
If and when
288Towing and tow-startingTo w - s t a r t i n g
The use of jump leads is preferable to tow-starting.We recommend that you do not tow-start your vehicle. Jump-starting
is preferable ⇒ page 285.
However, if your vehicle has to be tow-started:
– Engage the 2
nd or the 3
rd gear.
– Keep the clutch pressed down.
– Switch the ignition on.
– Once both vehicles are moving, release the clutch.
– As soon as the engine starts, press the clutch and move the gear lever into neutral. This helps to prevent driving into the towing
vehicle.
WARNING
The risk of accidents is high when tow-starting. The vehicle being towed
can easily collide with the towing vehicle.
Caution
When tow-starting, fuel could enter the catalytic converter and damage it.
CommentsPlease observe the following points if you use a tow-rope:
Notes for the driver of the towing vehicle
– Drive slowly at first until the tow-rope is taut. Then accelerate gradually.
– Begin and change gears cautiously. If you are driving an auto- matic vehicle, accelerate gently.
– Remember that the brake servo and power steering are not working in the vehicle you are towing. Brake earlier than you
would normally, but with a more gentle pressure on the brake.
Notes for the driver of the towed vehicle
– Ensure that the tow-rope remains taut at all times when towing.Tow-rope or tow-bar
It is easier and safer to tow a vehicle with a tow-bar. You should only use a
tow-rope if you do not have a tow-bar.
A tow-rope should be slightly elastic to reduce the loading on both vehicles.
It is advisable to use a tow-rope made of synthetic fibre or similarly elastic
material.
Attach the tow-rope or the tow-bar only to the towing eyes provided or a
towing bracket.
Driving style
Towing requires some experience, especially when using a tow-rope. Both
drivers should be familiar with the technique required for towing. Inexperi-
enced drivers should not attempt to tow-start or tow away another vehicle.
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If and when289
Safety First
Controls and equipment
Practical tips
Technical Data
Do not pull too hard with the towing vehicle and take care to avoid jerking the
tow-rope. When towing on an unpaved road, there is always a risk of over-
loading and damaging the anchorage points.
The ignition of the vehicle being towed must be switched on to prevent the
steering wheel from locking and also to allow the use of the indicators, horn,
windscreen wipers and washers.
As the brake servo does not work if the engine is not running, you must apply
considerably more pressure to the brake pedal than you normally would.
As the power assisted steering does not work if the engine is not running, you
will need more strength to steer than you normally would.
Towing vehicles with an automatic gearbox
•Put the selector lever into position “N”.•Do not drive faster than 50 km/h when towing a vehicle.•Do not tow further than 50 km.•If a breakdown vehicle is used, the vehicle must be towed with the front
wheels raised.Note
•Observe legal requirements when towing or tow-starting.•Switch on the hazard warning lights of both vehicles. However, observe
any regulations to the contrary.•For technical reasons, vehicles with an automatic gearbox must not be
tow-started.•If damage to your vehicle means that there is no lubricant in the gearbox,
you must raise the drive wheels while the vehicle is being towed.•If the vehicle has to be towed more than 50 km, the front wheels must be
raised during towing, and towing should be carried out by a qualified person.•The steering wheel is locked when the vehicle has no electrical power. The
vehicle must then be towed with the front wheels raised. Towing should be
carried out by a qualified person.
•The towing eye should always be kept in the vehicle. Please refer to the
notes ⇒page 288, “Tow-starting”.Front towing eyeFitting the towing eye
– Take the towing ring from the onboard tool set.
– Remove the front cover by pressing down on the right hand side.
– Bolt the eye to its limit to the left, in the direction of the arrow
⇒ fig. 244Rear towing eyeThere is a towing eye at the rear on the right below the rear bumper.
Fig. 244 Fitting the
towing eye to front rear of
the vehicle
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Index305
Index
AAccessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Adaptive headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Air conditioner 2C-Climatronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Defrosting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Solar-powered blower/solar roof . . . . . . . . 169
Air duct Fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266, 273
Removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265, 272
Air purity sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Airbag Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Airbag covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Front airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Alternator Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Ambient temperature display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Anti-freeze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Anti-lock brake system How it works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Anti-puncture tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 Anti-theft alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Interior monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Aquaplaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Armrest Storage compartment in front armrest . . . . 142
Armrests Adjusting the front armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Ashtray Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Athermic windscreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Auto-check system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Automatic car wash tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Automatic gearbox Dynamic gear control program . . . . . . . . . . 186
Kick-down feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
multitronic® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Paddle levers (tiptronic mode) . . . . . . . . . . 188
Safety interlock for ignition key . . . . . . . . . 171
Selector lever lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Selector lever positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Steering wheel with paddle levers . . . . . . . 188
tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181, 187
Automatic headlight control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
BBackground lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Battery voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Disconnection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Long periods of non-use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Replacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238, 239
Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Winter operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238, 239
Belt tension device Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Belt tension devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Bicycle rack Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Biodiesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Biodiesel fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Bonnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Releasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Brake light Failure control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Brake servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Brake system Brake servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Malfunction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
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Index309
Ignition key
Safety interlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Ignition lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Indicator lamps Cruise control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Glow plug system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Hazard warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Main beam headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Trailer indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Indicator lamps - overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Instruments Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62, 120
Interior lights Background lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Luggage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Interior monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Intermittent wipe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
ISOFIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52JJack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251, 256
Jump leads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Jump-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
KKeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Climate control settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Remote control key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Settings for the driver's seat . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Kick-down feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185LLeather cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Light sensor faulty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Lighting Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62, 120
Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Adaptive headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Automatic headlight control . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Cornering light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Dipped headlights faulty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Dynamic headlight range control . . . . . . . . 121
Headlight flasher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Parking light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Rear lights faulty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Switching on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Xenon lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Liquid coolant Anti-freeze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Checking the level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Liquid coolant additive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Topping up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 Load compartment in the boot
See Luggage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Locking the doors manually if the central locking fails to work
Locking the doors manually if the central lock- ing fails to work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Long periods of non-use Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Luggage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 143 Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Extending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Fastening rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Luggage compartment liner . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Luggage net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Partition grille . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Retaining strap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Side storage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Ski bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
See also Luggage compartment . . . . . . . . . . 16
Luggage compartment cover Removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
MMain beam headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Maintenanceairbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Maintenance and cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
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