2017 AUDI A6 warning light

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.. Make sure to use the right chi ld restraint cor­
rectly to protect children
~ page 171 , Child
safety .
.. Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same¢
page SO, Seats
and storage .
.. Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly . Al­
so instruct your passengers to fasten their safe­
ty be lts properly ¢
page 139 .
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condition of
the vehicle, the driver as well as the driver's abili­
ty to concentrate on the road without being dis­
tracted.
The driver is responsible for the safety of the ve­
h icle and all of its occupants. If you r ability to
d rive is impaired, safety risks for eve rybody in the
veh icle increase and you also become a hazard to
everyone else on the road ¢A -Therefore :
.. Do not let you rself be dist racted by passengers
or by us ing a cellular te lephone .
.. NEVER dr ive when your dr iv ing ability is im ­
paired (by medications, alcohol, drugs, etc.).
.. Observe all traff ic laws, rules of the road and
speed limits and plain common sense.
.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic and
weather cond itions.
.. Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two ho urs at a stretch .
.. Do NOT drive when you are tired, under pres­
s ur e o r when you are st ressed.
_& WARNING
Impaired dr iv ing safe ty inc reases the risk of
ser ious personal inju ry and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
.
Dr iving safety
Correct passenger
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving .
F ig. 140 Correct seat ing pos it io n
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the dr iver 's seat to the fo llowing
pos ition:
.. Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor while
keep ing your knee(s) slightly bent¢&. -
.,. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contac t wi th it when you dr ive .
.. Adj ust the steer ing wheel so that there is a d is­
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the steering whee l and your breast bone¢
fig. 140.
If not poss ible, see your author ized A udi deal­
ership about adapt ive equipment.
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering
wheel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at your face .
.,. Grasp the top of the steering wheel with your
elbow(s) slightly bent.
.. For adjustab le head rest raints: Adjust the head
rest raint so the upper edge is as even as possi­
b le with the top of your head. If that is not pos ­
sible, t ry to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this posit ion as possible. Move the
head restraint so that it is as close to the back
of t he head as possible.
.. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
Qpage 142. ..,.
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" N .... 0 0 <..:l ' Audi pre sense Preventative passenger
protection
Applies to: ve hicles with Audi pre sense
Pre sense can initiate steps to protect vehicle oc­
cupants in certain dangerous situations. The
functions described are available depending on
veh icle equ ipment:
P re sen se basi c*
T he following functions can be triggered in cer­
tain driving situations:
- Tensioning of the safety belts (for example,
during heavy braking) : the front safety belts
have reversible belt tensioners. If a collision
does not occur, the safety belts loosen slightly
and are ready to trigger again .
- Closing the w indows and the sunroof* (for ex­
ample, when over- or understeer ing) : the win­
dows and the sunroof* close until there is only
a small gap open .
The function of the pre sense basic is act ivated at
a speed of 20 mph (30 km/h) or higher .
Drive se lect: the deployment time is adapted in
D yna mic mode .
Pre sense f ront (v e hi cles with adaptiv e cruis e
contr ol*)
Pre sense front contains the functions of pre
sense basic . In addition, the likelihood of a rear ­
end collision with the vehicle ahead is also calcu­
lated, within the limits of the system. If the risk
of a collision is detected, the following functions
can trigger:
- Braking guard
c> page 93
- Tensioning of the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof*
Pre s ense rear (vehicles with side assi st* )
Pre sense rear contains the functions of pre sense
bas ic. In addit ion, the l ikel ihood of a rear-end
coll is ion from the vehicle behind is a lso ca lculat­
ed, w ithin the limits of the system. If the risk of a
collision is detected, the following functions can
trigger:
Audi pr e sense
- Tensioning of the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof*
Pr e sense p lus*
Pre sense plus contains the functions of pre
sense front and pre sense rear .
Error message
Aud i pre sense : Un ava ilable
Preventative passenger protection is not availa­
ble. Drive to your authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility immediat ely to have
the malfunction corrected.
A WARNING
=
Pre sense cannot overcome natural phys ica l
laws. It is a system designed to assist and it
cannot prevent a collision . Do not let the in­
creased safety provided tempt you into tak ing
r isks. This could inc rease your risk of a colli­
sion.
- The system can dep loy incorrectly .
- Please note that the sensors do not always
detect a ll objects . T hi s increases the r isk of
a co llision.
- Pre sense does not react to people or ani­
mals or objects that are cross ing the vehi­
cle's path o r are diffic ult to detect
.:>page 88.
- Reflective objects such as guard ra ils or the
entrance to a tunnel, heavy rain and ice can
affect the funct ion of the rada r senso rs and
the system's ability to de tect a co llision risk.
(D Note
The sensors can be d isplaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
u nderbody. Pre sense can be impaired by this .
Have an authorized Audi dealer or authorized
Audi Service Facility check their function .
(D Tips
-Certa in p re sense front funct ions sw itch off
when sport mode is switched off or when driving in reverse. ..,.
137

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General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly.
~ Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, o r physically im­
paired persons must also use safety belts.
Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not
wear safety belts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -throughout
the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. Each seat­ ing position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt.
It is espe­
cially dangerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on your lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
Safety belts
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
belt or child restraint.
~ Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger (on USA models only)
to remind you about the importance of buckling­
up .
Fig. 142 Safety belt warn ing light in the instrument clus ­
te r -enlarged
Before driving off, always:
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
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~ Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts .
~ Protect children w ith a ch ild restraint system
appropr iate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignit ion is on as a reminder to
fasten the safety belts. In addition, you wil l hear
a warning tone for a certain period of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts.
A WARNING
-
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, a lways correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.
139

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Automatic safety belt r etractors
Every safety be lt is equ ipped wi th an automatic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. Th is feature
l ocks the belt when the belt is p ulled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident. The belt may also lock when you drive up or down a steep
h ill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely .
Safety be lt pret en sioner s
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to tighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated
c:;, page 145. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
c:;, page 17.
Con vertible loc king retractor
Every safety belt exc ept the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
mu st be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this featu re
c;, page 182.
A WARNING
Improperly posit ioned safety be lts ca n cause
ser ious injury in an accide nt
c:;, page 143,
Safe ty belt position .
-Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upr ight and belts are
prope rly pos itioned on the bo dy.
- Always ma ke sure tha t the rear sea t bac k­
rest to wh ic h t he cente r rea r safety be lt* is
a ttached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen­
ger will move forward with the backrest dur­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a cras h.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle w ill red uce safety belt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious personal in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not p roperly restrained
can be seriously in ju red by the safety be lt it­
self when it moves from the stronger par ts
Safet y bel ts
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­
men .
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when yo u are securing a child seat in the ve­
hicle
c;,page 184.
(I} Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
refer to
c:;, page 145 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting ma xi­
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig . 14 9 Safety belt pos it io n
Use the height adjustme nt to change the posit ion
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts .
A WARNING ~
Imp roperly positioned safety belts can ca use
se rio us pe rsonal injury in an a cciden t.
- The s hou lde r belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fi t well on the body . Ho ld the bel t
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest so tha t it sits as low as pos ­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should a lways fit
snug ly
c:;, fig. 149. Pu ll on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
inju ries by shifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable, soft tissue and cause serious i nju ry .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat io n
c:;, page 141 .
143

Airbag syste m
Always remember, a child seat or infant carrier
installed on the front seat may be struck and
knocked out of position by the rapidly inflating
passenger's airbag in a frontal collision. The air­
bag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the
child restraint and even seriously injure the child
during inflation.
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for children -when properly restrain­
ed according to their age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
¢ page 171, Child safety.
.8, WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the chi ld seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing chi ld
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASS EN­
G ER AIR BA G OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
- Forward-facing ch ild seats insta lled on the
front passenger's seat may interfe re with
the deployment of the airbag and cause se­
rious persona l injury to the child.
.8, WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing se at
has been designed and certified by its man ­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag .
150
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-Never put the fo rward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restrain t.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild rest raint and
not next to o r in fron t of the child rest raint
so that the safety be lt will be properly posi­
tioned.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on .
.8, WARNING
-
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
be d isp layed whenever a ch ild restraint is in­
stalled on the front passenge r seat and the
ignit ion is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 159, Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System .
-Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea le r i mmediately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from child restraint manufacture rs when instal­
ling child restra ints .
.8, WARNING
If, i n exceptional ci rcumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-fac ing child re­
stra int on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installat ion of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even preven t
them from provi ding any pro tect ion .

Airbag syste m
seat. Please be sure to read the important infor­
mation in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
.&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­ ting s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
c::> page 147 .
.&_ WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously inju red and can be killed 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 tu rn off the front
airbag when a rearwa rd -facing child re ­
straint has been insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely g uaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­
ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against the
backrest, center a rmrest, door, or roof .
- Always install rearward-facing 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 exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear­
facing child seat in a rea r seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer .
154
.&_ WARNING ,_
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been des igned and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forwa rd-facing child restraint
up against or very nea r the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenge r seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justmen t range and move it back to the
rearmost posit io n in the seat's fo re and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the a ir ­
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the chi ld rest raint and
not next to o r in front of the c hild restraint
so that the safety be lt will be p roper ly posi­
tioned.
- Always make sure that there is noth ing 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 occup ied by a person when it is
not , or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person ac tually
si tting o n the sea t. T he presence of addi­
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turne d on when it should
be
off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is d ifferent from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ign it ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
T he front passenger seat in your veh icle has a lot
of ve ry important parts of the Advanced A irbag
System i n it. These parts incl ude the capacitive
passenger detection system, wir ing , b rackets,
and more. The control uni t moni tors the system
on the front passenge r seat when t he ignit ion is ..,.

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on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected
c::> page 159. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged .
Damage to the seat may p revent the Advanced
Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The f ront Ad vanc ed Airb ag System con sists
of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measu re vehicle accelerat ion/ decelerat io n to
provide info rmation to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
- An electro nic cont rol un it, with integrated
c rash senso rs fo r front and side impacts. The
contro l unit "decides" whether to fire the fro nt
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors . The contro l unit a lso "de­
c ides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
shou ld be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer ing
wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument panel for
the front passenger.
- A capac itive passenger detect ion system under­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the electrical capac itance of the
person in the seat . T he information registered
i s sent conti nuous ly to the electro nic cont rol
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenge r side.
- An airbag monito ring system and indicator
li gh t in the ins trument cluster
c::> page 159.
-A sensor i n each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
stee ring wheel or instrument pane l. The info r­
mation reg istered is sent cont in uous ly to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Adv a need Ai rbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l
c::> page 159, fig. 156 and tells you when
Airb ag sys tem
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 be lt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the electronic
control un it.
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 p revent the
Advanced Airbag System from funct io ni ng
p roper ly .
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be pe rformed by qualified a nd p roperly trained
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upholste ry from the front
passe nger seat.
- Never d isassemble or remove parts from the
s e at o r disco nnect w ire s from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacit ive pas­
senge r de tect io n 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 passenge r seat. S uch ob­
jects c an influen ce the cap aci tance reg is­
t ered by the capaci tive passenger dete ction
sys tem, so that incorrect in formation is pro ­
vided to the ai rbag control un it.
- Never store i tems unde r the front p assenger
seat . Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat cou ld be dam­
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working proper ly.
- Never p lace 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 A ir­
bag System from recognizing chi ld re­
stra ints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and preven t the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploying prope rly .
155

Airbag syste m
-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 capac itance of the ch ild safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
th us 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 reg is­
tered by the capac itive 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 man­
ufacturer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to properly position the ch ild rest raint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall child restraint in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im­
mediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the a irbag system from work­
ing properly and may, for instance, deact i­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t will come on and stay on togethe r with
the airbag indicator light
II (USA models) I
156
E,I (Canada mode ls) in the instr ument clus­
ter.
- If liq uid is pooled on the seat, but has not
soaked in, th is may also keep the airbag sys­
tem from working proper ly and cause the
passenger frontal airbag to be enabled
(turned on), even though there is a p roperly
installed child restraint system on the seat.
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat
cushion can have the same effect. If the
front p assenger front al airbag is turned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light ligh t
wi ll go out.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced A irbag System and the side
airbags supp lement the protection offered by the
front th ree-point safety belts with pretens ioners
and load lim ite rs and the adj ustab le head re­
straints* to help reduce the risk of i njury in a
wide range of accident and cras h situations. Be
s ur e to read the impo rtant informat ion about
sa fety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System and
the activa tion of the safety belt pretens ioners de­
pend on the dece lera tion measured by the crash
senso rs and registered by the electronic contro l
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 o f safety be lt
use, the front passenger frontal airbag will be
turned off if the e lectrica l capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount
programmed in t he e lectronic contro l unit . The
front passenger frontal a irbag w ill also be tur ned
off if the capacitance measured by the system for
t h e front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about o ne yea r of age in one o f the ch ild sea ts
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag System on the passenger side has been turned off¢
page 159. ..,.