tow AUDI A6 2015 Service Manual

Always apply brakes early. When driving
downhill, shift into a lower gear to use the en­
g ine braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of
the brakes a lone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Air suspension*
When driving with a trai ler, activate the trailer
mode of the air suspension. Switch the air
suspension trailer mode on when you are tow­
ing a trailer. This will limit the regulation by
the air suspension while driving. Select in the
MMI:
! CARI function button> (C ar) * systems
control button > Vehicle settings > Air susp.:
towing > On .
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge¢ page 11
must be observed carefully. The coolant tem­
perature can increase if you drive on long in­
clines in a low gear at high engine speeds . Re­
duce your speed immed iately if the LEDs in
the top pa rt of the display turn on.
For more information about indicator lights,
refer to. ¢
page 16 .
A WARNING
Anyone no t properly restrained in a mov­
ing veh icle is at a much greater ris k in an
accident . Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not properly wearing the restraints
provided by Audi .
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle handles differently when tow ing
a trailer because of the addit ional weight and
d ifferent weight distribution . Safety, perform­
ance and economy w ill greatly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
M N turning, stopping and backing up in an area 0
~ away from traffic. Keep practicing until you
~ have become comp lete ly fam iliar with the way 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
Trailer towing 207
your vehicle-trai ler combination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice .
Backing up with a trailer generally req uires
steering action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a trai ler.
Maintain a greater distance between your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer , you wi ll need a larger than normal
turning rad ius.
When passing, remember that you cannot ac­
ce lerate as fast as you norma lly would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass . After passing, allow
plenty of room for your trailer before chang­
ing lanes again .
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load ¢
page 292.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer. If it can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol­ lowing:
When parking:
.,. App ly the foot brake .
.,. Have someone p lace chocks under both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels.
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes until the wheel chocks absorb the
load .
.,. Turn the wheels towards the curb.
.,. Apply the parking brake .
.,. Select the P selector lever posit ion.
When re starting after parking:
.,. App ly the foot brake.
.,. Start the engine.
•
•

208 Trailer towing
• Se lect the D/S se lector lever posit ion .
• Re lease the par king b rake an d slow ly pull
o ut and away from the whee l chocks.
• Stop and have someone retrieve the wheel
chocks.
If you move the se lector lever of the a uto ­
mat ic transm ission to P before app lying
the park ing brake a nd befo re blocking the
w heels, you may have to use mo re force
la ter to move the lever out of the
P posi­
tion.

M N
0 <.J 'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
The "GVWR" includes the
weight of the basic vehicle, all
factory installed accessories, a
full tank of fuel, oil, coolant and other fluids plus maximum
load. The maximum load in­
cludes the number of passen­
gers that the vehicle is intend­
ed to carry ("seating capacity")
with an assumed weight of 150 lbs (68 kg) for each pas­
senger at a designated seating
position and the total weight of
any luggage in the vehicle. If
you tow a trailer, the weight of the trailer hitch and the tongue
weight of the loaded trailer
must be included as part of the
vehicle load.
The
Gross Axle Weight Rating
("GAWR") is the maximum load
that can be applied at each of
the vehicle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rat­ ing and the Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the safety
compliance sticker label locat­
ed on the driver's side B-pillar.
Your Audi has 5 seating posi­
tions, 2 in the front and 3 in the rear for total seating capacity
of 5. Each seating position has
Tires and wheels 253
a safety belt¢ page 136, Safe­
ty belts.
The fact that there is an upper
limit to your vehicle's Gross Ve­
hicle Weight Rating means that
the total weight of whatever is being carried in the vehicle (in­
cluding the weight of a trailer
hitch and the tongue weight of
the loaded trailer) is limited.
The more passengers in the ve­
hicle or passengers who are
heavier than the standard
weights assumed mean that less weight can be carried as
luggage.
The tire pressure label on your
Audi also lists the maximum combined weight of all of the
occupants and luggage or other
cargo that the vehicle can carry.
For the location of the label
¢ page 244, fig. 195.
A WARNING
-
Overloading a vehicle can
cause loss of vehicle control,
a crash or other accident, se­
rious personal injury, and
even death.
-Carrying more weight than your vehicle was designed
•
•
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• •

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being loaded on the vehicle.
That weight may not safely
exceed the available cargo
and luggage load capacity
calculated in Step 4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing
a trailer, load from your trail­
er will be transferred to your
vehicle. Consult this manual
to determine how this re­
duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle.
.,.Che ck the tire sidewall
(¢ page 257, fig. 199) to de­
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire.
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends
on a lot of different things in­
cluding proper installation and
balancing, correct tire pressure and driving style.
Fig . 197 Tire tread: tread wear indi­
cators (TWI)
Tires and wheels 255
Fig. 198 Rotating tires for more even
wear
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The original tires on your vehi­
cle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm)
high "wear indicators"
¢ fig. 197 running across the
tread. Depending on the make,
there will be six to eight of
them evenly placed around the
tire. Marks on the tire sidewall (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions
of the tread wear indicators.
Worn tires must be replaced.
Different figures may apply in
other countries
¢ & .
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes
premature wear and can cause
sudden tire blow-out. For this
reason, tire pressure must be
checked at least once a month
¢ page 249.

2 70 What do I do now ?
What do I do now?
Trunk escape handle
In case of an emergency, the rear lid can be
opened from the inside using the trunk es­
cape handle.
Fi g. 2 02 Trunk escape handle: View from inside the
closed trunk
To open r ear lid
.. Pull the hand le down towards the bumper
r=;,fig. 202.
The trunk escape handle inside the rear lid is
made of fluorescent material to glow in the
dark.
A WARNING
The trunk escape handle is to be used only
in an emergency .
@ Tips
The emergency re lease leve r shou ld never
be used as a handle for closing the rear lid.
Emergency warning
triangle
Applies to veh icles: w it h emergency wa rning tria ng le
The warning triangle is located on the inside
of the trunk lid.
Fig . 203 Trunk lid: Warn ing triangle
.. To remove the warning triangle, p ress the
retainer in the direction of the arrow and
fold the holder down .
T he rea r lid is only des igned to hold the warn­
ing triang le offered by the original accessories
program . If you wou ld like to retrofit yo ur ve­
hicle with a warning triangle, please contact
your authorized Audi dea ler.

272 What do I do no w?
• Always store the vehicle too l kit, the jack*
and the replaced tire in the luggage com­
partment
¢ page 132.
• Unhook the cargo floor before clos ing the
rear lid.
Using th e spare tir e (compac t spare tir e)
The compact spare tire is on ly intended for
emergencies until yo u can reach a repair shop.
Replace it as quickly as possible with a stand­
ard wheel and tire.
There are some restrictions on the use of the compact spare tire. The compact spare tire has been des igned specifically for your type of
vehicle. It must not be swapped with a com­ pact spare tire from another type of vehicle.
Sn ow chain s
For technical reasons, the use of snow chains
on the compact spare tire is
not permitt ed .
If you do have to dr ive with snow cha ins and a
front tire fails, mount the spare wheel with
tire instead of a rear tire . Install the snow
chains on the rear tire and use it to replace
the defective front tire.
A WARNING
- Never use the spare tire if it is damaged
or if it is worn down to the tread wear in­
dicators .
- If the spare tire is more than 6 years o ld,
use it only in an emergency and with ex­
t reme caution and careful driving .
- The spare tire is intended only for tem­
porary and short-term use. It should be
replaced as soon as possible w ith the
normal wheel and t ire.
- After mounting the compact spare tire,
the tire pressure must be checked as
soon as poss ible. The tire pressure of the
c ompact spare tire must be 4.2 bar; oth­
erwise, you risk hav ing an accident .
- Do not drive faster than 50 mph (80 km/
h). You risk having an acc iden t.
- Avoid full-throttle acce le rat ion, heavy
braking, and fast corner ing . You risk hav­
ing an a cc ident. -
Never drive using more than one spare
wheel and tire. You r isk having an acci­
dent.
- Normal summer or winter tires must not
be mounted on the compact spare wheel
rim.
- For technical reasons, the use of tire
chains on the spare tire is not permitted.
If it is necessary to drive with tire chains,
the spare wheel must be mounted on the
front ax le in the event of a flat in a rear
tire. The new ly available front wheel
m ust then be installed in place of the
rear whee l w ith the flat tire. Installing
the tire chain before mounting the whee l
and tire is recommended.
- Loose items in the passenger compart ­
ment can cause serious personal injury
during hard braking or in an accident. Never store the inflatable spare tire or
jack and tools in the passenger compart­ ment.
Changing a wheel
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang­
ing a wheel.
• After you experience a t ire failure, pull the
car well away from mov ing traffic and t ry to
reach
l e vel ground before you stop ¢ ,&.
• All passengers should leave th e car and
move to a safe location ( for instance, behind
the guardrail) ¢,& .
• Engage the
par king brake to prevent your
vehicle from rolling unintentionally c> _& .
• Move
selector le ver to pos it ion P c> _& .
• If you are towing a trailer, unhitch the trailer
from your vehicle.
• Take the
jack and the spare tir e out of the
luggage compa rtment c>
page 271,
i=> page 271 . ..,_

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,...., ..,., ,....,
Emergency situations
General
This chapter i s intended for trained emer­
gency crews and working personnel who have the necessary tools and equipment to
perform these operations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
(D Note
Ve hicles w ith an au tomatic tra nsmission
cannot be started by pus hing o r tow ing.
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary, the engine can be started by
connecting it to the battery of another vehi­
cle.
If the engine shou ld fail to start because of a
discha rged o r wea k battery, the battery can be
connected to the battery o f
another vehicle,
using a
pair of jumper cables to start the en­
g ine.
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently la rge
c ross section to carry the starter c urrent safe­
l y. Refer to the man ufacturer's specifications.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated te rm i­
na l clamps wh ic h are d istinctly marked:
plus(+) cable i n mos t cases co lore d red
minu s(-) cable
in most cases colored black .
A WARNING
Batterie s contain e lec tricity, ac id, an d gas.
A ny of these can cause ve ry ser io us or fatal
inju ry. Follow the instructions below f or
safe han dling of your veh icle's b attery .
- Alway s shield you r eyes and avoid lean­
ing over the bat te ry whenever possib le.
- A dis ch arged battery c an free ze at tem­
peratures ju st be low 32 °F ( 0 °C ). Befo re
Emergency situations 283
connecting a jumpe r cab le, you must
thaw the fr ozen battery c omp lete ly, ot h­
erwise it could explode.
- Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes
or skin. Fl ush any contacted area with
wate r immediately.
- Improper use of a booster battery to start a vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batter ies genera te exp losive gas­
es. Keep spar ks, flame and lighted c iga ­
rettes away from batte ries.
- Do not try to jump start any ve hicle w ith
a low ac id leve l in the battery.
- The vo ltage of the booste r batte ry m ust
a lso have a 12-volt rating. The capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery sho uld not be
lowe r tha n that of the discharged bat­
tery . U se of batte rie s of d iffe ren t voltage
or substantially diffe rent "Ah" rat ing
may c au se an exp losion and persona l in­
JU ry.
- N ever cha rge a fro zen battery. Gas trap­
pe d in the ice may cause a n ex plosion.
- Never cha rge or use a batte ry tha t h as
been fr ozen. T he battery case may have
be weakened.
- Us e of b atter ies of differe nt voltage or
sub stant ia lly diffe ren t ca pa city (Ah) ra t­
i ng may c ause an ex plosion an d injury .
Th e capac ity (Ah) of the booster bat tery
should not be lower than that of the dis ­
charged batte ry .
- Before you chec k any thing in the engine
compa rtment, always read and hee d all
WARNINGS¢
page 222.
(D Note
- App lyin g a higher vo ltage booster ba t­
t ery w ill cause expens ive damage to se n­
sit ive e lectronic com ponents, such as
cont ro l units, relays, rad io, etc.
- The re must be no electrical contact be­
tween the vehicles as ot herwise c urrent
co uld a lready start to f low as soon as the
p o sit ive(+) term inals a re connected. ..,. •
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-When connecting jumper cables, make
sure that they cannot get caught in any
moving parts in the eng ine compart­
ment .
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
¢ page 222.
(D Note
Improper hook-up of jumper cables can r u­
in the generator.
- Always connect POSITIVE( +) to POSI­
TIVE(+), and NEGATIVE(-) to NEGATIVE
( - ) gro und post of the battery manager
control unit .
- Check that all screw plugs on the battery
cells a re screwed in firmly . If not, tighten
pl ugs p rior to connecting clamp on nega ­
tive battery term inal.
- Please note that the procedure f or con­
nect ing a jump er cable as desc ribed
above appl ies spec ifically to the case of
you r vehi cle be ing jump started. When
you are giv ing a jump star t to an othe r ve­
hi cle, do
not connec t the negat ive (-) ca­
ble to the negat ive (-) terminal on the
discharged battery@¢fig.
219. In ­
stead, securely connect the negative( -)
cable to e ithe r a solid metal component
that is firmly bolted to the engine block
or to the e ng ine block itse lf. If the bat­
te ry tha t is being charged does not vent
to the outside, escaping batte ry gas
could igni te and exp lode!
Emergency towing
with commercial tow truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow ­
tng.
The follow ing information is to be used by
commercia l tow tr uck operators who know
h ow to ope rate thei r equipme nt safe ly.
Emergenc y situ ation s 285
-Ne ver tow your Audi. Towing will cause
damage to the engine and tran smission.
- Never wrap the safety chain s or w inch ca­
ble s around the brake lines.
- To prevent unnece ssary damage , your Audi
must be transported with a flat bed tru ck.
- To load the vehicle on to the fl at bed , use
the towing loop found in the vehicle tools
a nd attach to the front or rear anchora ge
¢ page 285 and ¢ page 286 .
_& WARNING
A vehicle being towed is not safe for pas ­
sengers. Never allow anyo ne to ride in a
vehicle be ing towed, for any reason.
Front towing loop
Only install the front towing loop when it is
needed.
Fig. 22 0 Front bu mpe r: cove r
Fig. 22 1 Front bu mpe r: in stall ing t he tow ing loop
-
The towing loop fits into the threaded hole lo ­
cated on the right s ide of the front bumpe r
and cove red by a sma ll cover when not in use.
.. Remove the tow ing loop from the vehicle
too l kit .

286 Emergency situations
• Press inward strongly to the button side of
the cap to remove it from the bumper
¢ fig. 220 .
• Screw the towing loop tightly in the thread­
ed hole as far as it will go and tighten it with
the wheel wrench
¢ fig . 221 .
Remove the towing loop when you are done
using it and place it back in the vehicle tool
kit . Install the cover in the bumper. Always
keep the towing loop in the vehicle.
A WARNING
If you do not screw the tow ing loop com­
pletely, it could come out of the threaded
hole while the vehicle is being towed caus­
ing damage to the vehicle and possible se­
rious personal injury.
Rear towing loop
Only install the rear towing loop when it is
needed.
Fig . 222 Rear bum per: cover
Fig. 223 R ear bum per: t owing loop insta lled
There are threads located behind the right
side of the rear bumper where a towing loop
can be installed . The threads are located be ­
hind a cover.
-
• Remove the towing loop from the vehicle
tool kit.
• Press inward strong ly to the button side of
the cap to remove it from the bumper
¢fig. 222.
• Screw the towing loop tightly in the thread­
ed hole as far as it will go and tighten it with
the wheel wrench
¢ fig . 223.
Remove the towing loop when you are done
using it and place it back in the vehicle tool
kit. Always keep the towing loop in the vehi­
cle.
A WARNING
If yo u do not screw the towing loop com­
pletely, it could come out of the threaded
hole while the vehicle is being towed caus­
ing damage to the vehicle and possible se­
rious personal injury.
Loading the vehicle onto a flat bed truck
Fig. 224 Vehicle on flat bed truck
Front hook up
• Align the vehicle with the centerline of the
car carrier ramp.
• Attach the winch hook to the front towl ine
eye previously installed.
Rear hook up
• Align the vehicle with the centerline of the
car carrier ramp .
• Attach the winch hook to the rear tow line
eye prev iously installed.
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Check carefully to make sure the hook-up
is secure before moving the car up the flat­
bed truck ramp .
Vehicle transport
Whenever you hov e your vehicle transported,
be sure to note the following :
(D Note
Mount the tie-down chains/cables over the
running surface (circumference) of the
tires. Never secure the vehicle by the axle,
the suspension struts or the front or rear
towline eye . For technical reasons, the
pressure in the suspension struts may
change du ring the transport and this will
adve rsely affect vehicle handling.
Lifting vehicle
Lifting with workshop hoist and with
floor jack
The vehicle may onl y be li~ed at the lif ting
points illu stra ted.
Fi g. 2 25 Front l ift ing po int
Fig. 226 Rea r lifti ng poin t
:;:; N 0 6 ., a,
5 .. Read and heed WARNING Q ,&..
Emergenc y situ ation s 287
.. Activate the vehicle jack mode* in the MM I:
!CAR I function button > (C ar)* s ystem s con­
trol button>
S e rv ic ing & check s> Air su sp. :
jack m ode> On .
.. Locate lifting poin ts Q fig . 225 and
Q fig . 226 .
.. Adjust lifting arms of workshop hoist or
floor jack to match veh icle lifting points.
.. Insert a rubber pad be tween the floor jack/
workshop hoist and the lift ing po in ts.
The vehicle jack mode* must be activated so
that the automat ic adjustment of the Adap­
tive Ai r Suspens ion* does not make it more
diffi cult to raise the vehicle with the floor
jack.
If yo u must lift your v ehi cle with a floor jack
t o wo rk und ern eath , be sure th e vehicle i s
s af ely s upported on s tands intended for thi s
purpo se.
Front lifting point
The lifting po int is located on the floor pan re­
inforcement abo ut at the same leve l as the
jac k mounting point
Q fig. 225 . Do n ot lift
t h e ve hicle at th e verti cal sill reinforc em ent .
Re ar lifting point
The lifting point is located on the vert ical rein­
forcement of the lower sill for the on-boa rd
ja ck
c::> fig. 226 .
Lifting with veh icle j ack
Re fer to Q page 275.
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of ser ious injury and
veh icle damage .
- Always lift the veh icle only at the spe ­
cia l workshop hoist and floor jack lift
po ints illust rated
c::> fig . 225 and
c::> fig . 226.
- Failu re to lift the vehicle at these
po ints could cause the vehicle to tilt or
fall from a lift if there is a change in ve­
hicle weight distribution and balance .
This might happen, for example, when
-