2012 VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG ECU

WARNING
Elastic straps have to be stretched when being attached to the tie-downs in the luggage compartment Hooks on elastic straps can cause serious personal injury if not handled properly and attached securely.
x Always protect eyes and face from injury from the hooks when attaching them to the vehi-cle and do not let them snap back and hit you.
x Always hold the hooks on elastic straps firmly when attaching to the vehicle and do not let them snap back and hit you.
x First attach the hooks on the straps to the tie-downs at the rear seat backrest in the lug-gage compartment and then to the tie-downs near the loading edge of the luggage compart-ment. This way, if one of the hooks on the elastic straps snaps back, it will move away from you, decreasing the risk of personal injury.
The maximum weight force for the tie-downs is about 785 lbs (356 kg).
For suitable straps and luggage stowage systems, please see an authorized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
Shopping bag hook

Fig. 105 In the luggage compartment: Shopping bag hook.

Luggage compartment floor

Fig. 106 In the luggage compartment: Lifting luggage compartment floor panel and securing it with retaining strap.

Securing a load on the roof rack

WARNING
Improper use of the trailer hitch can cause accidents and injuries. An improperly installed, incorrect, or damaged trailer hitch can cause the trailer to separate from the towing vehicle and cause serious personal injuries.
x Only use an undamaged, properly mounted trailer hitch.
x Never repair or modify the trailer hitch.
x To reduce the risk of injury in rear-end collisions, and the risk to pedestrians and cyclists when the vehicle is parked, always remove the ball mount when you are not towing a trailer.
x Never install a “weight distributing” or “load equalizing” trailer hitch on your vehicle. The vehicle was not designed for these kinds of trailer hitches. The trailer hitch attachment can fail, causing the trailer to tear loose from the vehicle.
WARNING
Improper trailer towing can cause loss of vehicle control and serious personal injury.
x Driving with a trailer and carrying heavy or large things can change the way the vehicle handles, increase the distance it needs to stop safely, and cause accidents.
x Always secure the load properly with suitable and undamaged straps so that the load will not shift.
x Always adapt your speed and driving to the heavier load and the weight distribution in the vehicle. Take road, weather, traffic, and visibility conditions into account as well.
x Reduce your speed even more than you otherwise would when going downhill and under unfavorable load, weather, or wind conditions.
x Trailers with a high center of gravity tip more easily than trailers with a low center of gravi-ty.
x Always avoid sudden maneuvers and hard braking.
x Be especially careful when passing other vehicles.
x Reduce speed immediately if the trailer shows the slightest sign of swaying.
x Never try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
x Always obey speed limits. In some areas, the speed limits for vehicles towing trailers are lower than for vehicles without trailers. Never drive faster than 50 mph - 80 km/h (under ex-ceptional circumstances 60 mph - 100 km/h) when towing a trailer. This applies even if the local speed limit is higher.
If you are driving a new vehicle or a vehicle with a new or rebuilt engine, do not tow a trailer
during the break-in period, about 600 miles (1,000 km) ⇒  Parts, accessories, repairs and modifica-tions.
If you tow a trailer, your vehicle may need maintenance more often because of the extra load it has to move.
When you are not towing, remove the trailer hitch ball. This helps keep the trailer hitch from causing damage to your vehicle and to others if your vehicle is hit from behind.
Some models need a trailer hitch to tow or tow-start other vehicles. You may want to always carry the ball mount in the vehicle after it has been removed. Be sure to stow it securely.

The trailer load and tongue weight on the type identification plate for the trailer hitch are only test values. The vehicle-specific figures are often lower than these values. In some countries, but generally not in the United States, the vehicle-specific figures are listed in the official vehicle documents. Speci-fications in official vehicle documents always take precedence.
To help ensure optimum handling and driving safety, Volkswagen recommends always using the maximum permissible tongue weight. If the tongue weight is too low, the vehicle and trailer will not handle as well.
Tongue weight increases the load on the rear axle and, in turn, reduces the remaining load your
vehicle can carry ⇒  Determining the correct load limit.
Combined towing weight
Combined towing weight is the weight of the loaded towing vehicle plus the weight of the loaded trailer.
This vehicle has not been designed to tow a Class III trailer and must never be retrofitted to tow a Class III trailer. Always make sure that your vehicle has been designed to tow the trailer you want to use and that is legal to tow the trailer where you will be driving.
Loading the trailer
The weight distribution in the vehicle and trailer must be balanced. Use the maximum permissible tongue weight and make sure that the load in the trailer is evenly distributed and that it is not front-heavy or tail-heavy:
x Distribute the load in the trailer so that heavy objects are directly above the axle or as close as possible to the axle.
x Secure loads properly on the trailer.
Tire pressure
Always follow the trailer manufacturer's tire pressure recommendations for the trailer tires.
When towing, inflate the towing vehicle's tires to the maximum permissible pressure listed on the tire
pressure label ⇒  Tires and wheels.
WARNING
Exceeding the gross weight ratings for axle, tongue, vehicle, trailer or combined weight can cause accidents and serious personal injury.
x Never exceed the specified values.
x Never let the actual weights at the front and rear axles exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat-ings. Never let the combined front and rear weights exceed the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.
WARNING
Trailer loads that are not properly secured can shift when the vehicle is moving or braking and suddenly change the way the vehicle handles, causing accidents and severe injuries.
x Always load the trailer properly.
x Always secure the load properly with suitable, undamaged straps that can be tightened so that the load cannot shift.
Driving with a trailer

Ball mount dimensions
x The drop height (A) from the center of the ball to the center of the hole for the securing pin on the ball mount must be at least 11 /4 inches (32.3 mm) and at most 27 /8 inches (73 mm).
x The pin-to-ball distance (B) from the center of the ball to the center of the hole for the securing pin on the ball mount must be no more than 61 /8 inches (157.3 mm).
x The ball diameter must be no more than 2 inches (51 mm).
Volkswagen recommends that you have an authorized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility install the electrical system and socket.
A ball mount and ball combination that does not meet these specifications can damage your vehicle
and may even fail in use ⇒ .
Never install a “weight distributing” or “load equalizing” trailer hitch on your vehicle. The vehicle is not
designed for this kind of trailer hitch ⇒ .
WARNING
An improperly installed or unsuitable trailer hitch can cause the trailer to separate from the towing vehicle and result in a major accident with serious personal injuries.
x Have any trailer hitch retrofit or other work on a trailer hitch done by a qualified workshop.
CAUTION
The ball mount sticks out behind the rear bumper and can cause injury to pedestrians and cyclists.
x To reduce the risk of injury in rear-end collisions, and the risk to pedestrians and cyclists when the vehicle is parked, always remove the ball carrier when you are not towing a trailer.
NOTICE
x Never use a ball larger than 2 inches (51 mm) on your vehicle. The vehicle was not designed to tow heavier trailers with a receiver larger than the specified ball. The increased loads can damage the attachment points for the trailer hitch.
x Never use an adapter to increase the size of the trailer hitch receiver to more than 2 inches (50.8 mm) to tow a trailer that is heavier than the maximum permissible trailer weight that your vehicle can tow.
x You can use an adapter if required for the proper installation of a bicycle rack or other similar carrier as long as the maximum weight limits are observed. When using bicycle racks or similar carriers make sure that the rear lights are not blocked.
x Only use trailer hitches that are approved by the hitch manufacturer for your vehicle and model.

x The tread depth of new tires can differ between tire models and manufacturers because of different design features and tread design.
Replacing tires
x Tires should be replaced in pairs and not individually (both front tires or both rear tires at the same
time) ⇒ .
x Replace tires only with tires that have the same specifications, including width and diameter, load and top speed rating as the tires approved by Volkswagen for your vehicle and model.
x Never use tires that are larger or wider than the dimensions of the tires approved by Volkswagen for your vehicle and model. Larger tires could scrape and rub on the vehicle body or other parts of the vehicle.
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) considerations
Factory-installed wheels are equipped with a sensor that constantly monitors tire pressure, then
transmits this information to the TPMS ⇒  Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS). If you are going to replace the wheels, make sure that the new wheels also have sensors that are compatible with the TPMS on your vehicle. New wheels with sensors have to be recognized and integrated into the sys-tem. The new wheels and sensors are recognized and integrated when driving off the first time.
If you install wheels that do not have sensors, or have sensors that are not compatible, the TPMS will not work properly. In this case, the TPMS will not be able to monitor tire pressure or warn you if pres-sure is low. An error message may appear in the instrument cluster display or the TPMS will switch itself off.
x Whenever you change sensors, you have to install new valves and seals. Please see an author-ized Volkswagen dealer of an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
x Always drive with the valve caps securely installed. We recommend using factory-supplied valve caps. Ask an authorized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility to replace lost caps.
If you install new tires that differ the original Volkswagen specifications, for your vehicle and model, the benchmark tire inflation pressure values stored in your vehicle's TPMS may have to be adjusted (reprogrammed). This requires professional assistance. For more information, contact your authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
Installing replacement tires with steel cord body plies in the tire sidewall may cause malfunction of the TPMS, and is not recommended (cord material information in molded on the tire sidewall).
Always check the TPMS indicator light after replacing one or more tires on your vehicle. If the indicator light is on, the TPMS is not working properly. Your replacement tire might be incompatible with the system, or some component of the TPMS may be damaged.
For detailed information about TPMS, how it works and what you need to know ⇒  Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).
WARNING
New tires tend to be slippery and must be broken in.
x Always drive with special care for the first 350 miles (560 km) to help reduce the risk of losing control, a collision, and serious personal injuries.

Driving with the collapsible spare tire
The collapsible spare tire is different in design from the road tires and must be used only in the event
of a flat tire, only for a brief time, and only when driving with extra caution ⇒ .
Replace it with a tire matching the others on your vehicle as soon as possible.
Please heed the following:
x Do not drive faster than 50 mph (80 km/h)!
x Avoid full-throttle acceleration, hard braking and fast cornering!
x Do not use snow chains on the collapsible spare tire.
x After installing the collapsible spare tire, check the tire pressure as soon as possible ⇒  Checking tire inflation pressure.
Reusing the collapsible spare tire
The collapsible spare tire can be reused as long as it is not damaged and not worn down to the tread wear indicators.
It takes several hours for the collapsible spare tire to return to its collapsed form after you let the air out of it. Once this has happened, you can put it back in the spare tire well and secure it.
x Let the air out of the tire by unscrewing the valve core.
x Screw the valve core back in once the air has been released.
x Wait several hours before putting the collapsible spare tire back in the spare tire well.
x Once the time is up, open the rear hatch. Lift up the luggage compartment floor panel and hook it
to the top of the luggage compartment or remove the reversible luggage compartment floor panel ⇒  Luggage compartment.
x Place the collapsible spare tire in the spare tire well and secure it with the fastening bolt (⇒ fig. 113 (2) or (3)).
x Fit the retainer (1) back into the middle of the collapsible spare tire ⇒ fig. 113.
x Unhook the luggage compartment floor panel/replace reversible luggage compartment floor panel.
x Close the rear hatch.