2011 AUDI A5 COUPE tow

Trailer towing
Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passenger transpor ­
tation.
If yo u plan to tow a t rai ler, p lease rem emb er that the add itiona l load
wi ll affect durab ility, economy and performance.
T railer tow ing not on ly p laces mo re s tress on the vehicle, it a lso calls
for more concentrat ion from the driver.
For this reason, a lways follow the ope rating and dr iv ing instr uctions
prov ided and use common sense .
Technical requirements
Trailer hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the gross trailer weig ht.
Th e hitch mus t be suitable for yo ur vehicle a nd tra ile r and mus t be
mounted secure ly on the vehicle's chassis at a
technically sound l oca­
t ion. Use only a trailer hitch wi th a remov ab le b all m ount. Alw ays
check w ith the tra iler hitch manufacturer to make sure that you are
using t he cor re ct hi tch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
The h itch must be installed in such a way t hat it does not interfere
w ith the impa ct-absorbing b umper system. No mod ifi cat ions sho uld
be made to the vehicle exhaust and brake systems. From time to
ti me, chec k tha t all hitc h mou ntin g bol ts rem ain secure ly f aste n ed.
When you a re not tow ing a tra iler, remove the tra iler hitch ba ll
mount. This prevents the hitc h from caus ing damage should yo ur
vehicle be struck from behind=> &.
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is eq
uipped with a braking system, check to be s ure that
i t confo rm s to all regula tions.
The tra iler hydraulic brake system must not be directly connected to
the vehicle's hydraulic brake system=>& .
Safety chains
Alw ays use safety chains be twee n your vehicle and the trai ler.
Trailer lights
Tr ailer l ights m ust meet all reg ulat io ns. Be su re to check with your
author ized Audi deale r for correct wir ing, switches, and re lays.
Mirrors
If you are unab le to see the traffic behind you us ing the regular
outside m irro rs, then you
must install extended m irro rs. It is impor­
tant that yo u
always have clear vision to the rear.
& WARNING
• If a trailer has electrical b rake s please note that these brakes
are not activated by the factory-fitted control unit -ri sk of acci­
dent!
• After removing the trailer hitch , do not store it in your vehicle.
In case of sudden braking, the hitch could fly fo rward and injure
you or your passengers. •
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer we ight
A trailer for your vehicle is limited to a typical class 1 or class 2 trailer . .,.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

Trailer towing
"-------------------------------------------------
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the load in the trailer is held securely in pla ce to prevent it
from shifting forward, backward or s ideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer => & in "Driving instruc­
tions" on
page 252.
Engine cooling system
Towing a trailer makes the eng ine work harde r. It is important that
the cooling system's performance is up to the additional load. Make
sure that the cooling system has enough fluid.
Tire pressure
When towing a trailer, inflate the tires of your vehicle to the cold tire
pressure listed under "Full load" on the label located either on the
dr iver's side B-pillar (visible when the door is open) or inside the fuel
filler flap . Inflate trailer tires to trailer and tire manufacturers' spec­
ifications.
Lights
The headl ight settings should be checked w ith the trailer attached
before driving off. Check to make sure both vehicle and trai ler lights
are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure trailer safety cha ins are properly connected from the trailer
to the hitch on the vehicle. Leave enough s lack in the chains to permit
turning corners. When you install safety chains, make sure they will
not drag on the road when you are driving.
T he chains should cross under the trailer tongue to p revent it from
dropping in case of separation from the hitch.
Driving instruct!ons
Driving with a trailer always requires extra care and
consideration.
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle and trailer,
please note the following:
- Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car itself is not
loaded.
- Be especially careful when passing other veh icles .
- Observe speed limits.
- Do not drive at the maximum permissible speed.
- Always apply brakes early.
- Monitor the temperature gauge .
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded trailer w ith an empty car results in a highly unstable
distr ibution of weight. If this cannot be avoided, drive at very low
speeds only to avo id the r isk of losing steer ing control.
A "balanced" rig is easier to operate and control. Th is means that the
tow vehicle should be loaded to the extent possible and permissible,
wh ile keeping the trailer as light as possible under the c ircumstances.
Whenever possible, trans fer some cargo to the luggage compart ­
ment of the tow vehicle while observing tongue load requirements
and vehicle loading considerations.
Speed
Th e higher the speed, the more difficult it becomes for the driver to
control the r ig . Do not drive at the maximum permiss ible speed.
Reduce your speed even more if load, weather or wind conditions are
unfavorable -part icularly when go ing downhill.
Reduce vehicle speed
immediately i f the trailer shows the slightest
sign of swaying.
Do not try to stop the swaying by accelerating. _,

Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds for vehicles towing
t railers are lowe r than for regular veh icles.
Always apply brakes early. When dr iv ing downh ill, sh ift in to a lower
gear to use the engine braking effect to slow the vehicle. Use of the
brakes alone can cause them to overheat and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge~ page 10 must be observed care­
fully. If the needle moves close to the upper end of the scale, reduce
speed immediately and/or turn off the air conditione r.
If the coolant temperature warning light in the instrument cluster
star ts flashing
-t- , pull off the road, stop and let the engine idle for
about two minutes to prevent heat bu ild-up.
& WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a moving vehicle is at a much
greater risk in an accident. Never let anyone ride in your car who is
not properly wearing the restraints provided by Audi. u
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
------------
Your vehicle handles differently when tow ing a tra iler because of the
additiona l weight and different weight distribution. Safety, perfor ­
mance and economy will greatly depend on how carefu lly you load
your trailer and operate your rig .
Before you actua lly tow your trailer, practice turning, stopp ing and
backing up in an area away from traffic. Keep pract icing until you have
become completely familiar with the way your vehicle-t railer combi­
nation behaves and responds.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Backing up
is d iff icult and requ ires practice . Backing up with a trailer
generally requires steer ing action opposite to that when backing up
your vehicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your vehicle and the one in front
of you. You will need more room to stop . To compensate fo r the
trailer, you will need a larger than norma l turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot accelerate as fast as you
normally would because of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass. After passing, allow plenty of room for you r
trailer before changing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane changes .
[I) Tips
• Do not tow a trai ler during the break-in per iod of your vehicle.
• If you tow a tra iler, your Audi may requi re more frequent mainte­
nance due to the extra toad~
page 340. •
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer. If it cannot be
avoided, do so only after doing the following:
When parking:
-Apply the foot brake.
- Have someone place 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 .
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

Trailer towing
"-------------------------------------------------
- Place an automatic transmission* in P, respectively a
manual transmission in first or reverse gear.
When restarting after parking:
- Apply the foot brake.
- Start the engine.
- Move the selector lever to
D, respectively a manual trans-
mission in first gear.
- Release the parking brake and slowly pull out and away
from the wheel chocks.
- Stop and have someone retrieve the wheel chocks.
00 Tips
If you move the selector lever of the automatic transmission* to P
before applying the parking brake and before blocking the wheels,
you may have to use more force later to move the lever out of the P
position. •

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Plastic and vinyl
Plastic needs special care.
Use a clean, damp cloth or sponge to remove dust and light surface
dirt. For other soil, use a lukewarm all-purpose cleaning solution or a
mild saddle soap for vinyl trim . Remove water spots and traces of
soap with a clean, damp cloth or sponge. Use a clean, soft cloth to rub
dry.
Grease, tar or oil stains can be removed with a clean cloth or sponge
soaked with all-purpose cleaner or with a solvent designed especially
to clean vinyl.
Occasionally apply a colorless vinyl or leather preservative to retain
the material's luster and pliability.
& WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other information
:::> page 256. •
Aluminum trim
Use only neutral-pH products to remove spots and deposits from
aluminum surfaces. Chrome care products and alkaline cleaners will
attack aluminum surfaces and can damage them over time .
& WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other information
=>page 256. •
Touch-up paint
Minor paint damages should be touched up immediately.
- Use either a touch-up paint stick or spray paint to cover
minor scratches and nicks.
Your authorized Audi dealer has touch-up paint for minor scratches
and stone chips. Scratches should be touched up soon after they
occur to prevent corrosion.
If a spot starts to rust, however, a simple touch-up job will not be
enough. The affected surface must be sanded smooth and coated
with an anti-rust primer before the painted finish can be restored.
The number for the original vehicle paint can be found on the vehicle identification label=>
page 336.
& WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other information
=>page 256. •
Windows
Clear vision to all sides.
Clean all windows regularly to remove road film and car wash
wax buildup.
- Remove snow from windows using a brush.
- Use a plastic ice scraper to remove ice from windows and
mirrors.
- Remove other residue on the windows with a spray-on glass cleaner.
- Wipe the windows dry with a clean piece of cloth or
kitchen paper towel.

-~_C_ le_ a_n_ i_ n_ g=- a_ n_d___. p_ ro_ t_e _c_ t_ i_o _n ___________________________________________ _
More stubborn dirt
- More stubborn dirt can be removed using a cloth sa tu­
rated w ith a mild soap solution (2 tablespoons mild liquid
soap).
- Never allow the soap solution to saturate the leather, and
make certain that no water soaks into the seams .
- Wipe off the soap solution with a soft, dry cloth .
Cleaning spots
- Remove fresh water -ba sed spots (such as coffee, tea,
juices, blood) with an absorbent cloth or paper towel.
- Remove fresh
g rease or oil-based spots (such as butter,
mayonnaise, chocolate) with an absorbent cloth or paper
towel, or use the cleaner from the leather care ki t if the
spot has not yet penetrated into the surface of the
leather.
- Use an oil/grease dissolving spray, if
oil /grease spots
have dried on .
-Remove specific kinds of spots (bal lpoint pen, felt marker ,
fingernail polish, water-based paint, shoe polish, etc.)
with a spot remover specifically formulated for leather.
Leather care
- Every half year use an approved leather care produc t
(available from your authorized Audi dealer) to care for
the leather .
- Apply the product very sparingly.
Wipe it off with a damp cloth.
If you have any questions about cleaning and caring for the leather in
your vehicle, it is best to contact your au thor ized Aud i dealer, who will
be glad to help you and tell you about our full range of leather care
products, such as:
• Leather cleaning and care k it
• Creams to care for colored leather
• Spot removers for ballpoint pens, shoe polish, etc .
• Oil/grease dissolv ing sp ray
• New and upcoming products.
& WARNING
Alw ays re ad and heed all WARNINGS and other information
=> page 2 56 .
0 Note
• Never use chemical so lve nts (e.g . lighter fluid, turpentine), waxes,
shoe po lish or simi lar products on the leather surfaces in your Audi .
• T o avo id damage, have stubborn sta ins removed by a commerc ial
cleaning specialist .•
Ap plies to veh icl es: w it h Alc anta ra ® u pholst ery
Cleaning Alcantara ® (synthetic suede)
Removing dust and dirt
- Moisten a cloth, squeeze out excess water and wipe down
the seat surfaces.
Removing stains
- Moi sten a cloth with lu kewarm water or with diluted ethyl
( rubb ing ) al cohol.
- Dab at t he stain . Start at the ou tside and work inwards. .,

________________________________________________ T_i_r _e _s _ a_n _ d_ w_ h_ e _ e_l_s __ _
& WARNING (co ntinued )
• Only when all tire s on the vehicle are filled to the correct pre s­
sure, the tire pressure monitoring sy stem* can work correctly .
• The u se of incorrect tire pressure values can lead to accidents or
other damage. Therefore it is essential that the driver observe the
specified tire pressure values for the tires and the correct pres­
sures for the function of the tire pre ssure monitoring system *.
• Always inflate tires to the recommended and correct ti re pre s­
sure before driving off.
• Driving with underinflated tire s bend more , letting them get
too hot resulting in tread separat ion, sudden tire failure and loss
of control.
• Excessive speed and /overload ing can cause heat build-up ,
sudden tire failure and loss of control.
• If the tire pressure is too low or too high , the tires will wear
prematurely and the vehicle will not handle well.
• If the tire is not flat and you do not have to change a wheel
immediately, drive at reduced speed to the neare st service station
to check the tire pressure and add air as requ ired.
0 Note
Dr iv ing without valve stem caps can cause damage to the tire valves.
T o preven t this, a lways make su re t hat fac tory ins talle d va lve stem
caps on all wheels a re securely mo unted on the valve.
'£> For the sake of the environment
Under inflated t ires will a lso increase the fuel consumption .•
Tires and vehicle Load Limits
T here are lim its to the amount of load or we ight that any vehicle a nd
any t ire can c arry . A veh icle t hat is over loaded w ill not hand le well an d
Safety first
is more difficult to stop . Overloading can not only lead to loss of
veh icle co ntro l, bu t ca n also d amage important p art s o f the ve hicl e
and can lead to sudden ti re failure, including a blowout and sudden
deflation that can cause the vehicle to crash.
Your safety a nd tha t of you r passe ngers also depe nds o n mak ing s ure
that load limits are not exceeded. Vehicle load incl udes everybody
and everyt hing in and on t he ve hicle. T hese lo ad lim its are techn ic a lly
referred to as the vehicle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR").
Th e "GVWR" includes the weight of the basic vehi cle, all facto ry
installed accessories, a fu ll tank of fue l, o il, coo la nt and other fluids
plus maxim um loa d. Th e maxim um loa d includes t he nu mber of
passeng ers th at t he ve hicl e is intended to car ry ("sea ting capa city ")
with an ass umed weig ht of 150 lbs . (68 kg) for each passenger at a
design ated seating posit ion a nd the to tal weig ht of any luggage in
the vehicle. If yo u tow a tra iler, the weight of the trailer hitch and the
t ongue weig ht of the lo ad ed t railer mus t be include d as pa rt of the
vehicle load.
Th e
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR") is the maximum load that
can be a pplied at each of t he ve hicle's two axles .
The Gross Vehicle We ight Rating and the Gross Ax le We ight Rating
are li sted on the safety comp lia nce s tick er label loca ted either on the
dr ive r's side B-pilla r o r on the inside of the fuel filler flap . Aud i has
4 se ating posi tions, 2 in the fron t and 2 in the rea r for tot al s eating
capacity of 4. Each seating position has a seat belt~
page 181,
"Safety be lts".
Th e fact t hat there is an upper lim it to your v eh icle 's Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating means that t he tota l weight of whatever is being
c a rried in th e veh icle ( in cl ud ing the w eight of a t railer hitch and the
tongue weight of the loaded tra iler) is limited. The mo re passengers
in the veh icle or p assengers who are heavier th an the sta ndar d
we ights assumed mean that less we ight can be carried as luggage.
Th e ti re pressure label on yo ur Audi also lis ts th e maxim um combined
we ight of all of the occupants and luggage or other cargo that the
vehicle can car ry. For the location o f the labe l~
p age 2 95, fig . 21 2. ~
Vehicle care Technical data

_________________________________________ T_ i_re _ s_a _n_ d_ w_ h_e _e _l_s _ ..... fflll
5. Determine the combined weight of
luggage and cargo 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 trailer will be transferred
to your vehicle. Consult this manual to
determine how this reduces the available
cargo and luggage load capacity of your
vehicle.
Check the tire sidewall(~
page 303~
fig. 216) to determine the designated
load rating for a specific tire .•
Vehicle OP-eration
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of different
things including proper installation and balancing,
correct tire pressure and driving style .
(-----~
_____ __,,:)
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
N
"' 0 9
"" ~
Fig. 214 Tire tread:
tread wear indicators
(TWI)
Fig. 215 Rotating
tires for more even
wear
Th e original tires on your vehicle have 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear
indicators "~ fig. 214 running across the tread. Depending on the
make, there will be six to eight of them even ly placed around the tire.
Marks on the tire sidewall (for example "TWI" or other symbols) indi­
cate the positions of the tread wear indicators. Worn tires must be
rep laced. Different figures may apply in other countries ~
&- .,_
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data