p ressure relie f valve in the cap when the en ­
gine becomes hot.
A WARNING
- The coo ling system is under press ure and
can get very hot. Reduce the risk of
sca lding from hot coolant by following
these steps.
- Turn off the eng ine and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, han ds and arms from
escap ing fl uid and steam by cover ing
the cap with a large, thick rag.
- Tur n the cap slowly and very c arefully
in a counter-clockwise d irect ion while
applying light, downward press ure on
the top of the cap .
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill an ­
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys ­
tem or hot engine parts. Under certain
conditions, the ethylene glyco l in en­
g ine coolant can catch fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store an­
t ifreeze in its or iginal container and well
out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
tainer clear ly marked "poison".
- Do not add coolant if the expansion tank
is empty. A ir could enter the cooling sys­
tem and damage the eng ine. If this is the case, do not cont
inue driving . Seek
professiona l assistance .
- Coo lant poll utes the environmen t and
co uld cause an engine fire . Excess cool­
ant will be forced out thro ugh the pres­
sure relief valve in the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an eme rgency, only wate r can be
added, the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze
c::> page 228 must be re­
stored as soon as possible .
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be reused . A l­
ways d ispose of used coolant while observ­
i ng all environmental regulations .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself.
An a uxiliary electric radiator fan switches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and other vehicle operat ing condit ions .
After yo u switch the engine off, the auxi liary
fan can continue r unning for up to 10 minutes
- even w ith the ignition off . It can even switc h
on again later by itself
c::> .& , if
- the temperature of the engine coo la nt rises
due to the heat build- up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compa rtment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
- To reduce the risk of personal injury nev­
er touch the radiator fan.
- The a uxiliary electric fan is temperat ure
controlled and can sw itch on suddenly
even when the engine is not ru nning .
- The a uxiliary radiator fan sw itches on a u­
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reaches a certai n temperature and will
continue to run until the coolant temper­
ature drops.