218 Trailer towing
Trailer towing
Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a trailer, p lease remember
that the additional load will affect durability,
economy and performance .
Trailer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra
tion from the driver.
For this reason, always fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
Technical requirements
Trailer hitch Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer weight. The hitch must be suita
ble for your vehicle and trailer and must be
mounted securely on the veh icle's chassis at a
technically sound location. Use only a trailer
hitch with a removable ball mount. Always
check with the trailer hitch manufacturer to
make sure that you are using the correct
hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
The hitch must be installed in such a way that
it does not interfere with the impact-absorb
ing bumper system . No modifications should
be made to the vehicle exhaust and brake sys
tems . From time to time, check that all hitch
mounting bolts remain securely fastened.
When you are not towing a trailer, remove the
trailer hitch ball mount. This prevents the
hitch from causing damage should your vehi
cle be struck from behind
¢ A.
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is equipped with a braking sys
tem, check to be sure that it conforms to all
regulations . The trailer
hydraulic brake system must not be
direct ly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
~ A.
Safety chains
Always use safety chains between your vehicle
and the trai le r.
Trailer lights
T railer lights must meet all regulations. Be
sure to check w ith your authorized Audi dealer
for correct wiring, switches, and relays.
Mirrors
If you are unable to see the traffic behind you
using the regular outside mirrors, then you
must install extended mirrors . It is important
that you
always have clear vis ion to the rear.
,8. WARNING
- If a trailer has electrical brakes please
note that these brakes are not activated
by the factory-fitted control unit -risk of
accident!
- Afte r removing the trailer hitch, do not
store it in your vehicle. In case of sudden
braking, the hitch could fly forward and
injure you or your passengers.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
-
A trailer for your vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 tra iler.
Trailer load distribution Be sure the load in the trailer is held secure ly
in place to prevent it from shifting forward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢ A in Driving instructions on page 219.
Engine cooling system
T owing a trailer makes the engine work hard
er. It is important that the cooling system's
performance is up to the additional load.
Make sure that the cooling system has enough
fluid . .,..
CD Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to
start the engine. This will seriously dam
age sensitive electronic components, such
as control units, relays, radio, etc., as well
as the battery charger.
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifi
cations and dimensions as the original equip
ment battery.
Intelligent energy management in your vehi
cle is responsible for distributing the electri
cal energy throughout your vehicle
c::, page 211. The intelligent energy manage
ment system w ill keep the engine battery
charged bette r then ve hicles w ithout this sys
tem. To ma ke sure t he addi tional e lectrical en
ergy is available once again after you have
changed the battery, we recommend that you
install batteries of the same type and man u
facture only (the same as those installed at
the time your vehicle was delivered). Specifi
cations are listed on the battery housing. Your
author ized Audi dealer must code the battery
i n the energy management system to enable
you to use the energy management functions
correctly after replac ing the bat tery .
If it is not possible to use a battery of this
type, the new battery must have the same ca pac ity, voltage (12 volts), amperage, con
s truction and pl ug seal ing .
When insta lli ng the battery, make sure the ig
ni tion and all e lectr ica l cons umers are turned
off.
(0 Note
Ma ke sure the venti lation hose on the s ide
of the battery is connected, othe rwis e
fumes or battery ac id can leak out.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper d isposa l
of a batte ry, we recommend your author
ize d Au di dealer change th e batte ry for
Checkin g and fillin g 251
you. Batteries contain sul fur ic acid and
l ead and must always be disposed of prop
erly in comp liance with a ll environmental
regulations. Disposing of vehicle batter ies
i mproperly is very dange rous to the envi
r o nment .
Windshield/headlight*
washer container
Fig . 20 9 En gin e compa rtm ent : W inds hield an d head
light• washer fluid co ntai ne r
The was her fluid conta iner is mar ked w ith the
symbol Won its cap.
.., Before you check any thing in the engine
compa rtment,
alwa ys read and heed all
WARNINGS ~ .&_ in Working in the engine
compartment on page 23
7.
.., Lift the fi lle r ca p tongue to add washer flu
id. You can fi ll the containe r to t he top .
.., Press the cap back onto t he fi ller neck after
filling the container.
You can find the reservo ir
capacity in the table
in
c::> page 292.
Clean water should be used when filling up. If
poss ible, use soft wa ter to prevent scaling on
the washer jets . Always ad d a glass cleaner
solution (with frost protection in the winter) .
CD Note
Do not mix engine coola nt antifree ze o r
any other additives to fill up t he wind
sh ield washer reservoir .
284 Emergency situations
Emergency situations
General
This chapter is 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
Q;) Note
Vehicles with an automatic transmission
cannot be started by pushing or towing.
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary , the engine can be started by
connecting it to the battery of another vehi
cle.
If the engine should fail to start because of a
discharged or weak battery, the battery can be
connected to the battery of
another vehicle,
using a
pair of jumper cables to start the en
gine .
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently
large cross section to carry the starter current
safely. Refer to the manufacturer's specifica
ti ons.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated termi
nal clamps which are distinctly marked :
plus(+) cable in most cases colored red
minus (-) cable
in most cases colored black .
A WARNING
Batteries contain electricity, acid, and gas.
Any of these can cause very serious or fatal
injury. Follow the instructions below for
safe handling of your vehicle's battery.
- Always shield your eyes and avoid lean
ing over the battery whenever possible. -
A discharged battery can freeze at tem
peratures just below
32 °F (0 °(). Before
connecting a jumper cable, you must
thaw the frozen battery completely, oth
erwise it could explode.
- Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes
or skin . Flush any contacted area with
water immediately .
- Improper use of a booster battery to
start a vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batteries generate explosive gas
es . Keep sparks, flame and lighted ciga
rettes away from batteries .
- Do not try to jump start any vehicle with
a low acid level in the battery .
- The voltage of the booster battery must
also have a 12-Volt rating. The capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery should not be
lower than that of the discharged bat
tery . Use of batteries of different voltage
or substantially different "Ah" rating
may cause an explosion and personal in
jury.
- Never charge a frozen battery. Gas trap
ped in the ice may cause an explosion.
- Never charge or use a battery that has
been frozen. The battery case may have
be weakened.
- Use of batteries of different voltage or
substantially different capacity (Ah) rat
ing may cause an explosion and injury.
The capacity (Ah) of the booster battery
should not be lower than that of the dis
charged battery.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢
page 230, Engine com
partment.
@ Note
- Applying a higher voltage booster bat
tery will cause expensive damage to sen
sitive electronic components, such as
control units, relays, radio, etc.
- There must be no electrical contact be
tween the vehicles as otherwise current
could already start to flow as soon as the
positive(+) terminals are connected. ..,.