ESP AUDI A6 2012 Owner's Manual

76 On the road
Cruise control
Switching on
Applies to vehicles: wit h crui se contro l
The cruise control system makes it possible to
drive at a constant speed starting at 20 mph
(30 km/h).
0
f
~
0
Fig. 75 Control lever with set b utto n
Fig. 76 Display: Selected speed
• Pull the lever to position @~ fig. 75 to
switch the system on.
• Drive at the speed you wish to set.
• Press button @to set that speed.
The stored speed and the indicator light
18;\0~1~ (US models)/ . (Canadian models) ap ­
pear in the instrument cluster display
~ fig. 76. The display may vary, depending on
the type of display in your vehicle . T he indica­
tor light
ll in the instrument cluster also illu­
minates.
This information is also shown briefly in the
Head-up Display* .
The speed is kept constant via an engine out­
put adjustment or active brake intervention.
A WARNING
-- Always pay attention to traffic even when
the cruise control is switched on. You are always responsible for your speed and
the distance between your vehicle and
other veh icles.
- For safety reasons, the cruise contro l
should not be used in the city, in stop­
and-go traffic , on twisting roads and
when road condit ions are poor (such as
ice, fog, gravel, heavy rain and hydro­
p laning) - risk of accident.
- Turn off the cruise control temporarily
when entering turn lanes, highway exit
lanes or in construction zones.
- Please note that inadvertently "resting"
your foot on the accelerator pedal causes the cruise control not to brake. This is
because the cruise control is overridden
by the driver's acceleration.
- If a brake system malfunction such as
overheating occurs when the cruise con­
trol system is switched on, the braking
function in the system may be switched
off. The other cruise control functions re­
main active as long as the indicator light
mmJI (US models)/ . (Canadian mod­
els) is on.
(D Tips
The brake lights illuminate as soon as the
brakes decelerate automatically .
Changing speed
Applies to vehicles: w ith cruise co ntrol
• Press lever in the 0 or 0 direct ion
~ page 76, fig. 75 to increase or decrease
your speed .
• Release the lever to save that speed.
Change speed in increments of 1 mph (1 km/
h) by lightly pressing the lever . If you keep the
lever pressed down, you will alter your speed
in 5 mph (10 km/h) increments.
You can also press the accelerator pedal down
to increase your speed, e.g . if you want to .,..

Adaptive cruise control and braking guard
vehicles such as motorcycles and bicy­
cles.
- The adaptive cruise control system can­
not detect people, animals and cannot
detect objects or traffic that crosses your
lane of travel.
- Never drive at speeds that are too fast
for traffic, road and weather conditions.
- Never use adaptive cruise control when
you cannot drive safely at a steady
speed, including on winding roads or
when road conditions are poor (for exam­
ple, in construction sites, on ice, gravel,
in fog, heavy rain or on wet roads that in­
crease the risk of hydroplaning).
- Never follow a vehicle so closely that you
cannot stop your vehicle safely. The
adaptive cruise control cannot slow or
brake the vehicle safely when you follow
another vehicle too closely. Always re­
member that the automatic braking
function cannot bring the vehicle to a
sudden or emergency stop under these
conditions.
- Never rest your foot on the accelerator
pedal, especially when the adaptive
cruise control is being used. Pressure on
the accelerator will override the adaptive
cruise control braking function and pre­
vent the brakes from being applied when
adaptive cruise control detects a situa­
tion when the brakes must be applied.
- Never use adaptive cruise control when
the radar sensors cannot accurately de­
tect vehicles moving in traffic. The radar
sensor's vision can be reduced by heavy
rain, ice, snow, heavy road spray and re­
flections from guard rails, tunnel entran­ ces, etc. These and similar conditions can
prevent vehicles from being accurately
detected and in some cases they may not
be detected at all.
- Always turn off adaptive cruise control
when entering turn lanes, exit lanes and
construction zones or in similar situa­
tions because the vehicle will automati­ cally accelerate to the stored speed when
the road ahead is clear. -
To prevent unintended operation, always
switch ACC off when it is not being used .
(D Note
The sensors can be moved by impacts or
damage to the bumper, wheel housing and
underbody. Damage in these areas could
change the way the adaptive cruise control
system and Audi braking guard work to­
gether. Have your authorized Audi dealer
check to make sure that the adaptive
cruise control system is working properly if
your vehicle had a minor frontal impact or
was damaged in the area of the sensors.
In curves
Applies to vehicles: wi th adaptive cruise control
Fig. 78 Example: driving into a cu rve
When driving into a curve ¢ fig. 78 and out of
a curve, the adaptive cruise control may react
to a vehicle in the next lane and apply the brakes. You can override or prevent the brak­
ing by pressing the accelerator pedal briefly.
Stationary objects
Applies to vehicles: wit h adaptive cruise control
Fig. 79 Example : object c hanging lanes and stat iona ry
o~ect
~
79

Adaptive cruise control and braking guard 81
Setting the speed and activating
regulation
~ To set the current speed, press the !SET !
button ¢ fig. 81. The set speed is shown in
the tachometer @and in the display
¢
fig . 82. You must also press the brake
pedal when the vehicle is stopped .
Switching adaptive cruise control off
~ Push the lever away from you into position
@ until it clicks into p lace. The message
ACC off appears.
Indicator lamps and messages in the instru­
ment cluster display inform you about the cur ­
rent system status and settings.
@ Indicator lights
Pl -adaptive cruise control is switched on. No
vehicles are detected up ahead . The stored
speed is ma intained.
I -A moving vehicle is detected up ahead.
The adaptive cruise control system regulates
the speed and distance to the moving vehicle
ahead and acce lerates/brakes automatica lly.
Mi -adaptive cruise control is swit ched on. A
moving vehicle up ahead was detected . Your
vehicle remains stopped and will not start
driving automatically.
I -When automat ic brakin g is not able to
keep enough distance to a previously detected
moving vehicle up ahead, you must take con ­
trol and brake¢
page 82, Prompt for driver
intervention.
© Display
If adaptive cruise control is not shown in the
disp lay, you can call it up with the multifunc ­
tion steering wheel buttons
¢page 23.
Based on the symbo ls in the display, you can
determine if the system is maintaining a dis­
tance to the vehicle ahead and what that dis­
tance is .
No vehicle -No veh icle ahead was detected.
White vehicle -A vehicle ahead was detected .
Red vehicle -Prompt for the driver to take ac­
tion ¢
page 82.
Both arrows on the scale© indicate the dis­
tance to the vehicle ahead. No arrow appears
when the vehicle is on an open road and there
is no object ahead. If an object is detected
ahead, the arrow moves on the scale.
T he green zone on the scale shows the stored
distance . For information on changing the
stored distance ¢
page 83. If the distance
selected is too close or may soon become too
close, the arrows move into the red zone on
the scale .
A WARNING
Improper use of the adaptive cruise con­
trol can cause collisions, other accidents
and serious personal injur ies.
- Pressing the
! SET ! button when driv ing at
speeds below
20 mph (30 km/h), will au­
tomatically accelerate the vehicle to
20
mph (30 km/h), which is the minimum
speed that can be set.
(D Tips
-If you switch the ignit ion or the adaptive
cruise control off, the set speed is erased
from the system memory.
- You cannot switch the Electronic Stabili­
zation Program (ESP) to the SPORT mode
w hen adaptive cruise control is switched
on.
Driving in stop-and-go traffic
Applies to veh icles: w ith adaptive c ruise control
The adaptive cruise contro l system also as­
sists you in stop-and-go traffic. If a previous
detected vehicle ahead stops, your veh icle will
brake to a stop, within the limits of the sys­
tem .
~ To resume driving with adaptive cruise con­
trol, tap the acce lerator pedal or
~ Pull the lever toward you into position @
¢ page 80, fig. 81. ..,_

Adaptive cru ise co ntrol and b rakin g guar d 85
& WARNING
The Audi braking guard is an assist system
and cannot prevent a collision by itself .
The driver must always intervene. The driv­
er is always responsible for braking at the
correct time.
- Always pay close attention to traffic, even when the Aud i braking guard is
switched on. Be ready to intervene and
be ready to take complete control when­
ever necessary. Always keep the safe and
legal distance between your vehicle and
vehicles up ahead.
- Audi braking guard works within limits
and wi ll not respond outs ide the system
l imits, for examp le when approaching a
stopped vehicle or s tationary obstacle
(end of a traffic jam or vehicle that has
broken down in traffic).
- Always remember that the radar sensor
for the A udi braking guard works only
within defined detection and range limits
that may prevent the proper detection of
other vehicles.
- The radar sensor's function and range
can be reduced by rain, snow and heavy
spray. moving vehicles up ahead may not be promptly detected or may not be de­
tected at al l.
- Reflective surfaces includ ing crash barr i­
ers or tunnel entrances may impair the
function of the radar sensor .
(j) Tips
Lack of attention can cause coll is ions, oth­
er accidents and ser ious persona l injuries.
- You can stop the Audi braking guard in-
tervention w ith increas ing braking force
by applying the b rakes yourself or by ac­
ce lerat ing rapidly.
- Audi braking guard error messages
<=> page
85.
Settings in the MMI
App lies to vehicles : wi th adap tive c ruise contro l
.,. Select: I CAR I function button > Car s ystem s
cont ro l butto n > Driver a ssist > Audi brak ­
ing gua rd .
Sy stem -
Switch Audi b raking guard On and
Off . When you switch the ign it ion on, t he
message
Audi braking guard off a ppears in
the instr ument cluster d isp lay if the system is
switched off.
Early warning -The distance and approach
warnings in the d isp lay can be switched
On/
Off.
(D Tips
- Yo ur settings are automatically stored
and assigned to the remote cont ro l key
being used at the times the settings are
made.
- I f you switch the ESP to spor t mode, A u­
di braking gua rd switches off a utomati ­
cally ¢page
191.
Messages
Applies to vehicles : wi th adap tive c ruise control
ACC una vailable
ACC and braking guard: unavailabl e
The system cannot detect moving vehicles up
ahead co rrectly and is switched off . The sen­
sors have been d isplaced or are not working
proper ly. The Audi pre sense funct ions may a l­
so be affected.
ACC: unavailabl e at this time. No sensor vi­
s ion
ACC and b rak ing gu ide: una vailable at this
time . No s enso r vision
This message appears if the sensor view is ob­
structed, for examp le by leaves, snow, heavy
spray or d irt . Clean the sensors¢ page
78,
fig. 77.
ACC: unavailable at this time . Incline too
steep

86 Adaptive cruise control and braking guard
The road exceeds the maximum possible an­
g le for proper adaptive cruise contro l opera­
tion. Adaptive cruise control is sw itched off .
ACC: only selector lever positions D, S or M
available
Select the D/S or M selector lever position.
ACC: unavailable at this time. Parking brake
set
The adaptive cruise control system switches
off automatically if the parking brake is set .
ACC: unavailable at this time. ESP interven­
tion
This message appears if the Electronic Stabili­
zation Program (E SP) is wo rking to he lp stabi­
lize the vehicle. In this case, adaptive cruise
control switches off automatically.
ACC : Please take over
This message appears when adapt ive cruise
control cannot set the parking brake. Press
the brake pedal to prevent the vehicle from
r olling .
•••
Three white dots appear if a setting cannot be
selected with the operat ing lever . For exam­
ple, this happens if adaptive cru ise control
cannot resume driving in stop-and-go traffic
because one of the conditions required for
ACC to wor k is not prese nt.
Door open
The adaptive cruise control system cannot
switch on when a door is open.
Stationary object ahead
This message appears if you wou ld like to
switch adaptive cruise control on and there is
a stationary vehicle or obstacle directly ahead
of your vehicle.

Audi side assist Lane Change Assistant
Description
App lies to vehicles: with si de assist
The side assist helps you when changing
lanes .
H AUDI I
Fig. 87 Rear bumper : Pos ition of rada r sen sors (not
v isib le on outs ide)
Fig . 88 S ig n al l ight on the outside m irro r - drive r's side
Side assist uses radar sensors (not visib le on
outside)
c::> fig. 87 to help the driver check
blind spots, and see what is happening in traf­
f ic beh ind the veh icle
c::> page 88, fig. 89 .
Signal lights are built into both outside mir­
rors <=>
fig. 88. The signal light on the left out­
side mirror assists when moving over into the left lane and the signal light on the right out­
side m irror assists when moving over into the
right lane .
The signal light comes on to tell you that side
assist has detected a vehicle on that side and
that the position of this other vehicle should be taken into account if yo u were to change
lanes. This is called the
informati onal stag e
s ignal
c::> page 89. The informational stage
signal is designed so that you notice it only
when yo u are look ing in the outside mirro r.
Aud i side assist 8 7
When you activate the turn signal and side as ­
sist detects a vehicle in a notable location, the
corresponding signal on the outside mirror
c::> fig . 88 (D flashes br iefly and brightly sever­
al times . This is the
aler t stage signal
c::> page 89 .
Activating and deactivating
Applies to vehicles: wit h side assist
Activating
.., Press the button @c::> page 87, fig. 88 . The
ind icator on the button lights up .
Dea ctivating
.., Press the button again. The indicator light
on the button goes out.
The system works at speeds faster than 19 mph (30 km/h).
A WARNING
-
- Improper reliance on the side assist sys-
tem can cause collisio ns and serious per­
sonal injury:
- Never rely on ly on s ide assist whe n
changing lanes.
- Always check rear view mir rors to make
sure that it is safe to change lanes.
- Side assist cannot detect all veh icles un­
de r al l conditions- danger of accident!
- Side assist cannot detect vehicles in time
to a le rt you when they approa ch from
behind a t very high speed, or fall drop
back very q uickly.
- The radar sensor's
vision can be red uced
or entire ly blocked by rain, snow, and
heavy spray . This can resu lt in side assis t
not adequately detecting vehicles or, in
some cases, not detecting them at all.
Always keep an eye on the direction you are traveling and the relevant area
around the vehicle .
- Please note that s ide assist indicates
there are approac hing vehicles, or vehi­
cles in your blind spot, on ly afte r you r ve­
hicle has reach ed a driv ing speed of at
least 19 mph (30 km/h).
~

88 Audi side a ssis t
- Side assist signal does not work around
t ight corners (turning radius less than
328 feet or 100 m).
- Side assist is no rep lacement for the driv­
er's full attent ion. The dr iver alone is re­
sponsible for lane changes and similar dr iv ing maneuvers . Always keep an eye
on the di rection yo u are traveling and the
relevant area around the vehicle.
(D Note
- To ensure that you do not adversely af­
fect side assist, do not block the area on
the rear bumper whe re the radar sensors
are located with foreign objects (such as
stickers o r bicy cle racks).
- Make sure that the signa l light on the
outside m irror is not blo cked by st ickers
or other items.
@ Tips
- Side assist a utomat ica lly deactivates if it
detects that the radar sensors a re
blocked E} page 93. The ind icator light
on the bu tton goes out.
- The area on the bumper where the radar
sensors are located must consis tently re­
main free of snow, ice, and heavy soiling
so that side assist can function properly .
Fo llow the additional notes on
c> page 93.
-Additional tinting on the front side win­
dows can make it harder to see and cor­
rectly understand the signa l light on the
outside mirror.
- For Declarat ion of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions
c> page 281.
Sensor detection area
Applies to veh icles: w ith side assist
F ig. 89 Schemat ic ill ust rat ion : Sensor detect ion a rea
The detection c> fig. 89 of the radar sensor de­
tection area is made up of:
- the approach area (light red area)
(D , about
230 feet (70 m) behind the vehicle, and
- the "b lind spot" (dark red area)@.
T he rada r sensors cover the adjace nt left and
right lanes. Other lanes a re
not covered by the
radar sensors.
(0 Tips
Side assist does not measure a ctual lane
wid th. The system assumes a fixe d lane
width. Detection in the left and right lanes
is based on this assumed lane width .
When driv ing on narrow roads or when
driving to the left or right of the center of
a travel lane, it is possible that vehicles
will be detected that are
not in the lane
next to the lane you are us ing
c> page 92.
Operation
Applies to veh icles: w ith s ide assist
S ide assist compares t he d istance and diffe r­
ence in speed of detected vehicles wi th the
speed of your vehi cle. Wheneve r the d iffe r­
ence in speed and distance is registered as no ­
tab le if you were to change lanes, a signal
li ght appears on the respective mirror.
T he signa l can ligh t up if yo u are passed by a
vehicle or if you are passing another vehicle.
If you pass another vehi cle slowly (difference
in speed less than 9 mph, o r 15 km/h), the ..,.

signal light will come on as soon as the other
vehicle is in your blind spot and is detected by
side assist. When the difference in speed is
greater, the signa l light will not come on.
Informational and alert stage signals
App lies to vehicles: with side assist
Side assis t has two s ignal stages:
- the informationa l stage signal, and
- the a le rt stage signa l.
Side assist he lps you by usi ng the approp riate
signal s tage, depending on whether or not
you have activ ated the tu rn signal, and thus
have indicated that you are or are not chang ­
ing lanes .
Informational stage signal
As long as you have not a ctivated the tu rn sig­
n al , side a ssis t inf orms you of detec ted vehi­
cles th at are registered as being in a notable
l ocation if you were to change lanes. Whenev­
er the detected vehicle's difference i n speed
and d istance is registered by side assist as no­
table, the signal lig ht on the respective m irror
prod uces muted illuminat ion.
The brightness of the informat io na l stage sig ­
na l is designed not to be as intense, so that it
does not interfere wit h your view of the road
when you are driving and have no intention of
changing lanes. When you look in the o utside
mirror, you can clear ly see the info rmat iona l
stage signal.
Alert stage signal
When you activate the turn signa l, and side
assist has detec ted a vehicle i n a notable loca­
tion o n that particular side, the s ignal l ight on
this sid e mirro r flashes b right ly . The repeated
b rie f and bright flashing of the alert stage
signal re minds yo u to carefully check tr aff ic to
the rear in the o utside mirror and ove r your
shoulder, so that yo u can safe ly complete the
l ane change
c:> & in Safety tips on page 93.
Aud i side assist 89
@ Tips
The br ightness of the s ignal li ght on the
outside m irr ors can be adjusted with the
MMI c:> page 92.
Driving situation: Fast approaching
vehicles
Applies to vehicles: with side assist
@
Fig. 9 0 Side as sis t: Fast approac hing ve hicle s
@ Signal on outside mirror does not light
up
No vehicle was detecte d by the sensors . The
s ignal on the o utside mirror does not lig ht up
c:> .&. in Safety tips on page 93 .
@ Informational stage signal lights up
A fast appro ach ing vehicle -in the left-h and
l ane fo r example - was detected by the sen­
sors . Although this vehicle is still fa r away, it
sho uld be taken into accou nt if yo u were to
c hange lanes, due to the cons iderab le differ­
ence in speed. The informationa l stage s ignal
o n the outside mirror lig hts up
r=> page 89. ..,.

92 Audi side a ssis t
MMI settings
App lies to vehicles: wit h side ass ist
The basic brightness setting of the signal on
the outside mirror can be adjusted via the
MMI.
,. Select : I CARI function button > Car s ystem s
control button > Driver assist > Audi s ide
a ss is t.
The brightness of the signal lig ht for both the
informationa l and alert stages is automatical­
ly adjusted to amb ient light conditions. In ad­
d it ion, you can adjust the
basic brightness
sepa rately, via the brightness fun ction.
While making the adjustment, the new brightness setting is displayed briefly . The
brightness displayed is that of the informa­
tional stage signal. The alert stage signa l
b rightness is lin ked to the informational st age
signal brightness.
The informational stage signa l br ightness
should be adjusted so tha t you not ice the sig­
na l ill uminat ion when yo u loo k in the outside
mirror, but not when you look forward
throug h the windshield.
I n very da rk or light surroundings, the au to­
mat ic brightness setting adjusts s ignal light
brightness to maxim um or minimum intensi­
ty, as needed. In circumstances such as these,
you may not notice any change in the bright­
ness on the outside mirror when ad justing the
basic brightness . You may not notice the
cha nge unt il lighting conditions are norma l
aga in .
(D Tips
- Side assist is not active when the basic
brightness is adjusted. The signal light
comes on br iefly to help you make the
adjustment .
- Your settings are automatically stored
and ass igned to the remote control key
being used.
General information
Applies to veh icles : w it h side assist
S ide assist has limits and cannot dete ct vehi­
cl es unde r all road and weat he r c ondit ions .
Please remember sys tem limita tions and nev­
er rely on the system, especially when :
- driving thro ugh curves ~
page 92,
- lanes are of d ifferent widths~
page 92.
· When driving through curves
Applies to veh icles: w it h side assist
S ide assist cannot detect ve hicles in c urves
with a turning rad ius o f less than 3 28 fee t
(10 0 m).
When driving thro ugh a curve, it is poss ible
that side assist may reg iste r a veh icle two
l anes over, a nd the signa l o n the ou ts ide mir­
ror will ligh t up.
Lane width
Appl ies to veh icles : w ith side assist
0
Fi g. 94 La nes o f a norma l widt h are in detect ion area
Fi g. 95 Narrow la nes: S ide ass ist may detect ve hicles
two lanes away
S ide assist's detec tion a rea is designed to cov -
er lanes of standa rd width to the left and
ll-

Audi drive select Driving settings
Introduction
Aud i drive select makes it possible to experi­
ence different types of vehicle settings in one
ve hicl e. The driver can select three
Comfort,
Auto
and Dynamic modes in the MMI to
switch between a sporty and a comfortable
driving mode.
You can also adjust the setting according to
your preferences in the
individual mode. For
examp le, you can comb ine settings such as a
sporty engine tuning with light steering.
Description
The vehicle setup in each mode depends on
the vehicle's features. The engine, transmis­
sion and steering are always involved . The cor ­
nering light* can also be adjusted . The revers i­
ble safety belt tensioners~
page 187 are
adapted to the dynamic mode.
Engine and transmission
Depending on the mode, the engine and the
transmission respond more quickly or in a more balanced manner to accelerato r pedal
movements. In the sporty dynamic mode, the
transmission shifts at higher RPMs.
Steering
The steering adapts in terms of steering effort
and steering ratios . Indirect steer ing that
moves easily as in comfort mode is especially
suited to long drives on a highway. In con­
trast, dynamic mode provides sporty, direct
steer ing .
The follow ing applies to vehicles with dynam ic
steering*: the steering ratio changes based on
veh icle speed in order to maintain optimum
steer ing effo rt for the driver at all times . Thi s
sets the steering to be less sensitive a t higher
speeds in order to provide improved vehicle
control.
Audi drive select 95
Cornering light*
The cornering light adapts to driving on
curves . The pivoting action and the lighting
are also adapted to the mode.
¢j) Tips
- In some models, the maximum vehicle
speed can only be reached in the
Auto
and Dynamic modes.
- Selecting the
Dynamic mode results in
sporty shifting characterist ics. The
S
gear position engages automatically.
Selecting the driving mode
You can choose between Comfort, Auto, Dy­
namic and Individual .
Fig. 96 MMI: Drive select
.. To se lect the mode , se lect the following in
the MMI:
ICARI function button> Comfort,
Auto, Dynamic or Individual.
You can change the driving mode when the ve­
hicle is stationary or wh ile driving. If traffic
permits, after changing modes, briefly take
your foot off the accelerator pedal so that the recently selected mode is a lso activated for
the engine .
Comfort -provides a comfort-oriented veh icle
setup and is suited for long drives on high­
ways.
Auto -provides an overall comfortable yet dy­
namic dr iving feel and is suited for every day
use .
Dynamic -gives the vehicle a sporty driving
feel and is suited to a sporty driv ing style.