2013 AUDI A5 CABRIOLET towing

Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, engine function, emis­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op­
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip­
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidding and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects
Intelligent technology 179
certain difficult driving situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steering ass istance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
JjJ in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations .
It is important to remem­
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics.
It will not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is suddenly covered with water,
slush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it would on the dry surface. If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con­
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult driving situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
A lways adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic and weather conditions. ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the available traction, or keep a vehicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESC improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle under con­
trol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu­
vers by using the driver's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.
•
•

-You should perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of clean ing the brake
system only if road condit ions permit.
Other road users must not be put at r isk -
you may cause an acc ident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transmiss ion into a lower
gear or lower d riving range . Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too often. This cou ld cause the
brakes to get hot and dimin ish braking
effi ciency.
- Do not "r ide the b rakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when yo u do not intend
to brake. This may cause the b rakes to
overheat, premat ure wear and increased
stopp ing distance .
- Under certain climatic and operating
conditions such as passing through wa­
ter, driving in heavy rain or after wash ing
the vehicle, the effect iveness of the
brakes can be reduced. In winter, ice can
accumulate on the brake pads, linings,
discs and d rums . Carefully apply brakes
for a test. Brakes will dry and ice coat­ ings will be cleaned off afte r a few ca re­
f ul brake appl ications.
- Driv ing fo r an ex tended pe riod of time on
salt-covered ro ads w ithout using yo ur
brakes can also affect braking efficiency.
Clean off accumu lated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few caref ul
brake applicat ions.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler, be sure the air
flow to the front brakes is not obstruct­
ed. Otherwise the brake system co uld
overheat reducing the effectiveness of
the ent ire brake system.
- Failure of one brake c ircuit will impair
the braking capability resulting in an in­
creased stopp ing distance. Avoid driv ing
the vehicle and have it towed to the near­
est author ized Audi dealer or qualified
wor kshop.
- Never let the v ehicle roll to a stop w ith
t he engine shu t off.
Int ellig ent technolog y 183
-If the brake booster is not working, for
examp le when towing your vehicle, or
because the brake booster has somehow
been damaged, the brake pedal must be
pressed conside rably harder to make up
for the lack of booster assistance .
Electro-mechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering .
Power steer ing adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed.
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defecti ve! Do not d rive vehicle!
If this indicator light turns on and stays on
and t his message appears, the power steer ing
may have failed .
Do
not con tinue dr iv ing . See your author ized
Audi dealer or other qualified repair facility
fo r ass istance.
f-r,ij Dynamic st eering: System fault! You can
continue driving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steering may be more diffi­
cu lt to move or more sensit ive tha n usual. The
stee ring wheel may a lso be at an angle when
driv ing straight .
Drive slowly to your a uthorized Audi dea ler or
qualified workshop to have the ma lfunction
correc ted .
fifl Dynamic steer ing: in itializing
If this drive r message appea rs and the indica ­
tor light is flash ing on the instrument panel,
dynamic steer ing * is being rein itia lized. Once
you start the engine after th is is finished, the
steering wheel will be easy to move. Re- init i­
al ization might be necessa ry if the steering
wheel was moved ha rd to the left a nd right
wh ile the vehicle was not moving. The display
goes ou t as soon as initialization is comp lete. .,.
•
•

Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durab ility,
economy and performance .
T railer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
F or this reason, a lways fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer we ight. The hitch must be suita­
b le for your veh icle and trailer and must be
mounted secure ly on t he veh icle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a t railer
h itch w ith a removab le ball moun t. A lways
check with the tr ailer hitch man ufac tur er to
make sure that you are using the correct
hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
T he hitc h must be installed in such a way that
it does not inte rfe re with the impac t-absorb­
i ng b umper syst em. No modifica tions should
be made to the vehicle exhaus t and b rake sys­
tems . From t ime to time, check that a ll hitch
mo unt ing bolt s remain securely fas tened.
W hen you are not tow ing a trailer, remove the
trai le r hi tch ball moun t. T h is prevents the
hi tch from causing damage sho uld your ve hi­
cle be str uck from be hind
¢ &. .
Trailer brakes
If yo ur tra iler is equ ipped w it h a braking sys­
tem, check to be su re that it conforms to a ll
r eg ulat io ns.
Trailer towin g 191
The trailer hyd ra ulic bra ke system must not be
direct ly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
¢ &. .
Safety chains
Alw ays use s afety chains between your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Tra ile r lights m ust meet all reg ulations . Be
su re to check w ith your authorized Audi dealer
fo r c orrec t w iri ng, sw itches, and relays.
Mirrors
If you a re unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regula r outside m irrors, then you
must insta ll ext ended mir ro rs. It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rear .
.8, WARNING
- If a trailer has elec trica l br ake s plea se
no te th at t hese bra kes are not activat ed
by the fa ctory -fit ted control unit -risk of
accident!
- After removing the t railer hi tch, do no t
s to re it in yo ur vehicle . In case of sudden
brak ing, the hitch could fly fo rward and
in ju re you or yo ur passenge rs .
Operating instructions
Maximum traile r we ight
-
A trai ler for your vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 tra iler.
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the lo ad in the traile r is h eld secure ly
i n p lace to p reven t it from shifting fo rward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢ &. in Driving instru ctions on page 19 2.
Engine cooling system
Towing a t railer ma kes t he engine wor k hard ­
er . It is impo rta nt that the cooling system's
perfo rman ce is up to the additional load.
Make sure tha t the coo ling sys tem h as enough
f lu id . .,..
•
•

192 Trailer towing
Tire pre ss ure
When towing a trai le r, inflate the t ires of your
vehicle to the co ld tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver 's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open).
Inflate trailer tires to trailer and tire manufac ­
turers' specifications.
Light s
The headlight settings should be checked with
the trailer attached before dr iving off. Check
to make sure both vehicle and tra iler lights
are working properly.
Saf ety chains
Be sure tra iler sa fe ty cha ins a re p roperly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve ­
hicle. Leave eno ugh slack in the chains to per ­
mit turning corners. When you install safety
cha ins, make sure they w ill not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains shou ld cross under the trai ler
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration.
To obtain the best possible handling o f vehicle
and trai ler, p lease note the following:
.,. Do not tow a loaded tra iler whe n your car it ­
self is no t loaded .
.,. Be especia lly careful when passing other
vehicles .
.,. Observe speed limits .
.,. Do not drive at the maximum permissible
speed.
.,. Always apply brakes early .
.,. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weigh t di stribution
Towing a loaded trai ler with an empty car re­
sults in a highly unstable distribution of
weight . If this cannot be avo ided, drive at very
low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steer ing control. A "ba
lanced' ' rig is easier to operate and con­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should be loaded to the extent possible and permissi­
ble, while keep ing the trai ler as light as possi­
ble under the c ircumstances. Whenever poss i­
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com ­
partment of the tow veh icle while obse rving
tongue load requ irements and vehicle load ing
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more d iff icu lt it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig. Do not
drive at t he maximum permissible speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -pa rtic ularly
whe n going downhill.
Reduce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing.
Do n ot
try to sto p th e swaying by acc elerating .
Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds
fo r vehicles tow ing tra ile rs a re lower than for
regular veh icles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving downh ill, shift into a lower gear to use the en ­
gine braking effect to slow the vehicle . U se of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant tempe rature
The coo lant temperature gauge c> page 10
must be observed carefu lly. If the needle
moves close to the upper end of the scale, re­
duce speed immediately and/or turn off the
air conditioner.
If the coolant temperature warning light •
i n t he i nstrument cluster starts flashing, pull
off the road, stop and let the engine
idle for
abo ut two min utes to prevent he at build-up .
_& WARNING
Anyone not proper ly restra ined in a mov ­
i ng vehicle is a t a much greater risk in an
accident . Never let anyone ride in yo ur car
who is not p roperly wea ring the rest raints
prov ided by Audi.
-

Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle hand les different ly when tow ing
a trailer because o f the addit ional weight and
d iffe ren t weight distribution . Safety, perform ­
ance and economy w ill greatly depend on how
caref ully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
B efore you actua lly tow your trailer, pr actice
turning, stopp ing and bac king up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you have become comp lete ly fam iliar with the way
your veh icle-trailer comb ination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is d ifficu lt a nd requires practice .
Backing up with a tra iler genera lly requires
steer ing action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a trailer.
M aintain a g reater distance betwee n your ve­
h icle and the one in front o f you . You will need
mo re room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you will need a larger than normal
turning radius .
W hen pass ing, remember that yo u cannot ac ­
celerate as fast as yo u normally wo uld be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
e nough room to pass . After passing , allow
p lenty o f room fo r your tra iler before chang­
in g la nes aga in .
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rap id lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do n ot tow a tra ile r during the break-in
period of you r vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your A udi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
t h e ext ra load
o page 269.
Trailer towin g 193
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer . If it can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol­ lowing:
When parking:
.. App ly the foot brake.
"' Have someone p lace chocks under both the
veh icle and the tra iler wheels .
"' With chocks in place, slowly release t he
bra kes unt il t he whee l chocks absorb the
load .
.. Tur n the whee ls towa rds t he curb .
.,. App ly the parking brake.
.. Move the se lector lever to P.
When restarting after parking:
.. App ly the foot brake .
.,. Sta rt t he engine .
.. Move the se lector lever to D/S .
.. Release the pa rking brake and s low ly pull
out a nd away from the wheel chocks .
.. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks .
(D Tips
If you move the selector leve r of the auto ­
matic transmission to P befo re a pplying
the parking brake and before bloc king the
whee ls, you may have to use more force
l ater to move the l ever out of the P posi­
tion .
•
•

236 Tires and wheels
-Carrying more weight than your vehicle
was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in­
crease the risk of the loss of vehicle con­
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
vehicle within a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload­
ed can fail suddenly, including a blowout
and sudden deflation, causing loss of
control and a crash.
- Always make sure that the total load be­
ing transported -including the weight of
a trailer hitch and the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer - does not make the vehi­
cle heavier than the vehicle's Gross Vehi­
cle Weight Rating.
Determining correct load limit
Use the example below to cal­
culate the total weight of the
passengers and luggage or oth­
er things that you plan to trans­
port so that you can make sure
that your vehicle will not be
overloaded.
Steps for Determining Correct Load Limit
1. Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OC­
CUPANTS AND CARGO
SHOULD NEVER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX LBS"on your vehi­
cle's placard (tire inflation pressure label)
¢fig. 182.
2. Determine the combined weight of the driver and pas- sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined weight of the driver and pas­sengers from
"XXX" kilo­
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
¢fig. 182.
4. The resulting figure equals the available amount of car­
go and luggage load capaci­
ty. For example, if the
"XXX"
amount equals 1400 lbs.
and there will be five 150
lbs. passengers in your vehi­
cle, the amount of available
cargo and luggage load ca­
pacity is 650 lbs. (1400-7 SO
(5
X 150) = 650 lbs.)
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 trail­
er will be transferred to your
vehicle. Consult this manual
to determine how this re­ duces the available cargo

248 What do I do now?
What do I do now?
Vehicle tool kit
The tools ore stored underneath the floor
panel in the luggage comportment.
Fig. 188 luggage compartment: tool kit
When you need access to the vehicle tool kit
or jack*, you will need to take out the spare
tire* and cover¢
page 248.
The vehicle tool kit includes:
- Hook for removing wheel covers*
- Plastic hook to remove wheel bolt covers*
- Alignment p in for changing the whee l
- Screwdriver w ith reversible blade
- Tool for changing light bulbs
- Reversible bit (reversible Torx bit for chang-
ing light bulbs)
- Rod for jack
- Jack*
- Lug wrench
- Towing eye
Some of the vehicle items listed above are provided on certain models on ly or are opt ion­
a l extras.
Before returning the jack* to its place, retract
the jack arm fully.
A WARNING
-
-Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten wheel bolts, since the bolts can­
not attain the necessary tightening tor­
que if yo u use the hex head, potentially
causing an accident.
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on­
ly for your vehicle model. Under no cir- cumstances should it be
used to lift
heavy veh icles or other loads; you risk in­
juring yourself.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, which could cause an accident.
- Support the vehicle securely with appro ­
priate stands if work is to be performed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there is a potential risk for injury .
Space-saving spare tire
(compact spare tire)
App lies to vehicles: with space -saving spare t ire
The spare tire/wheel is located in the luggage
comportment under the cargo floor cover. It
is intended for short-term use only.
Fig. 189 Spa re tire
Removing the spare tire
.. Lift the cargo floor by the p lastic handle
¢ fig. 189 .
.. Hook the handle into the luggage compart­
ment weather strip .
.. Turn the large screw ¢
fig. 189 counter ­
clockwise .
.. Take out the spare tire .
.. Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack*,
and the replaced tire in the luggage com­
partment
¢ page 127.
.. Unhook the cargo floor before closing the
rear lid.
Using the spare tire (compact spare tire)
The compact spare t ire is only intended for
emergencies until you can reach a repair shop .
R ep lace it as quickly as possible with a stand-
ard wheel and tire. ..,.

There are some restrictions on the use of the
compact spare tire. The compact spare tire
has been des igned specifically for your type of
ve hicle.
It must not be swapped with a com­
pact spare t ire from another type of veh icle.
Snow cha in s
For technica l reasons, the use of snow chains
on the compact spare tire is
not permitted .
If you do have to dr ive with snow chains and a
front tire fails, mou nt the spare whee l w ith
tire instead o f a rea r ti re . Install the snow
chains on the rear tire and use it to replace
the defective front tire.
A WARNING
- Never use the spare tire if it is damaged
o r if it is worn down to the tread wear in­
dicators.
- If the spare tire is more than 6 years o ld,
use it only in an emergency and w ith ex­
t reme caution and careful driving .
- The spare tire is intended only for tem­
porary and short-term use. It should be
replaced as soon as possib le w ith the
normal wheel and t ire.
- After mounting the compact spare tire, the tire pressure must be checked as soo n as poss ible. The tire pressure of the
c ompac t sp are tire must be 4.2 bar; o th­
erwise, yo u risk hav ing an accident.
- Do not drive faster than 50 mph (80 km/
h). You risk having an a ccident.
- Avoid fu ll-throttle acce le rat ion, heavy
braking, and fast corner ing. Yo u risk h av­
ing an acc iden t.
- Never drive us ing more t han one spa re
whee l and tire. You risk having an acci­
dent.
- No rma l su mmer or wi nte r tires m ust not
be mounted on the comp act spare whee l
rim.
- F or technical reasons, t he use of ti re
chains on the spare tire is not permitted .
If it is necessary to drive with tire chains,
the spare whee l must be mounted on the
front axle in the event of a flat in a rear
What do I do now? 249
tire. The newly available front whee l
m ust then be insta lled in place of the
rear whee l w ith the flat tire. Installing
the t ire cha in before mounting the whee l
and tire is recommended .
- Loose items in the passenger compart­
ment can cause serious personal injury
during hard bra king or in a n accide nt.
Never store the spa re tire or jack and
too ls in t he passenger compa rtment.
Changing a wheel
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang­
ing a wheel .
"' After you experience a t ire failure, p ull the
car we ll away from moving traffic and try to
reach
le vel ground before you stop¢ A.
"' All passengers should lea ve the car and
move to a safe location (for instance, behind
the guardrail) ¢ &, .
"' Engage the
park ing brak e to prevent your
veh icle from rolling unintentionally¢&, .
"' Move the
se lec tor lever to th e P position .
"' If you are towing a t ra iler : unhit ch the trail­
er from you r vehicle.
"' Take the
jack ¢ page 248 and the spare tire
c::> page 248 out of the luggage compart­
ment .
A WARNING
You or your passengers could be injured
while changing a wheel if you do not fo l-
l ow these safety precaut ions :
- If you have a flat tire, move a safe d is­
tance off the road. Turn off the engine,
turn the emergency flashers on and use other warning devices to a le rt other mo­
torists.
- Ma ke sure that passenge rs wait in a safe
place away from the vehicle and well
away from the road and traffic.
- To help prevent the vehicle from moving
-
suddenly and possib ly slipping off the ..,. •
•