2018 AUDI A6 engine

Drivin g
held with the br ake pedal. T he parking brake
eliminates the tendency to creep when a se­
lector lever pos ition is engaged . As soon as
you press the accelerator pedal, the park ing
brake releases automat ically and your vehicle
starts to move
¢ page 74 .
(D Tips
- Occasiona l noises when the parking brake is
set and re leased are normal and are not a
cause for concern .
- The park ing brake goes through a se lf-test
cycle at regular intervals when the veh icle is
stopped . Any noises associated w ith this are
no rmal.
- If there is a power fa ilure, the parking brake
will not set if it is released, and it will not r elease if it is
set¢ &. See an authorized
A udi dealer or authori zed Audi Servi ce Fa­
cility for ass istance.
Starting to drive
Va rio us conven ience and safety fu nctions may be
av aila ble when the vehicle begins d riv in g, de ­
pending on vehicle eq uipment.
Starting on hills with the parking brak e set
Requ irement: the dr iver's door must be closed
and the dr iver's safety be lt must be fastened .
.. To start driving comfortab ly when on a hill , se t
the parking brake and begin dr iv ing as usual.
T he brak ing force of the park ing brake does not
re lease automatically until t he wheels b uild up
eno ugh dr iv ing fo rce .
Starting on hills with hill hold assist
Hill hold ass ist makes it eas ier to start on hills.
Req uirement: the driver 's door must be closed
and the eng ine must be r unning.
.. T o activate hill hold assist, press an d hold the
brake peda l for seve ral seconds. The ve hicle
must be in an up hill direction of travel.
Afte r releasing the br ake pe dal, the br aking pow ­
er is ma intained for a brie f
moment¢ A to p re ­
vent the vehicle from rolling back when starting .
74
During this time, you can easily begin to move
yo ur vehicle .
A WARNING
Applies to: ve hicles with hill hold assist
- If you do not beg in driving immed iate ly or
the engine stalls after releasing the brake
pedal, your veh icle may beg in to roll back­
ward. Press the bra ke peda l or se t the park­
ing b rake immedi ately.
- The inte lligent technology of hill ho ld assist
cannot ove rcome the limitat ions imposed by
natural phys ica l laws. The increased com fort
offered by hill hold assist should not cause
you to take safety risks.
- Hill hold ass ist cannot hold the vehicle in
place on all hills (for examp le, if the ground
is s lippery or icy).
- To reduce the risk o f an accident, always
make sure the vehicle is situated safely
while stationary.
Automatic transmission
Introduction
The au tomatic transmissio n is controlled elec­
t ronically. The transmission shifts up or down au ­
tomat ic al ly depen ding on which dr ive p rogr am is
selected .
When a
moderate driving sty le is used, the
t ransm iss ion selects the mos t econom ica l dr iv ing
mode. The tra nsmission upshi fts at a lowe r RPM
and downs hifts a t a higher RPM to improve fue l
efficiency.
The transmission sw itc hes to a sporty mode after
a kick- down o r when the dr iver uses a
s porty
dri ving style
characterized by quick acce lerato r
pedal movements, heavy acceleration, frequent
c h anges in sp eed and t raveling at the maximum
speed .
I f desired, t he driver can also selec t the gears
manually (tipt ronic mode ) ¢ page 78.
Applies to: vehicles wit h S t ronic transmiss ion
The S tron ic is a d ua l- cl utc h t ran smission. Power
i s transfer red using two clutches that work inde -
pendent ly from one another . They rep lace the
..,_

a co ,...,
N
" N ,...,
0 0 \,;J ' torque converter used in conventional automatic
transmissions and allow the vehicle to accelerate without a noticeab le interruption in tract ion .
Appl ies to: veh icles wit h a t iptro nic tra nsm iss io n
Power is transferred using a torque converter .
Selector lever positions
Fig. 82 Instrument cluste r: se lecto r leve r po sition s
The selector lever position that is engaged is
shown in the instrument cluster display .
P- Park
T his selector l ev er position prevents the vehicle
from rolling. You can only sh ift into Park when
the vehicle is
stationary ¢.&. .
To shift in and out of the P selector lever posi­
tion, press the interlock button in the selector
lever
while pressing the brake pedal. This only
works when the ignition is turned on.
R - R everse
Only shift into reverse gea r when the vehicle is
stationary and the engine is running at idle
speed ¢.&. .
To select the R se lector lever position, press t he
interlock button
while pressing the brake peda l
at the same time. The back-up lights switch on in
the R position if the ignition is switched on .
N -Neutral
The transm iss ion is in idle in this pos it ion ¢,&. .
DIS -Normal pos iti on for d riv ing forward
In the D/S selector lever pos ition, the transm is ­
sion can be ope rated either in the normal D mode
or in the S sport mode . T o select the S sport
D rivi ng
mode, pull the selector lever back briefly. Pulling
the lever back again will select the normal D
mode. The instrument cluster d isp lay shows the
selected driving mode.
In the
n o rmal mode "D", the transmission auto ­
matically selects the suitable gear ratio .
It de­
pends on engine load, vehicle speed and driving
style.
Se lect the
sport mode "S " for sporty driving. The
vehicle makes fu ll use of the engine's power.
Sh ift ing is more not iceable when accelerating .
To move from selecto r lever pos ition N to D, you
must press the brake pedal and the vehicle must
be traveling less than 1 mph (2 km/h) or be sta­
t ionary ¢.&. .
A WARNING
----
-The vehicle can roll even if the ignition is
sw itched off.
- Never se lect R or P while driving, because
this increases the risk of an accident.
- Power is still transmitted to the wheels
when the engine is running at idle . To pre­
vent the vehicle from "creeping", you must keep your foot on the b rake in all selector
lever positions (except P) when the engine is
r u nning. Otherwise, this inc reases the risk
of an acc ident.
- Do not inadvertently p ress the accelerator
pedal when the vehicle is stopped if a gea r is
engaged. O therwise the ve hicle will start to
move immed iate ly, even if the parking brake
is set . This could result in a crash.
- To decrease the r is k of an accident, these­
lecto r lever mus t be in the P pos ition and
the parking brake must be set before open ­
ing the hood and working on a running en­
g ine. A lways read and follow the applicable
warn ings
¢ page 189, Working in the en­
gine compartment.
(D Tips
- Drive select : sporty shifting characteristics
can be se lected using the
Dynamic driv ing
mode.Swill appear in the instrument clus­
ter display instead of D.
75

Driving
-If you accidenta lly select N while driving,
take your foot off the accelerator pedal and
wait for the engine to s low down to idle be­
fore selecting D/5.
- If there is a power fa ilure, the selecto r lever
will not
move out of the P pos it ion. T he
emergency release can be used if this hap­
pens
¢ page 80.
Selector lever lock
The selector lever lock prevents you from select­
ing a gear accidentally, causing the vehicle to
roll.
( )
_-I
F ig. 8 3 Selector lever loc k
To release the selector leve r lock:
• Switc h the ign ition on.
• P ress t he b rake peda l while pressing t he in te r-
l ock button.
Automatic shift lock (ASL)
The se lector lever is locked in the P and N pos i­
tions whe n the ignition is sw itched on . T he re­
move it from these posit ions, the drive r mus t
p ress the bra ke pedal and press the lock button
a t the s ame ti me. The following me ssage ap­
pears in the instr ument clus ter d isp lay when the
selec to r l eve r is i n the P or N posit io n to remind
the dr iver:
Brake pedal must be applied to shift from P
The automat ic shift lock only functions when the
ve hicl e is stationary or at speeds below 1 mph
(2 km/ h). A t higher speeds, the lock is automat i­
cally dea ctivate d in t he N posi tion.
The se lector lever is not locked when shifting
qu ickly th ro u gh
N, for examp le from R to D. This
76
makes it possible to free the vehicle when it is
stuck by "rocking" it. The selecto r lever lock en­
gages if the leve r stays in the N pos ition longer
than 2 seconds when the brake peda l is not
pressed.
Interlock button
The inter lock button in the selec to r l ever hand le
prevents you from mov ing the selector leve r in­
advertent ly wh ile in some selector lever posi­
t ions. The positions that req uire the interlock
button to be pressed a re marked in color in the il­
l ustratio n
¢ fig. 83.
Driving tips
Starting the engine
• T he se lector lever must be in the P o r the N po ­
si tion.
Starting from a stop
• Press and hold the brake peda l.
• Press and hold the lock b utton in the selector
lever handle, se lect the desi red selector lever
position such as D/S a nd release t he lock but­
ton.
• Wa it a mo ment un til the transmission sh ifts.
You will notice a slig ht movemen t whe n the
ge ar engages.
• Rele ase the bra ke peda l an d press the ac cele ra-
to r
peda l¢ ,&. .
Various convenience funct ions a re available f or
st arti ng o n hill s
¢ page 74.
Stopping temporarily
• Keep the vehicle sta tionary using the braki ng
pe dal, for examp le a t traffic ligh ts.
• Do not press the a cce lera to r ped al whe n doi ng
t his.
• T o preven t the veh icle from ro lli ng when yo u
s tar t drivi ng, set t he parking brake when
stop ­
ping on steep hills ¢ A and ¢(D.
• The parking brake will release a utomat ica lly
and the vehicle will start moving once yo u press
the acce lerator pedal.
..,.

a co .... N
" N .... 0 0 \.J ' Stopping/parking
If t he se lecto r lever is not in t he P posi tion when
you open the driver 's door, the vehicle could rol l.
The message
V ehicle ma y roll! Selector le ver not
in P
appears . A warning tone will a lso sound .
.,. Press and hold the brake pedal¢.&_ .
.,. Set the parking brake.
.,. Se lect the P selector lever position.
Unde r ce rtain c ircumstances, s uch as dr iv ing in
the mountains, i t may be useful to switch tempo­
rari ly to the manua l shift program in order to
manually adjust the gears to the driving condi­
tions
¢ page 78.
On inclines, activate the park ing brake fi rst and
then move the selector lever to the P position
¢ page 72 . Th is prevents the locking mechanism
from being loaded too heavi ly and wi ll make it
eas ier to move the se lector lever out of the P po­
sition .
A WARNING
-The veh icle can roll even if the ignition is
switched off .
-Never leave your vehicle with the engine
runn ing wh ile in gear .
-Do not press the accelerator pedal when
changing the selector lever pos ition wh ile
the vehicle is stationary and the engine is
ru nning .
-
-Please note that a sma ll amount of power is
t ransmitted if the vehicle is stopped tempo­
ra rily while in t he D/S or R selector lever po ­
s iti on. To redu ce the r isk of an accident, yo u
mus t continue press ing firmly on the brake
peda l w hil e the vehicle is stopped so that it
does not roll.
-Never engage the R o r P se lec to r level posi­
tions while driving .
It could cause a crash.
-Be fore dr iv ing dow n a steep s lope, red uce
yo ur speed and shift in to a lower gear with
"ti ptro n i c" .
-Do not ride the brakes o r press the brake
peda l too often or too long w hen driving
down hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to overheat and substantially re­
duces braking performance, increases brak-
Driving
ing distance or causes comp lete fai lure of
the brake system.
-If you m ust stop on an incline, a lways ho ld
the vehicle in place wit h the foot brake or
parking brake to prevent it from rolling
back .
-Never hold the vehicle on an incline with a
slipp ing clutch. The clutch opens automati­
cally when it becomes too hot from the
overload .
The@] indicator light turns on
a nd a message
appears~ page 79 when
the clutch is overloaded .
@ Note
-When stopping on an incl ine, do not try to
hold the ve hicle in place by pressing the ac­
celerator peda l wh ile a d riving gear is se­
lected. This ca n cause t he transmission to
over heat a nd can damage it. Se t the park ing
bra ke or p ress the brake pedal to p revent
t he vehicle from rolling.
-Allowing the vehicle to roll when t he engine
is stopped will damage the transmission be ­
cause it is not lubricated.
(D Tips
Fo r sa fety reasons, the park ing bra ke is re ­
l eased a utomatica lly on ly when t he driver 's
safety be lt is fastened.
Hill descent control
The hill descent control system assists the driver
when driving down hills .
Hill descent control is act ivated when the selec­
tor leve r is in the D or S position and yo u press
the brake peda l. The transmission a utomatica lly
selects a gear that is suitable for the hi ll. Hill de ­
scent control tries to maintain the speed ach ­
ieved at the time of braking, w ith in physical and
technical lim itations . If may still be necessary to
adjust the speed w ith the brake pedal.
Hi ll descent control switches off once the hill lev-
els out or you press the accelerator pedal.
.,..
77

Driving
On vehicles with a cruise control system*
¢ page 84, hill descent control is also activated
when the speed is set.
A WARNING
Hill descent control cannot overcome physical
limitations, so it may not be able to maintain
a constant speed under all condit ions. Always
be ready to apply the brakes.
Shifting manually (tiptronic mode)
The tiptronic mode allows the driver to shift the
gears manually.
)
r
Fig. 84 Center console : sh ifting manual ly w ith the se lector
l ever
F ig. 85 Stee ring wheel: shifting manually w ith t he s hift
paddles*
Shifting with the selector lever
You can shift into tiptronic mode while stationary
and while driv ing .
"To shift into tiptronic mode, push the selector
lever from the 0/5 sett ing to the right. As soon
as the transmission switches over, the
M selec­
tor lever position will appear in the instrument
cluster disp lay.
.. To sh ift up a gear, tap the se lector lever for­
ward
0 ¢ fig. 84.
78
" To shift down a gear, tap the selector lever back
o.
Shifting with the shift paddles*
You can operate the shift paddles in the 0/5 or M
selector lever positions.
" To shift up a gear, tap the shift paddle 0
¢ fig . 85 .
"T o shift down a gear, tap the 0 shift paddle.
The transmission automatically shifts up or down before cr itical engine speed is reached .
The transmission only allows manual shifting
when the engine speed is w ithin the permitted
range.
Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration.
When you press the accelerator pedal down be ­
yond the resistance point, the automatic trans­
mission downshifts into a lower gear, depending
on vehicle speed and engine RPM . It shifts up in­
to the next higher gear once the maximum speci ­
fied engine RPM is reached.
A WARNING
Please note that the whee ls could spin on
slick or slippery roads when kick-down is ac­
tive .
Launch control program
Applies to: vehicles with S tronic
-
The launch control program provides the best
possible acceleration when starting from a stop .
Requirement: the engine must be at operating
temperature and the steering wheel must not be
turned.
.. Deactivate the Start/Stop system* ¢ page 72.
The LED in the
l(A) ~l button turns on .
" Switch the electronic stabilization control (ESC)
sport mode
on ¢ page 120. The fl indicator
light turns on.
" Pull the selecto r lever bac k out of the 0/5 posi­
tion brief ly to select the S position or select the
..,.

a co .... N
" N .... 0 0 \.J - Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your veh icle is primar ily intended for transport­
ing people and luggage. However, if you dr ive
with a trailer, follow the technical requirements,
the operation and driving tips, and the legal reg­
u lations.
Driving with a trailer affects the vehicle 's fuel
consumption, performance and wear. It also re­
quires highe r concentration from the driver.
A WARNING
Do not transport any people in a trailer due to
the risk of fatal injury.
Technical requirements
Certain requirements must be met when towing
a trailer.
Trailer hitch
Only use a trailer hitch with a removab le ball
hitch mount and ball hitch. The trailer hitch must
be perm itted for the vehicle, the trailer and the
permitted total weight of the trailer being
pu lled. Above all, it must be secure ly and safe ly
attached to the vehicle trailer.
Never mount a trailer hitch on the bumper. The
trailer hitch must be mounted in a way that does
not impair the function of the bumper. Do not
make any changes to the exhaust system and the
brake system.
Check regularly if the trailer hitch is securely
mounted. A lways follow the instructions given by
the trai ler hitch manufacturer .
Trailer brakes
If the tra iler has its own brake system, then fol­
l ow the manufacturer specifications. However,
the brake system on the trailer must never be
connected to the vehicle brake system.
Trailer towing
Engine cooling system
Driving with a trailer means a higher load on the
engine and the cooling system. The coo ling sys­
tem must be designed for additiona l load and
contain enough coo lant
i::> @ .
@ Note
Longer inclines cannot be driven without a
suitab le cooling system, especia lly if t he out­
side temperatures are high . otherwise, this
increases the risk of engine damage.
Operating instructions
Several things must be noted when towing a
trailer.
Towing capacity
Your vehicle can only be operated with class 1 or
class 2 trailers.
Load distribution
Poor cargo load and distribut ion can negatively
impact vehicle handling.
- Store objects preferably in the vehicle luggage
compartment . The vehicle should always carry
the heaviest poss ible load and the trailer
should have the lightest possible load.
- Distribute the load in the trailer so that the
heavy objects are as close to the axle as poss i­
b le.
- Secure objects from sl iding out of place .
- Ut ilize the maximum permitted tongue weight
if possible .
Tires
Set the tire pressure on your vehicle for a "full
load"; see the tire pressure sticker
c::>page 211.
If necessary, also adjust the tire pressure on the
trailer according to the manufacturer's recom­ mendat ion .
Winter tires should be mounted on the vehicle and on the trailer during winter temperatures.
Outside mirrors
If you cannot see the tra ffic behind the trailer
with the standard exterior mirrors, then you
81

Trail er to wing
must attach additiona l exterior mirrors . Adjust
them so you have a sufficient visibility behind
you .
Exterior lighting
Follow the lega l regulat ions regard ing the light ­
ing eq uipment on your trailer . Conta ct an author ­
ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facili­
ty for more information.
Before start ing to drive, check a ll l ight ing equip­
men t on the hitc hed trailer.
The headlig ht range contro l adjusts automatical­
ly to the light range of the headl ights.
Safe ty chain s
Make su re the safety chains are correctly applied
when pulling a trailer . The chains should hang
enough so t hat the trailer can dr ive around
curves. However, they must not touch the
g round .
Air su spension
Applies to: vehicles with air suspension
The air suspension must be at the standard vehi­
cle height before you set the tongue weight on
the trailer a nd h itch the trailer ¢@ ,
¢page 106,
Raising/lowering the vehicle .
For ve hicles w ith a factory-installed tra iler hitch,
the air suspension trailer mode will automat ically
sw itch on if you connect the trailer cable to the
socket.
F or ve hicles w ith a retro fitted trailer hitch, you
must switch on the air suspension trailer mode
manually . Select in the Infota inment system:
ICARI function button > ( Car )* s yste m s contro l
button
> V ehicle setting s > Air su spen sion : trail ­
e r > On .
Switch it off again after tow ing a tra ile r.
You can also switch off tra iler mode ma nually
while driving , for example, when using a bicycle
rac k system .
If you have to drive through difficult road condi­
tions , you can raise the vehicle aga in after hitch­
ing the t rai ler or after adjust ing the tongue
weight .
82
@ Note
Applies to: vehicles with air suspension
-Changes i n temperature or load can affect
the height of the vehicle .
- Set the air suspension to the standard veh i­
cle he ight, otherwise the applicable tongue
we ight no longer appl ies to your veh icle .
(D Tips
-Use chocks when park ing on inclines if the
trai ler is loaded.
- We recommend also hav ing the vehicle in­
spected between the inspection intervals if
you are towing a trailer frequently .
- Avoid driv ing with a trai ler dur ing the veh i­
cle break-in per iod.
Driving with a trailer
Driving with a trailer requires extra caution.
Sp eed
Adhere to t he lega l speed lim its . Fo llow the legal
regu lat ions
sp ecific to the country.
As the speed increases, the dr iv ing stab il ity of
t h e tra ile r decreases. Therefore you should not
exceed the max imum lega l speed lim it w hen
t h ere are unfavorab le road, weather and/or wind
conditions. This especia lly applies when driving
downh ill.
Yo u m ust always red uce your speed as soon as
you notice even the slightest swinging motion o f
the trai ler . Never try to "straight en out" the trai l­
er by acce lerating.
The we ight d istr ibution is very poor if the vehicle
is empty and the trai ler is loaded. However if you
must drive under these circumstances, then drive
especially slowly .
Brakes
B rake in a time ly manner. Downs hift befo re dr iv ­
i ng down hill so that the engine can assist with
braking ¢&. .
When using a trailer w it h over run bra kes, fi rst
bra ke gently t hen q uick ly. This red uces the r isk of
j erking while braking if the trailer wheels lock up .
IIJJ,,

a co .... N
" N .... 0 0 \.J ' Engine coolant temperature
Pay att ention specifica lly to the coolan t tempera ­
t ure d isp lay when t here are high outside tempe r­
atures, an d when dr iv ing on long inclines
~ page 9 . Shift to a highe r gear in a timely man ­
ne r.
A WARNING
Constant b raking causes the brakes to ove r­
heat and substant ially reduces b raking per­
formance, increases brak ing distance or caus­
es complete fa ilu re of the brake system.
-
Trailer towing
83