Breakdown assistance
238
Tow-starting and towing vehicle
General
Please pay attention to the following instructions if you are going
to use a tow rope:
Driver of the towing vehicle
– Do not drive off until the tow rope is taught.
– Release the clutch particularly gently when starting off or depress the accelerator particularly gently if your vehicle is
fitted with an automatic gearbox.
Driver of th e towed vehicle
– Switch the ignition on so that the steering wheel is not blocked and you can also operate the turn signal lights, the headlight
flasher, the windscreen wipers and windscreen washer
system.
– Take the vehicle out of gear or move the selector lever into position N if your vehicle is fitted with an automatic gearbox.
– Note that the brake servo unit and power steering only operate if the engine is running. You will require significantly greater
physical force to depress the brake pedal and to steer the
vehicle if the engine is not running.
– Ensure that the tow rope is always kept taught.
Tow rope or tow bar
A tow bar is safest way of towing a vehicle and also minimizes any
shocks. You can use a tow rope only if a suitable tow bar is not available.
The tow rope must be elastic to protect the vehicle. Thus one should only
use plastic fibre rope or a rope made out of a similarly elastic material.
Attach the tow rope or the tow bar only to the towing eyes provided for
this purpose ⇒ page 239, “Towing eye” and ⇒page 239, “Rear towing
eye”.
Driving style
Towing another vehicle requires a certain amount of practice. Both drivers
should be familiar with the particular points about towing a vehicle.
Unskilled drivers should not attempt to tow-start or tow in another vehicle.
One should be constantly vigilant not to allow impermissibly high towing
forces or jerky loadings. There is always a risk of excessive stresses and
damage resulting at the points to which you attach the tow rope or tow bar
when you attempt to tow a vehicle which is not standing on a paved road.
Caution
If the gearbox of your vehicle no longer contains any oil because of a
defect, your vehicle must only be towed in with the driven wheels raised
clear of the ground, or on a special vehicle transporter or trailer.
Note
Please comply with any legal requirements particularly regarding the
switched on signal systems, when towing in or tow-starting another
vehicle.
Breakdown assistance
240
Towing in a vehicle fitted with a manual gearbox
Please refer to the notes ⇒page 238.
The car can be towed in with a tow bar or a tow rope or with the front or
rear wheels raised. The maximum towing speed is 50 km/h.
Towing of a vehicle with an automatic gearbox
Please refer to the notes ⇒page 238.
The car can be towed in with a tow bar or a tow rope. Pay attention to the
following points:
•Move selector lever into N .
•The maximum towing speed is 50 km/h.
•The maximum permissible towing distance is 50 km. The gear oil
pump does not operate when the engine is not running and the gear would
not be adequately lubricated at higher speeds and over longer towing
distance.
Caution
If the vehicle is towed in by a recovery vehicle, it should only be towed in
with the front wheels raised. If the vehicle is raised at rear, the automatic
gearbox is damaged!
Note
The vehicle must be transported on a special vehicle or trailer if it is not
possible to tow in the vehicle in the way described or if the towing distance
is greater than 50 km.
Fuses and light bulbs243
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
The power windows and the power seats are protected by
automatic
circuit breakers which switch on again automatically after a few seconds
after the overload has been eliminated - e.g. frozen windows.
Bulbs
Changing bulbs
The relevant lamp must always be switched off before a light bulb is
replaced.
Do not take hold of the glass bulb with naked fingers (even the smallest
amount of dirt reduces the working life of the light bulb). Use a clean cloth,
serviette or something similar.
Defect light bulbs should only be replaced with light bulbs of the same
type. The designation is located on the light socket or the glass bulb.
Changing certain bulbs is not something which you can do yourself, but
requires to be done by a specialist. Other parts of the vehcle must be
18Right main beam10
19Left main beam10
20Low beam on the right15
21Low beam on the left15
22Parking light on the right5
23Parking light on the left5
24Windscreen washer system, windscreen wiper pump
and intermittent switch25
25Fan for fresh air, the air conditioning unit, Climatronic30
26Rear window heating, recirculated air mode30
27Not assigned
28Fuel pump, diesel additional pump20
29Engine control20
30Electric sliding/tilting roof20
31Reversing lights, cruise control system, automatic
gearbox, automatic dimming interior mirror15
32Engine control, cruise control system20
33Cigarette lighter15
34Engine control15
35Trailer socket30
36Fog lights15
37Radio, navigation 20
38Central locking system15
No.Amperes
39Hazard warning light system15
40Horn25
41Not assigned
42ESP25
43Engine control15
44Seat heaters30
No.Amperes
Index255
Starting engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
after fuel tank has run empty . . . . . . . . . 117
Diesel engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Petrol engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Storage compartment Door trim panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Umbrella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Storage compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Storage drawer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Storage facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Stowage compartment below steering wheel 98
Sun visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Switch on the driver's door Power windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Switching the engine off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
T
Taking care of your vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
TCS Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
The air conditioning system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
The armrest at the rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
The automatic wiper/washer system . . . . . . . 64 The battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
disconnecting and connecting . . . . . . . . 216
Inspecting the electrolyte level . . . . . . . . 214
Operation in winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
The electronic immobiliser . . . . . . . . . . . . 35, 39
The radiator fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
The roof luggage rack system . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Thickness of brake pads Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Through-loading bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Towing a vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Towing eye at the front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
at the rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Tow-starting a vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Tow-starting and towing vehicle Automatic gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Traction Control System Operating principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 Driving Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
General Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
technical aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Transporting children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Trip counter for distance driven . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Turn signal system for vehicles towing a trailer
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Turn signals Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Two-way radio sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Two-way radio systems mobile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Type plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
U
Underbody protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
V
Vanity mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Vehicle electrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Vehicle identification data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
W
Warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Warning symbols on the instrument cluster . . 28
Warning triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
WashingWash systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
with high-pressure cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . 191