AUDI A6 2015 Owners Manual

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A WARNING ,~ ~
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air­
bag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright
position and never lean against or place
any part of their body too close to the
area where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of po­
sition or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un­
folds with great force in the blink of an
eye.
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenger's breastbone and the instru­
ment panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front pas­
senger's knees and the lower part of the
instrument panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat .
- Before driving, always adjust the front
passenger seat properly .
- For adjustable head restraints : before
driving, always also adjust the head re­
straints properly .
- Always keep your feet on the floor in
front of the seat. Never rest them on the
seat, instrument panel, out of the win­
dow, etc. The airbag system and safety
belt will not be able to protect you prop­
erly and can even increase the risk of in­
jury in a crash.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back , the greater the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi­
tion.
- Children must always ride in child seats
¢ page 171. Special precautions apply
Driving Safely 129
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat¢
page 145.
Proper seating positions for passengers
in rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright wi th
both feet on the floor consistent with their
physical size and be properly restrained whenever the vehicle is in use .
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incor­
rect seating position in the event of a sudden
braking maneuver or an accident, your pas ­
sengers on the rear bench seat must always
observe the following:
... For adjustable head restraints: adjust the
head restraint so the upper edge is as even
as possible with the top of your head . If that
is not possible, try to adjust the head re­
straint so that it is as close to this position
as possible
¢page 130 .
... Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat .
... Fasten and wear safety belts properly
¢page 139.
... Make sure that children are always properly
restrained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their size and age
¢ page 171.
A WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on
the rear seat can be seriously injured in a
crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat.
- Safety belts only offer maximum protec­
tion when the safety belts are properly
positioned on the body and securely
latched. By not sitting upright, a rear
seat passenger increases the risk of per­
sonal injury from improperly positioned
safety belts!
- For adjustable head restraints: always adjust the head restraint properly so that
it can give maximum protection.
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130 Driving Safel y
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Applies to vehicles: with adj ustable head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints ore on im­
portant port of your vehicle's occupant re­
straint system and con help to reduce the risk of injuries in occident situations.
F ig . 145 H ead re str ain t: vi ew ed fro m the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust­
ed to achieve the best protection .
.. Adjust the head restr aint so the uppe r edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possible, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible¢
fig. 145. Move
the head restraint so that it is as close to the
back of the head as possible.
.. If there is a passenger on the rear center
seat ing pos ition, slide the center head re­
straint upward at least to the next notch .
Adjusting head restraints r=>
page 55.
A WARNING
All seats are equipped with head re­
straints. Dr iv ing without head restraints or
w ith head restra ints that are not properly
adjusted increases the risk of serious or fa­
tal neck injury dramat ically. To help reduce
the risk of injury:
- Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- E very person in the veh icle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the ve­
hicle properly adjusts their head re­
straint . Adjust the head restraint so the
upper edge is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possi­
ble, try to adjust the head restraint so
that it is as close to this posit ion as pos­
sible . Move the head restraint so that it
is as close to the back of the head as pos­
sible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint while driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safely be­
fore attempting to adjust the head re­
straint .
- Ch ildr en mu st always be properly re­
strained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their age and sizer=>
page 171.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system con only re­
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants ore
properly seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious
injury o r death. Safety belts can only wo rk
whe n they are properly positioned on the
body. Improper seating positions reduce the
effectiveness of safety belts and wi ll even in­
crease the risk of injury and death by moving
the safety be lt to critical areas of the body.
Improper seating positions also increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an a ir ­
bag deploys and str ikes an occupant who is
not in the proper s eating position . A dr iver is
responsible for the safety of all veh icle occu­
pants and espec ially for children. The refore :
.. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being
used r=>LQ. .
The following bulletins list only some sample pos itions that will increase the risk of serious
injury and death. Our hope is that these exam­
ples will make you more aware of seat ing po­
s it ions that are dangerous.
Therefore , whenever the vehicle is
moving:
- never stand up i n the vehicle
- never stand on the seats

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-never knee l on the seats
- never ride with the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument pa nel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit s ideways
- never lean out the window
- never put yo ur feet out the window
- never put yo ur feet o n the ins trumen t panel
- never rest you r feet on the seat cushion o r
back of the seat
- never r ide in the footwe ll
- never r ide in the cargo area
A WARNING
Imprope r seat ing positions increase the
r is k of se rious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that a ll vehicle occu­
pants stay in a p ro per seat ing pos it ion
and are properly restra ined whenever the
vehicle is be ing used .
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
Appl ies to vehicles: with knee a irbags
A WARNING
Always make s ure that the knee ai rbag can
inf late without interfe rence. Objects be ­
tween yourse lf and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an acc ident by interfer­
ing w ith the way the a irbag deploys or by
being p ushed into you as the airbag de­
ploys.
- No persons (ch ildren) or animals should
ride in the footwell in front of the pas­
senger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
c an res ult in serious or fata l injuries.
- No objects of any k ind sho uld be car ried
in the footwell area in fron t of the driv­
er's or passenger's seat. Bul ky objects
(shopping bags, for example) can ham ­
per or prevent p roper deployment of the
airbag. Small objects can be thrown
Dr iving Safel y 131
through the vehicle if the airbag deploys
and in jure you or your passengers.
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
Make sure that a ll peda ls move free ly without
interference and that nothing prevents them
from return ing to their orig inal positions.
Only use floor mats that leave t he pedal area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten­
ers .
If a brake circ uit fai ls, increased brake pedal
trave l is required to bring the vehicle to a full
stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that can not move free ly can cause
loss of vehicle control and incr ease the risk
of ser ious injury.
- Never p lace any objec ts in the drive r's
footwell. An ob je ct cou ld get into the
pedal area a nd inte rfe re wi th pedal fun c­
tion. In case of sudde n brak ing o r an a c­
cident, yo u wou ld not be a ble to brake or
accelerate!
- Always ma ke su re th at nothing can fall
or move into the driver's footwel l.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor mat fas teners and do
not in terfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
.,. Ma ke s ure t hat the floor ma ts are prope rly
secured an d cannot move and interfere wi th
the peda ls ~ _& .
Use only floor mats tha t leave the peda l area
u nobstru cte d a nd th at are firmly secured so
that they cannot slip o ut o f position. You can
II>
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•

132 Driving Safel y
obtain suitable floor mats from your
authorized Audi Dealer.
Fl oor mat fasteners a re installed in you r Audi .
Floor mats used in your vehicle must be at­
tached to these fasteners . Properly secur ing
the floo r mats will p revent them from s liding
i nto pos itions tha t could inte rfe re wi th t he
pedals or impair safe operation o f your vehi cle
in other ways.
A WARNING
Pedals t hat cannot move freely can resu lt
in a loss of veh icle contro l and increase the
r isk of serious personal injury .
- Always make sure that floor mats are
properly secured.
- Never place o r insta ll floo r mats or other
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot
be properly secured in place to prevent
them from slipping and interfering w it h
the pedals or the ability to control the
vehicle .
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of a lready insta l­
led floor mats . Additional floor mats and
other cove rings w ill reduce the si ze of
the pedal area and in terfere with the
peda ls.
- Always properly rei nstall and se cu re floor
mats that h ave been take n out for clean ­
ing.
- Always make su re th at ob je cts canno t
fa ll into the driver fo otwe ll wh ile the ve­
hicle is moving . Objects can become
t rapped under t he b rake pedal and accel­
erator peda l causing a loss of veh icle
control.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be prop­
erly stowed and secured in the luggage com­
partment.
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
sh ift suddenly, changing veh icle hand ling characteristics. Loose items can a
lso inc rease
t h e risk of serious persona l injury in a sudden
vehicle maneuve r o r i n a co llision .
.. Dis trib ute the load even ly in the luggage
compa rtment .
.. Always place and properly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as fa r
forward as possible .
.. Secure luggage using the tie-downs prov id­
ed
¢ page 63, Luggage compartment .
.. Make sure that the rear seatback is securely
latched in place.
A WARNING
Imp roperly stored luggage or other items
can fly t hro ugh the vehi cle causing ser ious
personal injury in the event of hard brak­
i ng or an accident . To help reduce the risk
of ser ious personal in ju ry:
- Always put o bjects, fo r example, luggage
or other heavy items in t he luggage com­
pa rtment.
- Always secure o bjects in the luggage
compa rtment using the tie-down hoo ks
and suitable straps.
A WARNING
-
Heavy loads w ill influence the way yo ur ve-
hi cle handles. To help reduce the risk of a
l oss of cont ro l leading to serious personal
in Jury :
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects , tha t a change in the cen ­
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
veh icle handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
poss ible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle We igh t Rat ­
ing or the Gross Vehicle We ight Ratin g
specif ied on the safety compliance stick­
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per­ miss ible weight standards can cause the
veh icle to slide and hand le diffe rently.
- Please observe information on safe dr iv­
ing
¢ page 126.

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A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than
those fitting completely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win­ dows, the power roof* and the rear lid are
securely closed and locked to reduce the
risk of injury when the vehicle is not being
used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es­
pecially with the rear lid left open. A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle .
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
Gj) Tips
-Air circulation helps to reduce window
fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open .
-
Driving Safely 133
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la­
bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar.
The tire pressure label lists the recom­
mended cold tire inflation pressures for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured.
For recommended tire pressures for nor­
mal load conditions, please see chapter
~page 244.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo prop­
erly~
page 132, Loading the luggage com­
partment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most
significant factor.
For example , in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a
10-lb (4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item. This means that
the weight of the item would suddenly be about 200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imagine the
injuries that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item flying
freely through the passenger compartment
could cause in a collision like this.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur­
ing hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury.
-Always use suitable mounting straps and properly secure items to the tie-downs in
.
•
•

134 Driving Safely
th e lu gg age compartment to help pre-Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY :
vent items from shiftin g or flying
1-800-424-9153) or forward as dange ro us m iss iles.
- When the rear seat back rest is folded
1-800 -424-9393
down, always use su itab le mounting
st raps a nd pro perly secure items to the
or you may write to:
t ie -downs in t he luggage com partmen t
NHTSA to help prev ent item s fro m flyi ng fo r-
w ar d as dang erous miss iles into th e pas-
U.S. Department of Transporta-
se ng er compartm ent .
tion - N ever at ta ch a child sa fety seat tet her
st rap to a tie- down.
1200 New Jersey Ave., S. E.
Reporting Safety
West Building
Washington, DC 20590
Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
You can also obtain other infor-
mation about motor vehicle
If you believe that your vehicle safety from:
has a defect which could cause
a crash or could cause injury or http:/ /www. safe rca r. gov
death, you should immediately
Applicable to Canada
inform the National Highway If you live in Canada and you
Traffic Safety Admini stration
believe that your vehicle has a
(NHTSA) in addition to notify- defect that could cause a crash,
ing Audi of America, Inc. injury or death, you should im-
If NHTSA receives similar com- mediately inform Transport
plaints, it may open an investi- Canada, Defect Investigations
gation, and if it finds that a and Recalls. You should also no-
safety defects exists in a group tify Audi Canada.
of vehic les, it may order a recall
Canadian customers who wish
and remedy campaign. Howev- to report a safety-related de-
er , NHTSA cannot become in-
feet to Transport Canada, De-
volved in individual problems feet Investigations and Recalls,
between you, your dealer, or may either call Transport Cana-
Audi of America, Inc .
da toll-free at:
....
To contact the NHTSA , you may
either call:

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Tel.: 1-800-333-0510 or
Tel.: 1-819-994-3328 (Ottawa region and from other coun­
tries)
TTY for hearing impaired: Tel.:
1-888-675-6863
or contact Transport Canada by
mail at:
Transport Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Investiga­
tions Laboratory 80 Noel Street
Gatineau, QC
J8Z 0Al
For additional road safety infor­
mation, please visit the Road
Safety website at:
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/
roadsafety/menu.htm
Driving Safely 135
•
•
'

136 Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety be lts are nec ­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly .
.. Read a ll the information that fo llows and
heed all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means avai lab le to reduce the risk of se­
r ious injury and dea th in a utomob ile acci­
dents. For your protection and that of
yo ur passenge rs, always co rrectly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically
im paired perso ns m ust also use safety
belts. Lik e all veh icle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser iously injured if they
do not wea r safety be lts . 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
seating position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or weari ng them
improp erly increases the risk of ser ious
pe rsonal i njury and deat h.
- Never st rap more than one pe rson, in­
cl uding small ch ild ren, into any belt.
It is
e speci ally dange rous to pla ce a safety
belt over a child s itting on yo ur lap.
- N ever le t mo re people ride in the ve hicl e
than there are s afe ty be lts avail able. -
Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate safe ­
ty belt or child restra int.
t Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle hos o warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger (on USA mod­
els only) to remind you about the importance
of buckling-up .
Fi g. 146 Safety belt warni ng light in the instrument
cluster -en larged
Before driv ing off, alway s:
.. Fasten yo ur safety belt and make su re you
are wearing it properly .
.. Make s ure that your passengers also buck le
up and properly wear their safety be lts.
.. Protect childre n w ith a child restraint sys-
tem app ropriate for the s ize and age.
The warn ing light . in the instrument clus­
ter lights up when the ign ition is on as a re­
minder to fasten the safety be lts. In addition,
you w ill hear a warn ing tone for a ce rtai n pe ri­
od of t ime.
Fasten you r safety belt and make sure that
your pass eng ers also properly put on the ir
s afety belt s.
A WARNING .....=-
-Safety b elts are the s ingle most eff ect ive
means avai lable to reduce t he ri sk of se­
rio us inju ry and de ath in au tomobile acci­
dents. Fo r you r protection and that of
your passengers, a lways cor rectly wear
safety belts when t he vehicle is moving .

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"' rl
-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person­
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 147 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 148 The vehicle cras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en­
ergy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
SO km/h), the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not
using safety belts¢
fig. 147, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
moving just before the crash, until something
stops them - here, the wall ¢
fig. 148.
Safety belts 13 7
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision.
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
reach one ton (2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or
more . At greater speeds, these forces are even
higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle . In a frontal colli­
sion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was travelling just before
the crash . Of course, the laws of physics don't
just app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of accidents and col­
lisions.
What happens to occupants not wearing safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 149 A driver not wea ring a safety be lt is vio lently
thrown forward
Fig. 150 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt
w ill fly forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained .,..

138 Safety belts
occupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what­
ever else is in the way
c::> fig. 149. This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
t hey had just before the crash.
Never rely on a irbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup­
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver , must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi­
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen­
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them­
selves but also the driver and othe r passen­
gers ~
fig. 150. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas­
senger .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It's simply
not true !
Fig. 151 Driver is co rr ect ly re strain ed in a sudd en brak­
ing maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement tha t can
cause serious injuries . In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing " the kinetic energy over a longer
period of ti me, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less
likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron­
tal collision, safety belts can also substantial­
ly reduce the r isk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen­
tal airbags to do their job in a collision . For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid­
ed. Front airbags , for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air­
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is no t enough decelera tion
through impact to the front of the vehicle .
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi . So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!