2016 AUDI A6 sensor

Parking systems
General information
Applies to vehicles: with parking system plus/rear view cam­
era/peripheral cameras
Depending on your vehicle's equipment, various
parking aids will help you when parking and ma­
neuvering.
The
parking system plus assists you when park­
ing by audibly and visually indicating objects de­
tected
in front of and behind the vehicle
r::!:>page 114.
The rear view camera shows the area behind the
vehicle in the Infotainment display. This display
assists you when you are cross or parallel parking
r::!:> page 115. In addition, you are assisted by the
functions from the parking system plus
r::!:>page 114.
The peripheral cameras assist you with parking
and maneuvering. You are aided by various cam­
e ras depending on the vehicle equipment leve l
¢ page 118. In addition, you are assisted by the
functions from the parking system plus
r::!:>page 114.
A WARNING
-Always look for traffic and check the area
around your vehicle by looking at it directly
as well. The parking system cannot replace
the driver's attention. The driver is always
responsible for safety during parking and
for all other maneuvers.
-
-Please note that some surfaces, such as
clothing, are not detected by the system.
- Sensors and cameras have blind spots in
which people and objects cannot be detect­ ed. Be especially cautious of children and
animals.
- The sensors can be displaced by impacts or
damage to the radiator grille, bumper,
wheel housing and the underbody. The park­
ing systems may become impaired as a re­
sult. Have your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop check their function.
- Make sure the sensors are not covered by
stickers, deposits or any other obstructions
Parking systems
as it may impair the sensor function. For in­
formation on cleaning, refer to
r::!:>page203.
(D Note
-Some objects are not detected by the sys­
tem under certain circumstances:
- Objects such as barrier chains, trailer draw
bars, vertical poles or fences
- Objects above the sensors such as wall ex­ tensions
- Objects with specific surfaces or struc­
tures such as chain link fences or powder
snow.
- If you continue driving closer to a low-lying
object, it may disappear from the sensor
range. Note that you will no longer be
warned about this obstacle.
(D Tips
- The system may provide a warning even
though there are no obstacles in the cover­ age area in some situations, such as:
- certain road surfaces or for long grass.
- external ultrasonic sources e.g. from cleaning vehicles.
- heavy rain, snow or thick vehicle exhaust.
- We recommend that you practice parking in
a traffic-free location or parking lot to be­
come familiar with the system. When doing
this, there should be good light and weath­
er conditions.
- You can change the volume and pitch of the
signals as well as the display
r::!:>page 123.
-Please refer to the instructions for towing a
trailer
r::!:>page 123.
-What appears in the infotainment display is
somewhat time-delayed.
113

Parking systems
Parking system plus
Description
Applies to vehicles: with parking system p lus
Audi parking system plus provides audio and vis­
ual signals when parking.
F ig . 120 D isp lay field
Sensors are located in the front and rear bump­
ers. If these detect an obstacle, visua l and in
some situations audible signals warn you.
Make sure the sensors are not covered by stick­
ers, depos its o r any other obstructions as it may
impair the sensor function. For information on
cleaning, refer to¢
page 203.
The display field begins approximately at:
® 4 ft (1.20 m)
® 3 ft (0.90 m)
© 5.2 ft (1.60 m)
@ 3 ft (0.90 m)
The closer you get to the obstacle, the sho rter
the interva l between the audible signals. A con­
tinuous tone sounds when the obstacle is less
than approximately 1 ft (0.30 m) away . Do not
continue driving farther¢
& in General informa­
tion on poge 113,
¢ @) in General information on
page 113!
If the distance to an obstacle remains constant,
the volume of the distance warning gradually
drops after about four seconds (this does not ap­
p ly in the continuous tone range).
114
Switching on/off
Applies to vehicles: with parking system plus
Fig. 121 Center co nsole : parki ng aid b utto n
Switching on
.. Shift into reverse, or
.. Press the
Pw A button in the center console
¢
fig. 121 . A short confirmation tone sounds
and the LED in the button turns on .
Switching off
.. Drive faster than 6 mph (10 km/h), or
.. press the
P,qi button, or
.. Switch the ignition off.
Visual display
The segments in front of and behind the veh icle
help you to determine the distance between you
and an obstacle. The red lines * mark the expect­
ed direction of travel according to the steer ing
angle. A white segment indicates an identified
obstacle that is outside of the vehicle's path. Red
segments show identif ied obstacles that are in
your vehicle's path. As your veh icle comes closer
to the obstacle, the segments move closer to the
vehicle. The collision area has been reached when
the next to last segment is displayed. Obstacles
in the collision area, including those o utside of
the ve hicle's path, are shown in red. Do not con­
tinue driving forward or in reverse¢
A in Gener­
al information on page 113, ¢(Din General in­
formation on page 113!

Adjusting the display and the warning tones
A ppl ies to vehicles: W it h parkin g system plus/rearview c am·
era/peripheral ca meras
The display and warning tones can be adjusted in
the Infotainment.
~ Se lect: the ICARI function button > ( Car)* Sys­
tems control b utton
> Driver ass istance > Pa rk­
ing aid .
Display
On * -An op tical d isp lay is shown for the parking
system plus, a rearview camera image is s hown
for the rearview camera *.
Off -Whe n the par king system is switched off,
only audib le signa ls are give n.
Warning tones Front volume - Volume for the front a rea
Rear volume - Volume fo r the rear area
Front frequency· Frequency for the front a rea
Rear frequency · Freq uency for the rear area
Entertainment volume lowering - When the
pa rking system is turned on, the volume of the
aud io/video so urce is lowered .
The new ly adjusted value is briefly heard from
the signal generato r.
@ Tips
- The warning tones can also be adjusted d i­
rectly by the vis ual disp lay or the pictu re
from the camera. Simply press the Settings
control bu tton.
- Changed settings are activated when the
parking system is switched o n aga in.
- The settings for volume and frequency are
automat ica lly saved and assigned to the re­
mote control key be ing used .
Error messages
Appl ies to vehicles: W ith pa rk in g syste m plus/rearview ca m·
era/per ipheral ca meras
There is an erro r in the system if the LED in the
Pw , button is b linking and yo u hear a continuous
Parking systems
alarm for a few seconds after sw itch ing on the
par king system or w hen the pa rking system is a l·
ready activated. If the error is not cor rected be ­
fo re you switch
off the ignition, the LED in the Pw ,
button wi ll blink the next time you switch on the
park ing system by shifting into reverse.
Parking sy stem plus
If a sensor is fa ulty, the .l?4 symbo l will appear i n
front of/behind the vehicle in the Infotainment
display. If a rear sensor is faulty, on ly obstacles
that are in areas @and @ are shown
¢ page 114, fig . 120 . If a front sensor is faulty,
only obs tacles tha t are in areas © and @are
shown. The re is a lso a system ma lf u nction if all
segme nts ar ound the veh icle are red or if no seg·
me nts are disp laye d.
Peripheral cameras*
T he re is a system malfu nction if t he
t8> • symbol
appea rs and the co rresponding disp lay area is
shown in bl ue. The camera is not wo rking in this
area.
Drive to an authorized A udi dealer or authorized
Audi Service Facility immed iate ly to have the
malfunction corrected.
Trailer hitch
App lies to vehicles: wit h parking system pl us/rea rv iew cam ­
era/periphera l cameras an d tra ile r hitc h
For vehicles using the t rai ler socket, the park ing
system rear sensors do not tu rn on whe n you
shift into reverse gear or when yo u press the
Pwi
button. This resu lts in the following restrict ions.
Parking system plus
There is no distance warning for the rear. The
front senso rs remain activated. The v isua l display
switches to t he tra iler tow ing mode.
Rearview camera* /peripheral cameras *
T he re is no distance warning for the rear . The
front sensors remain activated . The visua l display
switches to the tra ile r towing mode. The rearv iew
camera image w ill not show the orientation lines
and the b lue surfaces. .,,.
123

A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously injured and can be k illed if the front air­
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Although the Advanced A irbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to t urn off t he front
airbag when a rea rward-facing child re­
straint has been insta lled on the fron t pas ­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely g uaran ­
tee that deployment is impossible in a ll con­
ceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the c hild seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
-Always install rearward-fac ing ch ild re­
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSEN ­
GER A IR BAG OFF light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rea r seat ing position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in except io nal circumst ances, you must in­
stall a forward-f acing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and ce rtified by its man ­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag .
- Never put the forward -facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rea rmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for­
ward-facing child restra int. The backrest
must be adjusted to an up right posit ion .
Airb ag sys tem
-Always make sure that there is noth ing on
the front passenge r seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
not, or to s ignal that it is occupied by some­
one w ho is heavier than the person actually
sit ting on the sea t. T he presen ce of addi­
tional ob je cts cou ld cause t he passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or cou ld cause the ai rbag to work in a
way that is d ifferent from the way it wou ld
have wo rked without the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light comes on and stays on a ll the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your veh icle has a lot
of very important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System in it . These parts include the capacitive
passenger detection system, wir ing, brackets,
and more. The contro l unit m onito rs the sys tem
o n t he fro nt passenge r seat when t he igni tion is
swi tched on and turns the airbag indica tor ligh t
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected ¢
page 154. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Advanced A irbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged.
Damage to the seat may prevent the Adva nced
Airbag System for the front passenge r seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The front Ad vanced Airbag System consists
of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front of the veh icle tha t
measure vehicle acce le ra tion/decele ration to
p rov ide informa tion to the Advanced A irbag
System abo ut the sever ity of the cras h.
- An elect ronic contro l unit, with integ rated
cr ash sensors for front a nd side impac ts. Th e
cont rol un it "decides" whether to fi re the fron t
airbags based on the info rmation rece ived from
the crash sensors . The contro l un it also "de ­
cides" whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated. .,.
149

Airbag system
-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve for the driver inside the steering
wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve inside the instrument panel for
the front passenger.
- A capacitive passenger detection system under­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the electrical capacitance of the
person in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the electronic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster~
page 153.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation registered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
panel
~ pag e 154, fig. 159 and tells you when
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety b elt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly .
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop personnel.
- 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.
150
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacitive pas­
senger detection mat in the front passenger
seat will not function properly if it is punc­
tured .
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenger seat . Such ob­
jects can influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat . Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, preventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working properly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air­
bag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth­
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restraint system 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 capacitance of the child safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced 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 passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket. Such
devices can influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint
~

.... N
0 CJ - M I.Cl ......
manufacturer's instructions require the use
of a towel, foam cushion or someth ing else
to properly pos ition the child restraint,
make certain that the
PA SS EN GE R A IR B AG
OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever
the ch ild restraint is installed on the front
passenge r seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall child res traint in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer .
_& WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im­
mediately .
-If liqu id soaks into the fron t passenger seat,
this can keep the airbag system from work ­
ing properly and may, for instance, deacti­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on together with
the a irbag indicator light
II (USA models)/
E,I (Canada models) in the instrument clus­
ter .
- If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has not soaked in, this may also keep the a irbag sys­
tem from working properly and ca use the
pa ssenge r frontal a irbag to be enabled
(t ur ned on), even t hough the re is a properly
installed child restraint system on the seat.
Wet towe ls or other wet things o n the seat
cushion can have the same effect. If the
front passenger frontal airbag is t urned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light light
will go out .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
airbags s upplemen t the protection offered by the
front three-point safety bel ts with pretensioners
and load limiters and the adjustable head re ­
straints * to help reduce the risk of injury in a
wide range of accident and crash situations. Be
sure to read the important information about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Airb ag sys tem
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­
pend on the dece leration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
unit. Crash severity depends on speed and decel­
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash .
On the passenger side, regard less of safety belt
use, the front passenger frontal airbag will be
turned off if the e lectr ica l capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detect ion system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount
programmed in the electron ic contro l unit. The
front passenge r frontal a irbag wi ll also be turned
off if the capaci tance measured by the system for
the front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about one year of age in one of the chi ld seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . The
P ASS ENGER AIR BA G OFF light comes
on and stays o n to tell you when the front Ad ­
vanced Airbag System on the passenger side has been t urned off
c::> page 154 .
_& WARNING
To reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are un restra ined, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or ou t of position in a ny way ,
your r isk of injury is much higher .
- You will a lso receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
a ir bag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
c::> page 142.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig . 158 Inflated front airbags
151

A WARNING 1=-
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing w ith the way the airbag unfolds or by be­
ing pushed into you as the a irbag inflates .
- Never hold th ings in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transport items on or in the area of
the front passenger seat . Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur­
ing brak ing or other sudden maneuvers and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious personal injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cup holders, te lephone
brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru­
ment pane l, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself . These objects
could cause injury in a crash, especially
when the airbags inflate .
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat to
transport objects . Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front a ir­
bag dur ing bra king or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become
projectiles and cause injury, particular ly
when the seat is reclined.
-
- Never place or transport objects on the
front passenger seat . Objects on the front
passenger seat could cause the capacitive
sensor in the seat to signal to airbag system
that the seat is occup ied by a person when it
in fact is not, or that the person on the seat
is heavier than he or she actually is . The
change in electric capac itance because of
such objects can cause the passenger front
airbag to be turned on when it shou ld be
off, or can cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would have
worked without objects on the seat.
- Always ma ke sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that wi ll cause the
capacit ive passenger detection system in
the seat to signa l to the Airbag System that
Airb ag sys tem
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitt ing on the seat . The presence of an ob­
ject 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.
A WARNING
=
The fine dust created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing prob lems for people with a
history of asthma or other breathing condi­
tions .
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory con­
ditions should get fresh air right away by
getting out of the vehicle or open ing win­
dows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in wh ich airbags de­
ploy, wash your hands and face w ith m ild
soap and water before eating .
- Be carefu l not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the residue should get into your eyes,
flush them w ith water .
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
t!~ (USA models) /!t (Canada models)
Airbag monitoring indicator light
T wo separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced Airbag System : the airbag moni­
toring indicator light and the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System as well as the side
airbags and side curtain airbags with ejection
mitigation fea tures (including the electronic con­
trol unit, sensors and system wiring) are all monitored continuously to make sure that they
are functioning properly whenever the ignition is
on. Every time you turn on the ign ition, the a ir­
bag system indicato r light
II (USA models) tfll
(Canada models) wi ll come on for a few seconds
(function check).
153
...

Airbag system
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les and pretension­
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Materi­
al -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­
rate . When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modules and
safety belts w ith pretensioners are scrapped,
all applicable laws and regulations must be
observed. Your authorized Audi dealer is fa­
m iliar with these requirements and we recom­
mend that you have your dealer perform this
service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
cha nge the way that the Advanced Airbag System
pe rforms in a crash. For example, using tire-r im
comb inat ions not approved by Audi, lower ing the
veh icle, changing the stiffness of the suspens ion,
including the spr ings, suspension struts, shock
absorbers etc . can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
electronic control unit . Some suspens ion changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in crashes in wh ich it would not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other ki nds of
changes may reduce the force levels measured by
the sensors and prevent the airbag from deploy­
ing when it should .
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
change Advanced A irbag performance and in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that
do not have the same performance charac­
teristics as the components originally insta l­
led on your veh icle.
- Never use tire-rim comb inations that have
not been approved by Audi.
158
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
App lies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen­
tal protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 160 Driver 's knee airbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
underneath the steering whee l
¢fig. 160, the
airbag for the passenger is at about the same
height in the instrument panel underneath the
glove compartment.
The knee airbag offers additiona l protection to
the driver 's and passenger's knees and upper and
lower thigh areas and supplements the protec­
tion provided by the safety belts.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags a lso
deploy in frontal collisions when the deployment
threshold stored in the control unit is met
c> page 151, More important things to know
about front airbags .
In addition to their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts help keep the dr iver or front passenger in
position in a frontal collision so that the airbags
can provide supplemental protection .
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu­
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re­
member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wear ing your safety belt
and wearing it p roperly. This is why you shou ld
always wea r your safety be lt, not just because
the law requires you to do so
c> page 134, Gener-
al information. ..,..