2015 AUDI A6 instrument cluster

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-Always make sure that there 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 someone who is heavier
than the person actu ally s itting on t he
sea t. The presence of additiona l objects
cou ld cause the passenger front airbag
to be t urned on when it sho uld be off, or
cou ld cause the 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 o n 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
Ai rbag System in it. These parts incl ude the
capacitive passenger detect ion system, wir ­
i n g, brackets, and more . The control unit
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 158 . Because the
fro nt passenger seat contains important pa rts
of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
t ake care to p reven t it from being 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 fro nt o f the veh icle that
measure vehicle acceleration/dece leration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System about the severity of the crash .
- An electronic co ntrol unit, with integrated
c rash sensors for front and side impacts .
The cont ro l unit "decides" whether to fire
A irbag system 153
the front a irbags based on the in format ion
received from the crash sensors. The contro l
un it also "decides" whether the sa fety be lt
pretens ioners sho uld be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer­
ing wheel hub.
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas gene rator and
cont ro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A capacitive passenger detection system un­
derneath the front passenger seat cover.
This system measures the electrical capac i­
tance of the perso n in the seat. The informa­
tion registered is se nt cont inuous ly to the
el ectr onic contro l un it to regu late d eploy­
m ent of the front Advan ced A irbag on the
p assenger side .
- An airbag monitoring system and ind icator
light in the instr ument cluster ¢
page 157 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
t ance be twee n the respec tive seat a nd the
s teer ing whee l or inst rumen t pa nel. The i n­
forma tion regis tered is sent cont inuo usly to
the electronic cont ro l unit to regulate de­
p loyment of the front Adv a need Airbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instr u­
ment panel ¢
page 158, fig . 160 and tells
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off.
- A sensor in the safety be lt latch for the driv­
e r and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether that safe ty belt is latched or
not and transmits this information to the
elect ronic control un it .
.&_ WARNING
D amage to the front passe ng er seat ca n
p revent the front air bag from wor king
p roperly.
- I mp roper repa ir or d isassembly of the
fro nt passenge r and dr iver sea t will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning p roperly.
- Repair s to t he fron t passenge r seat m ust
be pe rformed by qualified an d properly
-
trained workshop person ne l. 111>
•
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154 Airbag system
-Never remove the front passenger or
driver seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or put them on the seat. The capacitive
passenger detection mat in the front
passenger seat will not function properly
if it is punctured .
- Never carry things on your lap or carry objects on the front passenger seat.
Such objects can influence the capaci­
tance registered by the capacitive pas ­
senger detection system, so that incor­
rect information is provided to the airbag
control unit.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air­
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­
ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop­
erly.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat .
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional layers prevent the
capacitive passenger detection system
from accurately measuring the capaci­
tance of the child safety seat and/or the
person on the seat and thus keep the Ad­
vanced Airbag System from working properly.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic games device
, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the device is connected to
the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light­
er socket . Such devices can influence the
capacitance registered by the capacitive passenger detection system, so that in­
correct information is provided to the air­
bag control unit.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
,8. WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it
immediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger
seat, this can keep the airbag system
from working properly and may, for in­
stance, deactivate the passenger frontal
airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
on together with the airbag indicator light
fl in the instrument cluster .
- If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has
not soaked in, this may also keep the air­
bag system from working properly and
cause the passenger frontal airbag to be
enabled (turned on), even though there is a properly installed child restraint sys­
tem on the seat . Wet towels or other wet
things on the seat cushion can have the
same effect. If the front passenger fron­
tal airbag is turned on, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light light will go out.

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caused by airbags when they inflate, particu­
l arly when the occupant sitting next to it is
not seated properly. The s ide a irbag for the
front passenger seat can be used with proper ­
ly installed chi ld res traints. Please be sure to
read the important information and warnings
whenever us ing a child restraint in a veh icle :
Safety belts
c::;, page 136, A irbag system
c::;, page 14 5, Child safety ~ page 171.
The side airbag system basically con sists of:
- the e lectronic control module and external
s ide impact sensors
- the two airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests and the two airbags* located
in the rear backrest
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster.
The airbag system is monito red elect ron ica lly
to make certain that it is functioning properly
at all times. Each time you switch on the igni­
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
T he side airbag system supplements the safe­
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in ­
jury to the driver's, front and rear passenger's upper torso on t he side of the vehicle that is
struck in a side collision . The airbag deploys
only in s ide impac ts and on ly when the veh icle
acceleration registered by the control u nit is
hi gh enough . If this rate is below the refer­
e nce va lue progr ammed i nto the con trol un it,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though the ca r may be badly damaged as a re­
sult of the collision . It is not possible to de­
f ine an a irbag trigger ing range that will cover
eve ry possible angle of impact, since the cir­
cumstances will vary considerably between
one co llision and another . Important facto rs
in clude, for examp le, the natu re (hard o r soft)
of the impacting objec t, the ang le of impact ,
ve hicl e speed, etc. ~
page 1 66, Impor tan t
safety instructions on the side airbag sy stem.
Aside from the ir no rmal safety function, safe­
ty belts wor k to he lp keep the d river or front
passenger in posi tion in the event of a side
Airbag system 165
collision so that the side airbags can provide
protection.
T he airbag system is
not a substi tute fo r your
s af ety belt . Ra ther, it is part o f the over all oc­
cupant restra int system in you r vehicle . A l­
ways remember that the side airbag system
can on ly help to protect yo u if you are wearing
your safety be lt and wearing it proper ly. This
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety be lts, not just because the law re­
quires you to do so c::;,
page 136, General
notes.
It is important to remember that wh ile the
suppleme nta l side airbag system is desig ned
to r educe the likelihood of ser ious injuries,
othe r injur ies, for exampl e, swelling, bru is ing ,
friction bur ns and m ino r abrasions can a lso be
associ ated w ith dep loye d side airbags. Re­
member too, si de a irbags w ill dep loy o nly
once an d only in ce rtain kinds of accidents -
yo ur safety be lts a re a lways there to offer p ro ­
tection .
Vehicle damage, repair costs o r even the lack
of ve hicle damage are not necessarily a n indi ­
cation of ove r-sensitive or failed airbag activa­
tion. In some coll is ions, both front and side
a irbags may inflate. Remember too, that air­
bags will deploy only once a nd only in certain
ki nds of col lisions - you r safety belts a re a l­
ways t he re to offe r protection in those acc i­
dents i n which a irbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have a lready deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignit io n is switched off
- in side co llisions whe n the acceleration
meas ured by t he sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear -end co llisions
- in rollove rs .
In some types of accidents the front airbags,
s ide cu rtain airbags and s ide a irbags may be
t rigge red together. .,,. •
•

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@ Tips
Your vehicle may be equipped with Audi
connect. Your use of certain Aud i connect
features req uires wireless serv ices that are
provided by a third party wireless telecom­
municat ions provider. For details regard­
ing how information obtained through
Aud i connect is collected, processed,
transmitted, used, and shared, please see
your contra ct w ith the wire less telecom ­
municat ions provider and the "About A udi
connect" tab in your vehicle's MMI:
!MENU !
button > Audi connect > About Audi con·
nect .
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 veh icle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects
certain difficult driv ing s ituations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw) out of cont ro l and helps you to get the vehicle
back under control by select ively brak ing the
wheels, and/or red ucing engine powe r and
p roviding steering assistance to help hold the
ve hicle on the driver's intended course . The in­
dicator light
m in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations.
It is important to remem­
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
phys ics. It will not a lways be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
h elp you master situat ions where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of fr iction of
the road surface. When there is a sect io n of
d ry road that is s udden ly cove red with water,
slush o r snow, ESC canno t perform the same
way it would on the dry su rface.
If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a c ush ion of wate r in­
stead of the road surface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because con-
Int ellig ent technolog y 193
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast corner ing, particular ly on wind ing
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult dr iv ing s ituations 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 conditions . ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical lim its, in­
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a veh icle
o n the road if road departu re is a result of
driver ina ttent io n. Instead , ESC imp roves the
poss ibility of keep ing the vehicle under con­
trol and on the road during extreme maneu­
vers by using the driver's steering i nputs to
help keep the vehicle go ing in the intended di­
rect ion. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes 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 ass ist sys­
tem, ant i-slip regu lation (ASR), electron ic dif­
ferential lock (EDL), dynam ic steer ing* and
El ectronic interax le differentia l lock* /selective
whee l to rque control*. ESC is switched on a ll
the time. In ce rtain sit uat io ns when yo u need
less traction, you can sw itch off ASR by press­
ing the b utton
[fil ¢ page 195, fig. 178. Be
s u re to switch ASR on again when you no lon­
ger need less traction .
Anti-lock braking system (ABS )
ABS prevents the whee ls from locki ng up
when b raking. The vehicle can st ill be stee red
even during hard braking . App ly steady pres­
su re to the brake peda l. Do not pump the ped­
al. A pulsing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is helping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake a ssis t sy ste m
The brake ass ist system can decrease braking
distance . It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake peda l quickly in emer­
gency s ituations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal unti l the situation is over. In .,,.
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"' rl
"' rl
The AdBlue is stored in a separate tank in the
vehicle. The Ad Blue usage accounts for ap­ prox imately 0.5% to 1.2% of the diese l fuel
that is used.
You must refill the Ad Bl ue or have it refilled
by your authorized A udi dealer or qualified
workshop as soon as the AdBlue refill mes­
sage appears in the instrument cluster
¢page 220.
A WARNING
Failure to heed Ad Blue ref ill information in
the instrument cluste r can prevent the ve­
hicle from being started and drive n. If the
vehicle cannot be driven and an eme rgency
a rises, perso na l inju ry can occur.
- Always have t he Ad B lue tank refilled well
before the t an k ru n s dry.
(D Tips
- The instrument cluster display indicates
the distance remaining that can be dr iv­
en
¢ page 219. If the Ad Blue tan k is
com plete ly empty, the eng ine will not
star t aga in a fter the ign ition i s swit ched
off.
- Ad Blue is required by l aw to ope rate this
vehicle .
Indicator in the instrument cluster
display
Applies to vehicles: with d iesel e ngine
The display indicates if the Ad Blue level is low
or if it was filled incorrectly.
F ig . 18 3 Ins trume nt cluste r: in dicato r in th e d isplay
Fu el suppl y and filli ng your fuel t ank 219
AdBlue level low
Yo u w ill be informed if t he A d Bl ue in the t ank
drops below a certain leve l.
Plea se refill Ad Blue. Range 1500 mile s
(2400 km)
This ind icator appears when there is only
enough Ad Blue left to d rive the distance i ndi­
cate d in the drive r informa tion syst em. Please
add AdBl ue.
AdBlue ,0 Refill AdBlue! Cannot start en­
gin e in
600 miles (1000 km )! See owner's
manual
This indicator appears whe n there is only
enough Ad Bl ue left to drive the distance indi ­
cated in the drive r information system. Please
add AdBl ue. Othe rwise the e ngin e w ill not
s tart again if you s top it o nce the di stan ce in ­
di cated has been driven.
Refill AdBlue! No re start! See
owner's manual
This message appears when the Ad Blue tank
i s empty . Please add Ad B lue. Otherw ise you
will not be able to sta rt the eng ine again once
you stop it.
When the minimum Ad Blue leve l has bee n
reached, you must add Ad Blue¢
page 220 .
&I Filling incorrectly
If the Ad B lue tank was filled with a d ifferent
fluid than Ad B lue and the system detects that
it is incorrect, a message will appear .
AdBlue ,/ AdBlue: System fault No restart
in
600 mile s (1000 km)! See owner 's man­
ual
T his message appears when it is on ly possible
to
dr ive the distance indicated in the driver in ­
format ion system. D rive to the nearest quali­
fied workshop to have the ma lfunction re­
paired. Otherw ise the eng ine will not start
again if you stop it once the distance indicated
has been dr iven.
Ad Blue: System fault No restart!
See owne r's manual
lilJ,

220 Fuel supply and filling your fuel tank
This message appears if the system detects it
was filled incorrect ly. Drive immediate ly to
the nearest qualified workshop to have the malfunction repaired. Otherwise you will not
be able to start the engine again once you
stop it.
Filling AdBlue
App lies to vehicles: with diesel eng in e
A special refill bo ttle must be used to fill the
AdBlue.
Fig. 184 Rig ht rear vehicle si de: removing the Ad Blue
cap
Fig. 185 Ad8lue filler tub e: inse rting the refi ll bott le
The Ad Blue fi ller tube is located near the die­
sel filler tube. Always add 1.5 gallons (5 . 7 lit­
ers) of AdBlue (three bottles). This is the mini­
mum amount required to ensure the system
detects the refilling and to start the engine.
The Ad Blue tank capacity is approximately
4 .5 gal lons (17 liters).
Opening the filler tube and adding
AdBlue
Requirement: The request to add Ad Blue must
appear in the instrument cluster display.
• Switch the ignition off.
• Open the tank cover
c:;,poge 216.
• Turn the cap counterclockwise with the lug
wrench from the vehicle too l kit to remove it
C::,fig. 184.
• Remove the cap from the refill bottle.
• Position the refill bottle on the filler tube
and turn the bottle clockwise until it stops
turning
(D ~ fig. 185 .
• Press lightly against the bottom of the bot­
tle @to empty it . Continue pressing the
bottom of the bottle until it is empty or un­
til fluid stops flowing into the tank.
• Turn the bottle to the left without pressing
on the bottom.
Closing the filler tube
• Turn the cap clockwise on the filler tube
w ith the lug wrench until you hear it tighten
completely .
• Close the tank cover .
After filling
The vehicle must be driven. The system may
take up to two minutes to detect that the
AdBlue has been filled.
• If there was no Ad Blue left in the tank and a
range of
O mi (0 km ) was displayed in the
ins trument cluster, switch the ign ition on
for about 15 seconds before start ing the en­
gine.
_& WARNING
-Ad Blue can irritate the skin, eyes and res­
piratory system. If there is contact with
the fluid, flush immediately with plenty of
water. Consult a phys ician if necessary.
(D Note
-Only use Ad Blu e that conforms to the
standard ISO 22241-1. Do not mix any
additives with the AdBlue and do not di­
lute it with water.
- Do not add Ad Blue to the diese l tank or
add diese l fuel to the Ad Blue tank. Mix­
ing can lead to damage to the engine
and the AdBlue tank system . The Limited
New Vehicle Warranty does not cover
such damage.

224 Checking and filling
Engine compartment
Engine compartment overview
These are the most important items that you can check.
Fig. 188 Typ ical layout for contai ners and eng ine o il filler cap
(D Jump start point(-) with hex
head screw .... ............. 234, 283
@ Jump start point(+) under a cov-
er .. .. ............... .... . 234,283
@ Brake fluid reservoir ((0)) . . . . . 231
© Engine oil filler cap ( ®
® Coolant expansion tank (-L) ... 228
Windshield/headlight washer
. (' " ) container O ............ . . 235
The engine oil filler neck (item @) may be lo­
cated in a different area depending on the ver­
sion of the engine.
~ WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
¢ &. in Working in the engine
compartment on page 222.
-
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine oil used must conform to exact
specifications.
The service interval display in the instrument
cluster of your vehicle will inform you when it
is time for an oil change. We recommend that
you have your oil changed by an authorized Audi Serv ice Advisor.
If you have to top
off the oil between oi l
changes, use the Audi oil quality standard
specified in the table.
Audi oil quality standard
Gasoline
VW 502 00 or
engine vw 504 00
Diesel vw 507 00
engine

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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. .,.
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