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 . .,..
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212 Checking and filling
Checking and filling
Engine hood
Releasing and opening the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig . 173 D river' s side footwe ll: e ngin e hood re lease
lever
F ig. 1 74 Re lease lever u nde r the eng ine hood
Before openin g the engine hood, ma ke s ure
that the windshie ld w ipers are flat against the
windshield. Otherwise, they co uld damage the
pa int on the hood .
... Pull the release lever on the left under the
inst rument panel in the direction of the ar
row
c;, fig . 173.
... Raise t he hood s lightly r::;, &,
... Press the rocke r swi tc h under the hood up
ward
c;, fig . 174 . This re leases the catch .
... Ope n the hood.
A WARNING
Hot engi ne co olan t ca n bur n you .
- T o redu ce the r is k o f being burned, never
op en t he ho od if yo u see or hea r ste am
or cool an t esc aping from the engine
c ompartment. Wait unti l no steam or co
olant can be seen or heard before care
fu lly opening the hood.
Closing the engine hood
... Pull the hood down until the pressure from
the struts is reduced .
... Let the hood
drop down and latch in p lace .
Do not try to push it shut; it may fail to en
gage
r::;, &, .
A WARNING
-
A ho od th at is not co mpletely latched
could fly u p an d block your view while driv
in g.
- Wh en you cl ose the engi ne ho od, ch ec k it
t o make sure the sa fe ty ca tch has prope r
ly engaged . The hood s hould be flush
wit h the surroun ding vehicle body pa rts .
-If you notice while driv in g that t he hood
is not secured prope rly, sto p at once and
close it.
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially ca reful whenever you work in
the engine compartment.
Whenever you must perform any work in the
engine compartment, for example checking
and filling different fluid s, there is a ri sk of
injury , burns and accidents . To prevent per
sonal injury always observe the following
WARNINGS. The engine compartment of any
vehicle is a hazardous area
r::;, ,&. .
A WARNING
-To help avo id injury, before yo u check any-
thing unde r the hoo d:
- Turn off the eng ine.
- Remove the ignition key.
- Ap ply the park ing brake .
- Move selector leve r of automatic t rans -
miss io n to "P" (Par k).
- Alway s le t the eng ine cool d own. Ho t
components w ill bur n skin on contact .
th e f unct ion of the tire pressure monitor
ing system*.
- Always inflate tires to the recommended
and correct tire pressure before driving
off.
- Driving with under inflated tires bend
more, letting them get too hot resu lting
in tread separation, sudden t ire failure
and loss of control.
- Excessive speed and/overloading can
cause heat build-up, sudden tire fail ure
and loss of control.
- If the t ire pressure is too low or too high,
the tires w ill wea r prematurely and the
vehicle will not hand le we ll.
- If the t i re is not flat and you do not have
to change a w heel immed iate ly, dr ive at
reduced speed to the nearest serv ice sta
t ion to check the tire pressure and add
air as requi red.
{Q) Note
Dr iving without va lve stem caps ca n cause
damage to the tire va lves . To preve nt this,
always ma ke s ure t hat facto ry installed
va lve stem caps on all wheels a re secu re ly
mounte d on the va lve.
@ For the sake of the environment
Unde rinflat ed tires will a lso inc reas e the
fue l cons umption .
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are l imits to the amo un t of load or
weight that any vehicle and any tire can carry .
A veh icle that is overloaded w ill not handle
w ell and is more difficult to stop. Overload ing
can not only lead to loss of vehicle contro l,
but c an a lso damage import ant parts of the
ve hicle and can lead to sudden tire failure, in
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation that
can cause the ve hicle to crash .
Your safety and that of your passengers a lso
depends on making sure that load limits are n ot exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody
and everyth ing in and on the vehicle . Th ese
Tire s an d wheel s 235
load lim its are technically referred to as the
vehicle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
("GVWR").
T he "GVWR" incl udes the weight of the basic
vehicle, a ll factory installed accessories, a f ull
tan k of fuel, oi l, coo lant and other fluids plus
max imum load. The max imum load incl udes
the n umber of passengers t hat the vehicle is
intended to carry ("seat ing capac ity") with an
ass umed we ight of 150 lbs . (68 kg) for eac h
passenger at a designated seating posi tion
and the tota l weight of a ny luggage i n the ve
hicle. If you tow a tra ile r, the we igh t of the
tra iler hi tch and the tongue we igh t of t he
loaded tra iler mus t be included as part of the
vehicle load .
T he
Gro ss Axle Weight Rating (" G AWR ") is
the max imum load th at can be appl ied a t each
of the veh icle's two axles .
T he Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing and t he
G ross Ax le Weig ht Ra ting are listed on the
sa fe ty comp lian ce sti cke r la bel lo cate d on the
driver's side B-pillar. Audi has
4 seating pos i
tions, 2 in the front an d 2 in the rear fo r total
seating capacity of 4 . Eac h seati ng position
has a seat belt
q page 132, Safety belts.
T he fac t that there is an upper limit to yo ur
vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating means
that the total weight of whatever is being car ried in the vehicle ( includ ing the weight of a
trailer hitch and the tongue weight of the
loaded tra iler) is lim ited. The more passen
gers in the vehicle or passengers w ho are
heavier than the sta ndard we ights assumed
mea n that less we ight can be ca rried as lug
gage.
T he tire pressure label on your Audi also lists
the max imum combined weight of all of the
occupants and l uggage or other cargo that
the ve hicl e can ca rry . Fo r th e lo cat ion of the
la bel
q fig. 182 .
_&. WARNING
--==
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss o f ve -
h icle cont ro l, a crash or other accide nt, se-
rious pe rsonal in ju ry, and even death. ..,
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24 4 T ire s and wheel s
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of wheel bolts is matched to the
factory installed rims. If differen t rims are fit
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the r ight
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
secure ly and that the brake system funct ions
correctly .
In ce rtain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
i s the same model~
page 2 71.
_& WARNING
Improperly tig htened o r maintained whee l
bolts can become loose ca using loss of
contro l, a co llision and serious persona l in
jury.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop
erly t ightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose while driving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque .
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed .
- Never use different wheels bolts on your
vehicle .
-Always maintain the correct tighten ing
torque for the wheel bo lts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss. If the tightening tor
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and com e out when the veh i
cl e is moving. If the tightening torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be
come loose.
@ Note
The spec ified torq ue fo r the wheel bo lts is
90 ft lbs. (120 Nm) wi th a toler ance of
± 7,4 ft lbs. (± 10 Nm). Torque wheel bo lts diagonally. After changing a wheel, the
torque m
ust be checked as soon as possi
ble with a torque wrench -preferably by an
a uthori zed Audi dea ler or q ua lified work
shop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory -equ ipped w ith low aspect
ratio tires . T hese tires have been thoroughly
tested and been se lected specifically fo r your
model for their superb perfo rmance, road fee l
and hand ling under a variety o f driv ing condi
t ions . As k your authorized A udi dealer for
more details .
T he low aspect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a numera l of
55 or l ess in the tire's s ize
designation. The numeral represents the ratio
of the tire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
tread width exp ressed in percentage . Conven
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth ratio of 60 or
more .
The performance of low-a spect-r atio tire s is
pa rt icul arly s ens itive to imp ro per i nfl ation
pressure. It is therefore import ant that low
aspect ratio tires are inflated to the specified pre ssure and that the inflation pressure is
r e gularly checked and maintained . Tire pres
sur es should be checked at l east once a
month and always before a long trip
~ page 233, Checking tire pressure.
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged mo re
easily by impact w it h potholes, c urbs, g ull ies
o r ridges on the road, pa rticul arly if the tire is
u nderinfla ted .
In orde r to minimize the occurrence of impact
damage to t he tires of your vehi cle, we recom
mend tha t you observe the following preca u
tions:
- Always ma inta in recommended inflation
pressu res. Check your tire pressure eve ry
2 ,000 miles (3,000 km) and add air if neces -
sary. ..,.
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. ..,.
252 What do I do now?
down on the end of the wheel bolt
wrench with
one foot only . As you do so,
hold on to the car to keep your balance
and take care not to slip.
Raising the vehicle
The vehicle must be li~ed with the jack first
before the wheel can be removed.
Fig. 193 Sill panels: mark ings
Fig. 194 Sill: posit ion ing t he veh icle jack
The location of the jack point is indicated by
an indentat io n on the underside of the vehicle
~fig.193 .
• Activate the parking brake to prevent the
vehicle from rolling unintentionally.
• Move the
selector lever to position P.
• Find the marking (imprint) on the sill that
is nearest the wheel that will be changed
¢ fig. 193. Behind the marking, there is a
lifting point on the sill for the vehicle jack.
• Turn the
vehicle jack located under the lift
ing point on the si ll to raise the jack until
the jaw
Q fig . 194 @ covers the notch on
the vehicle¢ &¢(D .
• Align the vehicle jack so the jaw@ covers
the notch and the base p late @ is flat on
the floor . The base plate@ must be
vertical
under the lifting point @. •
Insta ll the rod on the vehicle jack: Insert
the rod into the opening on the handwheel.
Turn the rod left or r ight to secure it.
• Continue raising the jack with the rod unti l
the wheel lifts off the ground slightly.
Position the vehicle jack
only under the desig
nated lifting points on the si ll
¢fig. 193.
There is exactly one location for each wheel.
The jack must not be positioned at any other location ¢ ,& ¢Ci) .
Soft ground under the jack can cause the ve
hicle to slip off the jack. Always place the jack
on firm ground. Use a flat, stable support if
necessary. Use a non -slip surface such as a
rubber mat on a
slippery surface such as tile .
.&, WARNING
-You or your passengers could be inju red
while changing a wheel if you do not fo l
low these safety precautions:
- Position the vehicle jack on ly at the
designated lifting points and align the
jack. Otherw ise, the vehicle jack could
slip and cause an injury if it does not
have sufficient hold on the vehicle.
-A soft or unstable surface under the jack may cause the vehicle to slip off
the jack. Always provide a firm base for
the jack on the ground. If ne cessa ry,
us e a sturdy board under the jack.
- On hard, slippery su rface (such as tiles)
u se a rubber mat or similar to prevent
the jack from slipping.
- To help prevent injury to yourself and
your passengers:
- Do not raise the vehicle until you are
sure the jack is securely engaged.
- Passengers must not remain in the ve
hicle when it is jacked up.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a
safe place away from the veh icle and
well away from t he road and traffic.
- Make sure jack position is correct, ad
ju st as necessary and then continue to
raise the jack. .,_
254 What do I do now? Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed in the right direction .
Using a spare tire w ith a tread pattern
intended for use in a specific direction
When using a spa re tire w ith a t read patte rn
i n tended fo r use in a specific direction, please
n ote t he followi ng:
- The direction of rotation is marked by a n
ar
row on the side of the tire .
-If the spare t ire has to be installed in the in
correct direction, use the spare tire only
tempora rily si nce the t ire will not be able to
achi eve its optimum perfo rma nce cha racter
i st ics w ith reg ard t o aquaplani ng, noise and
we ar.
- W e reco mmend t hat you pay pa rticular at
ten tion t o this fact during wet we ather and
t h at you a dju st you r spee d to m atc h ro ad
con ditions.
- R epl ace the fla t tire w ith a n ew one an d
have it ins talled o n your ve hicle as soon as
p oss ible to restore the handlin g ad vantages
of a uni direct io na l tire .
Notes on wheel changing
Please rea d the information c> page 238 , New
t ires and replacing tires and wheels
if you are
go ing t o use a spare tire which is d ifferent
from the tires on your ve hicle.
Afte r you chan ge a t ire :
-Check the tire pressure on the spare imme
diately after installation.
- Have the wheel bolt tightening torque
checked with a torque wrench as soon as possible by your authorized Audi dealer or
a qualified workshop .
- With steel and alloy wheel rims , the wheel
bolts are correctly tightened at a torque of
90 ft lbs . (120 Nm) .
- If you notice that the wheel bolts are cor
roded and difficult to turn while changing
a tire, they should be replaced before you
check the tightening torque . -
Replace the flat tire with a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
possible. Remount the wheel cover .
Until then , drive with extra care and at re
duced speeds.
_& WARNING
-
- If yo u are going to e quip your ve hicl e
with tires o r rims which differ from those
which were facto ry installed, then be
sure to read the informati on
¢ page 238,
New tir es and replacing tires and
w he els .
- Always ma ke sure the damaged wheel o r
even a flat tire a nd the jack a nd tool kit
a re pro pe rly s ecu red in the luggage co m
p artm ent and are not lo ose in the pas
s en ger c ompa rtm en t.
- I n an acci dent or sudde n man euve r they
co uld fly forwa rd, inju ring anyone in the
ve hicl e.
- Always s to re damaged wh ee l, j ack and
t oo ls se cur ely in the l uggage co mpa rt
ment. Otherwise, in an accident or su d
de n maneuve r they co uld fly forwa rd,
causing inj ury to passe ngers in the ve hi
cle.
(D Note
Do not use comm erc ia lly availabl e tire
sea lants. O therwise, t he e lectr ical co mpo
n ents of t he ti re pressu re mo nitoring sys
tem * w ill no longe r work proper ly an d the
sensor fo r the tire pressure mo nitor ing
system* will have t o be replaced by a
q ualified wor ks ho p.
-Jumper cables must be long enough so
that the vehicles do not touch.
- When connecting jumper cables, make
sure that they cannot get caught in any
moving parts in the eng ine compart
ment.
- Do not bend over the batteries - danger
of chemical burns!
- The battery ce ll locking screws must be
tightened securely .
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS ¢
page 205, Engine com
partment .
(D Note
Improper hook -up of jumper cables can ru
in the generator.
- Always connect POSITIVE( +) to POSI
TIVE(+), and NEGATIVE( -) to NEGATIVE
( - ) ground post of the battery manager
control unit.
- Check that a ll screw plugs on the battery
cells are screwed in firmly. If not, tighten plugs prior to connecting clamp on nega
tive battery terminal.
- Please note that the procedure for con
nect ing a jumper cable as described
above applies spec ifically to the case of
your vehicle be ing jump started . When
you are giving a jump start to anothe r ve
hicle, do
not connec t the negat ive( -) ca
ble to the negative( -) term inal on the
discharged battery@¢
fig. 202. In
stead, securely connect the negative(-)
cable to either a solid metal component
that is firmly bolted to the engine block
or to the engine block itse lf. If the bat
tery that is being charged does not vent
to the outside, escaping battery gas
could ignite and exp lode!
Em erg en cy si tuation s 261
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow
ing.
T he following information is to be used by
commercial tow t ruck operators who know
how to operate their equipment safely.
- Nev er t ow your Audi , tow ing will c aus e
damage t o the engine a nd transmi ssion.
- Never wrap th e safet y chain s or winch c a
ble s around th e brak e lin es.
- To prev en t unne cessary dam age, your Aud i
mu st be t ran spo rted with a flat bed tru ck .
- To load th e vehi cle on to the fl at bed, use
the t owing loop found in the vehicle t ool s
a nd atta ch to the front or rear anch o rage
r=:> page 262 and ¢page 262 .
A WARNING
A vehicle being towed is not safe for pas
sengers. Never allow anyone to ride in a
vehicle being towed, for any reason.
-
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