2017 AUDI A6 engine coolant

Instruments and indicator lights
Instruments and indicator lights
Instruments
Instrument cluster overview
The instrument cluster is the central information center for the driver.
co
co
....
Fig . 3 Instru ment cl uste r overview
CD Engine coolant temperature gauge
@ Tachometer ...... .... ...... . .
- With
OFF status indicator . .. . .
- With
READY status ind icator ..
@ Turn signals ...... .... ....... .
© Dis p lay w ith
- Drive r information system . .. . .
- Indicator lig hts ..... .. . .. .. .
® Speedometer
® Fuel level
(D Tips
9
1 0
70
70, 72
42
21
10
1 0
The instrument illumination for the needles
and d ia ls t urns on when the ignition is turned
on and the lights are turned off. The ill umina ­
t ion fo r the g auges reduces aut omat ically and
eve ntu ally t urns off as brigh tness outside in­
creases . This f unction reminds the drive r to
tur n the low beams on at the approp riate
time.
Coolant temperature indicator
~ The coolant temperature display CD¢ page 9,
g fig. 3 only functions when the ignition is switch­
<..:> 'SI"
ed o n. To prevent engine damage, please observe
the following notes about the temperature rang­
es.
Cold range
If only the LEDs at the bottom of the gauge t urn
on, the engine has not reached operating tem­
perature yet. Avoid high eng ine speeds, full ac­
ce le rating and heavy e ngine loads.
Normal range
T he eng ine has reached its operating tempera­
ture once the L EDs up to the center of the gauge
turn on.
If the. indicator light in the inst ru­
ment cluster d isp lay turns on, the coolant tem­
perature is too high¢
page 14.
(D Note
-Aux iliary headlig hts and ot her accessories in
front of the coo ling-air intake impa ir th e
cooling effect o f th e coolant . This increases
t he risk of th e engi ne overheating dur ing
hig h ou tsid e tempera tures and heavy en­
gine load.
9

Instruments and indicator lights
PARK/(®) Electromechanical parking brake
If the - (USA models) /. (Canada models)
i n dicator light t urns on , the par king bra ke was
set.
- (USA model s) /. (Cana da models) Cau ­
tion: Vehi cle parked too ste ep
If the indicator light blinks and the message ap­
pears, the re is not enough brak ing power to se­
cure the vehicle . The bra kes have overheated. The
ve hicl e co uld ro ll away eve n on a small incline.
- (USA mod els) /. (Canada models) Pr ess
brake pedal to rel ease parking brake
To release the park ing brake, press the brake
pedal and press the
[21 button at the same time
or start driv ing with hill start ass ist
r=> page 76.
II Parking brake!
There is a malfunc tion in the park ing bra ke. Dr ive
to an author ized Audi dealer or author ized Audi
Service Facility immediately to have the malfunc­
tion corrected .
(D Tips
For additional information on the parking
brake, see
r=:> page 75.
-L Cooling system
• Switch off engine and check coolant level!
The coolan t leve l is too low .
Do not cont inue d rivin g and switch the engi ne
off. Check the coolant leve l
r=>page 205.
-If the coolant level is too low, add coolant
r=:> page 205 . Only cont inue driving once the in­
dicator light turns off .
• Coolant temperature too high! P lease let en­
gine run with vehicle st a tionary
Let the eng ine run at id le for a few minutes to
coo l off, until the indicator light turns off.
- If the indicator light does not turn off, do not
continue driving the vehicle. See an authorized
Audi dealer or authorized A udi Service Fac ility
for assistance.
14
A WARNING
-
- Never ope n the hood if you can see or hear
steam or coola nt escaping from t he engine
compar tment . This increases the risk of
burns. Wa it until you no longer see o r hear
stea m or coola nt es caping.
- The engine compartment in any vehicle can
be a dange rous a rea. Stop t he engine and
allow it to cool befo re wor king i n the e ng in e
comp artme nt. Always follow the informa­
tion fo und in
r=:> page 198, Working in the
engine compartment.
Q) Note
D o not con tinue driv ing if the . indi ca to r
li ght turn s on -this in cr eases the risk of en­
gine damage.
~ , Front safety belt
The . indicator lig ht stays on until the driver 's
and front passenger's safety belts are fastened.
Above a certa in speed, there will a lso be a warn­
i ng tone.
(D Tips
For additional informat ion on sa fety belts,
seer=;,
page 139.
D Alternator/vehicle battery
• Electrical system: m alfunction! Battery is
not being charged
There is a ma lfunction in the a lternato r or the ve ­
hicle electrical system.
D rive to an authorized A udi dealer or authorized
Audi Se rvice Facility immediate ly. Beca use the ve­
hicle battery is discharging, turn off a ll unneces ­
sa ry electrical equ ipment such as the rad io. See
your authorized Audi dea ler or authorized Audi
Service Facility if the batte ry charge level is too
l ow .
(•) Low battery charge: Battery will be charged
while driving
The starting ability may be impa ired . ...

Warm and cold
Warm and cold
Climate control system
Description
The climate control system warms, cools and re­ moves humidity from the air in the vehicle interi­
or. It is the most effective when the windows and
sunroof * are closed. If there is a bui ld-up of heat
insid e the vehicle, ventilation can he lp to speed
up the cooling process.
I n all heating mode f unctions, except for defrost,
the blower only switches to a higher speed once
the engine coolant has reach ed a suffici ent tem­
perature .
Pollutant filt er
The po llutant filter removes poll utants such as
dust and pollen from the a ir .
Ke y recognit ion
A pp lies to: ve hicles w ith de luxe au toma tic clima te co ntro l
The blower sett ing and air distribut ion are stored
automatically and ass igned to the remote control
key that you are using.
A ppl ies to: ve hicles w ith 4 -zo ne del uxe auto matic c limate
co ntrol
The climate con trol set tings are automatically
stored and assigned to the remote control key
that is in use.
A WARNING
Poor visibility can lead to accidents.
- For safer driving, keep all windows free of
ice, snow and fog .
- Become familiar as quickly as possible with the correct use and function of the cl imate
contro l system, especially with the defrost­
ing and defogg ing function.
- When the temperat ure is below freezing,
only use the windsh ield washer system after
60
the windshield has been warmed by the cli­
mate control system. The washer fluid could
freeze on the windshie ld and impair visibi li­
ty .
Cl) Note
-If you suspect that the cl imate contro l sys­
tem is damaged, switch the system
off to
prevent further damage and have it checked
by an authorized Aud i dealer or authorized
Audi Service Facility .
- Repa irs to the Aud i climate control system
requ ire special technical knowledge and
special tools . See an authorized Aud i dea le r
or autho rized Aud i Service Faci lity .
@ For the sake of the environment
- To save fuel, turn off cooling mode by press ­
ing the
IAJC I button. This w ill also reduce
em issions .
- In veh icles w ith a diesel engine, you ca n
switch the auto supplementary heater off in
the Infotainment system.
(D Tips
- To prevent interference with the heat ing
and cooling output and to prevent the win­
dows from fogging over, the a ir intake in
front of the windshie ld must be free of ice ,
snow or leaves.
- Conde nsation from the coo ling system can
dr ip and fo rm a pudd le of water under the
vehicle. This is norma l and does not mean
there is a leak.
- Th e energy managemen t sys tem may tem­
porarily switch
off certain functions, such as
t h e seat heating * or rear window defogger.
These systems are ava ilable again as soon
as the ene rgy supply has been restored.

Warm and cold
mode switches off. The temperature shou ld be
set to approximate ly 72 °F (22 °C).
The
IAUTOI button switches the defroster off.
IQiiJ REARI S witching the re ar window defo gger
o n/off
The rear window heater on ly operates when the
engine is running.
It sw itches off a utomat ica lly
afte r a few minutes, depending on the outs ide
temperature.
To prevent the rear w indow heater from switch­
ing off automatically, p ress and ho ld the
l iiiP REAR I
button for more than 2 seconds . This is stored
until the ignition is switched off.
ISYNC I Sy nchronization
When synchronization is switched on, the set­
tings for the drive r's side are applied to the front
passenger's side (ex cept for seat heating/ventila­
tion*). The settings in the rear are a lso synchron­
ized. Synchronization switches off if the settings
are adjusted on the front passenger's side or in
the rear.
You can synch ronize the settings in a row by
pressing and holding a contro l. For example, to
apply the settings for the front passenger's side
to the driver's side, press and ho ld the contro l on
the front passenger's side. The same applies to
the rear .
Res idua l h eat *
With the ignition turned off, you can activate the
residual heat function by pressing the~ button
¢ fig. 73. The residual heat from the coolant is
used to heat the vehicle interior. The residual
heat function switches off automatically after
about 30 m inutes .
Air vents
You can open or close the center and rear vents in
the cockpit and the vents in the rear center con­
sole and door pillars using the ridged thumb­
wheels . The levers adjust the direction of the air­
flow from the vents .
64
A WARNING ,_
- You shou ld not use the recircu lation mode
for an extended period of time since no
fresh air is drawn in. W ith the air-condition­
ing sw itched off, the windows can fog up,
which inc reases the risk of an acc ident.
- Individuals w ith reduced sensit iv ity to pa in
or temperature could develop bu rns when
using the sea t heati ng f unct ion. To red uce
the risk of i nju ry, these individuals sho uld
not use seat heating.
(D Note
To avoid damage to the heating elements in
the seats, do no t knee l on the se ats or place
heavy loads on a small area of the seat.
Basic settings
The climate control system basic settings are ac­
cessed in the Infotainment system.
"' Select: the I CARI funct ion button > (Car )* Sys-
tems
contro l button > AC .
Rea r seat setting s*
When this function is se lected, all settings for
the rear can be adjusted through the climate con­
trol system in the cockpit. The climate control
system settings cannot be adjusted in the rear
seat at the same time. This funct ion sw itches off
after a ce rtain per iod of t ime o r whe n one of the
contro ls in the coc kp it is pressed.
Automatic recirculation*
The sensitivity level of the automatic recircula­
t ion mode can be set at various levels from
Off to
Sen siti ve . Reci rculat ion mode is contro lled auto­
matically. If the windows fog up, p ress the
I@ FRO NT ! button.
Footwell temperature *
You can adjust the footwell temperature so that
i t is cooler or warme r.
Automat ic au xilia ry heater*
In vehicles with diesel engines*, the auxiliary
heater helps to warm the vehicle interior more

co
co
.... N ,..._
N .... 0 0 <..:l ' Stopping the engine
~ Bring the vehicle to a full stop.
~ Move the selector lever to the P or N position.
~ Press the I START ENGINE STOPI ~page 70,
fig. 78 button.
Steering lock1
)
The steering locks when you turn the engine off
using the
I START ENGINE STOPI button and
open the driver's door. The locked steering helps
prevent vehicle theft.
Emergency off function*
If it is absolutely necessary, the engine can also
be turned off while driving in the R or D/S selec­
tor lever position at speeds below 6 mph (10 km/
h). To stop the engine, press and hold the
I START ENGINE STOPI button and also press the
brake pedal.
~ WARNING
- Never turn off the engine before the vehicle
has come to a complete stop. The full func­
tion of the brake booster and the power
steering is not guaranteed. You may need to
use more force when braking or steering.
Because you cannot brake and steer as you
usually would, this could lead to accidents
and serious injuries.
- Always take the key with you whenever you
leave your vehicle. Otherwise, the engine
could be started or electrical equipment
such as the power windows could be operat­
ed. This can lead to serious injury.
- For safety reasons, always park the vehicle
with the selector lever in the P position.
Otherwise, there is the risk that the vehicle
could roll unintentionally.
(D Note
If the engine has been under heavy load for
an extended period of time, heat builds up in
the engine compartment after the engine is
switched off and there is a risk of damaging
the engine. For this reason, let the engine run
l ) This function is not available in all countr ies.
Driving
at idle for approximately two minutes before
shutting it off.
(D Tips
After the engine has been switched off, the
radiator fan can continue to run for up to 10
minutes -even with the ignition switched off.
It can also switch on again after some time if
the coolant temperature rises as the result of
heat buildup or if the engine is already warm
and the engine compartment is also heated
by the sun's rays.
Messages
Turn off ignition before leaving car
This message appears and a warning tone sounds
if you open the driver's door when the ignition is
switched on.
Press brake pedal to start engine
This message appears if you do not press the brake pedal when starting the engine.
II Key not in vehicle?
This indicator light turns on and this message ap·
pears if the ignition key was removed from the
vehicle when the engine was running.
If the igni­
tion key is no longer in the vehicle, you cannot
switch on the ignition or start the engine once
you stop it. You also cannot lock the vehicle from
the outside.
Shift to P, otherwise vehicle can roll away.
Doors do not lock if lever is not in P.
This message appears for safety reasons if the
transmission is not in the P position when you
switch the ignition off. Move the selector lever to
the P position. Otherwise the vehicle is not pro­
tected from rolling and it cannot be locked.
II Key is not recognized. Hold back of key
against marked area. See owner's manual
If the indicator light turns on and this message
appears, there is a malfunction
~page 72. .,..
71

co
co
.... N
" N .... 0 0 <..:l ' Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge c::> page 9 must
be observed carefu lly . The coolant temperature
can increase if you drive on long inclines in a low
gear at high engine speeds. Reduce your speed immediately if the LEDs in the top part of the dis­
play turn on.
F or more information about ind icator lights, re­
fer to.
c::> page 14.
A WARNING
Anyone not proper ly restrained in a moving
vehicle is at a much greater risk in an acci­
dent. Never let anyone ride in your car who is
not properly wearing the restraints provided
by Audi.
Trailer towing information
Important to know
Your vehicle handles differently when towing a
tra iler because of the additional weight and dif­
ferent weight distribut ion . Safety, performance
and economy will greatly depend on how careful­
ly you load your trailer and operate your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopp ing and back ing up in an area away
from traff ic. Keep practicing until you have be­
come completely fam iliar with the way your vehi­
cle-trailer combination behaves and responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires pract ice.
Backing up with a trailer generally requires steer­
ing action opposite to that when backing up your
vehicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater d istance between your vehicle
and the one in front of you. You w ill need more
r oom to stop. To compensate for the trailer, you
will need a larger than normal turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot accel­
erate as fast as you normally wou ld because of
the added load. Make s ure you have enough room
to pass. After passing, a llow plenty of room for
your tra iler before changing lanes again.
Trailer towing
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in peri­
od of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may require
more frequent maintenance due to the ex­
tra load
c::> page 259 .
Parking on a slope
Do not pork on a slope with a trailer. If it cannot
be avoided, do so only after doing the following:
When parking:
• Apply the foot brake.
• Have someone place chocks under both the ve­
hicle and the trailer wheels.
• With chocks in place, slowly release the brakes
until the wheel chocks absorb the load.
• Turn the whee ls towards the curb.
• App ly the parking brake.
• Select the P selector lever position.
When restarting after parking:
• App ly the foot brake.
• Start the engine.
• Select the D/S se lector lever position.
• Release the parking brake and slowly pull out
and away from the wheel chocks.
• Stop and have someone retrieve the wheel
chocks.
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the automat­
i c transmission to P before applying the park­
i ng brake and before blocking the wheels, you
may have to use more force later to move the
l ever out of the P position.
85

Check ing and F illing
- Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
complete ly empty . The engine cou ld mis­
fire . Unburned fuel could also get into the
exhaust system and this cou ld cause the
catalytic converter to overheat.
- Do not sw itch off the ignition while the vehi­
cle is moving .
- Do not continue to operate your vehicle un­
der these cond itions, as otherwise fuel can
reach the catalytic converter . This could re­
su lt in overheating of the converter, requ ir­
i ng its replacement .
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis­
sion Control System :
- Have your ve hicle main tained pro perly and
in accordance with the service recommen ­
dations in your Wa rranty & Maintenance
book let.
- Lac k of proper maintenance as well as im ­
proper use of the vehicle will impair the
function of the emission cont rol system
and could lead to damage.
@ For the sake of the environment
Even when the Emission Control System is op­
erat ing properly, the exhaust gas can have a
sulfur-like exhaust gas smell under some op­
erat ing states . This depends on the su lfur
content of the fuel be ing used . Using a differ­
ent brand of fue l may he lp, or filling the tan k
w ith lead-free super grade gasoline.
Diesel particulate filter
A ppl ies to: ve hicles w ith diesel e ng in e
The diesel particulate fi lter filters nearly all of
the soot particles out of the ex haust. The f ilter
cleans i tse lf automatically under normal d riv ing
conditions. If the filte r ca nnot clean itse lf (for e x­
a mple , beca u se you are only driving sho rt distan­
ces), the fi lter becomes clo gged with soot and
the . symbo l for the diesel particulate fi lter il­
lum inates
c:> page 18.
A WARNING
- Do not park you r vehicle over flammable
materials such as grass or leaves because
198 -
the high temperature of the diesel particu­
late filte r could sta rt a fire .
- Do not apply an underbody protectant in the
exhaust system area or a fire could sta rt.
Engine compartment
· Working in the engine compartment
Special care is required if you are working in the
engine compartment
For work in the engine compartment, such as
checking and fill ing fluids , the re is a risk of in­
jury, scalding, accidents , and burns. For this
reason, follow all the warnings and general
safety precaut ions provided in the following in ·
formation . The engine compartment is a dan­
gerous area on the vehicle.
c:> .&, .
A WARNING
-Turn the engine off.
- S witch t he igni tion off.
- Set the park ing bra ke .
- Select the P s elector lever position.
-Let the eng ine cool down .
- Never open the hood when there is steam o r
coo lant escaping from the engine compart­
ment, because there is a risk that you could
be burned . Wait unt il no steam or coolant is
escaping .
- Keep children away from the eng ine com­
pa rtment .
- Never sp ill fluids on a hot eng ine. These flu­
ids (such as the freeze protection contained
in the coolant) ca n ca tch fire .
- Avoid short c ircuits in the electrical system .
- When working in the engine compa rtment,
remember that the radiator fan can switch
on even if the ignition is switched off, wh ich
increases the r is k of p ersona l injury.
- Never ope n the cap on the coolant expan­
sion tank when the engine is warm . The
coo ling system is under p ressure .
- To protect your face, hands, and arms from ho t steam or coolant, cover the cap with a
large cloth wh en opening .
~

Checking and Filling
Opening/closing the hood
The hood is released from inside the vehicle .
Fig. 180 Driver footwell: release lever
Fig . 181 Rocker switch under the hood
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up from
the windshield. Otherwise the paint could be
damaged .
Opening th e hood
• With the driver's door open, pu ll the lever be­
low the instrument panel in the direction of the
arrow
c!;> fig. 180 .
200
• Raise the hood slightly c!;> &_ .
• Press the rocker switch under the hood upward
i=> fig. 181. This releases the catch.
• Open the hood .
Clos ing the hood
• Push the hood down until you override the
force of the s trut.
• Let the hood fall lightly into the latch .
Do not
press it in .
c> &_.
A WARNING
-Never open the hood when there is steam or
coolant escaping from the engine compart­
ment, because there is a risk that you could
be burned. Wait unt il no steam or coolant is
escaping.
- For safety reasons, the hood m ust always be
closed securely while driv ing. Because of
this, always check the hood after closing it
to make sure it is latched correctly . The
hood is latched if the front corners cannot
be lifted.
- If you no tice that t he hood is not latched
while you are driving, stop immediate ly and
close it, because driving when the hood is
not latched increases the r isk of an accident.