2013 AUDI A5 COUPE 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 185
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.
•
•

200 kilometers) of normal city driving.
You can compensate for this by press ing
the brake pedal more firm ly. This also
applies later when new pads are instal­
led .
- You should perform brak ing maneuvers
for the purpose of clean ing the brake
system only if road cond it 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 lowe r
gear or lowe r driving 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 diminish braking
efficiency.
- Do not "ride the brakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when yo u do not intend
to brake. Th is may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopp ing distance.
- Under certain climat ic and operating
condit ions 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 ca n
a ccumulate on the brake pads, linings,
dis cs and d rums. Carefully apply brakes
f or a test . Brakes will dry and ice coat­
ings will be cleaned off after a few ca re ­
ful brake applications.
- Driv ing fo r an ex tended period of time on
salt-covered roads without using your
brakes can also affect braking efficiency.
Clean off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads w ith 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
t h e ent ire brake system.
- Failur e of one bra ke c ircuit will impair
t h e braking capability resulting in an in­
cr eased stop ping distan ce. Avoid driv ing
the vehicle and have it towed to t he near-
Int ellig ent technolog y 189
est a uthorized Audi dea ler or q ualified
workshop.
- Never let the ve hicle roll to a stop with
the engine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not working, for
examp le when towing you r vehicle, or
because the brake booster has somehow
been damaged, the bra ke pedal must be
pressed considerably 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 ve hicle speed .
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering d efective! Do not driv e vehi cle!
If this indicato r light tur ns on and stays on
and t his message appears, the power steer ing
may have failed .
Do
not continue dr iv ing . See your author ized
Audi dealer or other qualified repair facility
fo r ass istance.
':r,y Dy namic steer ing: 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
steering wheel may a lso be at an ang le when
dr iv ing straight .
Drive slowly to your a uthorized Audi dea ler or
qualified workshop to have the ma lf u nction
corrected .
'Taj Dynamic steering: init ializing
If this drive r message appears and t he in dica ­
tor light is flashing on the instrumen t panel,
dynamic steering * is being rei nitialized. Once
you start the engine afte r this is finished, the .,..
•
•

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 197
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 trai ler 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 fo r you r vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 tra iler.
Trailer load distribution
B e sure the lo ad in the tra iler 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 198.
Engine cooling system
T owing 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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•

198 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. Ma ke s ure 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 not tow a tra iler 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
the extra load
o page 2 73.
Trailer towin g 199
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.
.. Place an a utomat ic t ransm ission* in P, re ­
spectively a manual transmission in first or
reverse gear.
When restarting after parking:
.. App ly the foot br ake .
.. Sta rt t he engine.
.. Move the se lector lever to D/S, respectively
a man ual transmiss ion in first gear .
.. Release the parking brake and s low ly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks .
.. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks.
@ Tips
If you move the selector leve r of the auto­
matic transmissio n* to P before applying
the pa rking brake and before bloc king the
whee ls, you may hav e to use mor e forc e
la ter to m ove the lever out of the P p osi­
tion.
•
•

240 Tires and whee ls
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 Lim it
1 . Locate the statement "THE
COMB INED W EIGHT OF OC­
CUPANTS AND CARGO
SHOULD NEVER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX LBS"on your vehi ­
cle's placard (tire inflation
pressure label)
c::> page 235,
fig. 176.
2.
Determ ine the comb ined
weight of the driver and pas ­
sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle .
3. Subtract the combined weigh t of the dr iver and pas­
sengers from
"XXX " kilo­
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
c::> page 235, fig . 176 .
4. The resulting figure equals
the available amount of car­go and luggage load capaci­
ty . F or examp le, 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 -750
(5
X 150) = 650 lbs .)
5 . D etermine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo be ing loaded on the vehicle.
That we ight 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 . Consu lt this manual
to determine how this re­
duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehic le .
.,. Check the tire sidewall
(c::> page 242, fig. 180) to de­
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire .

252 What do I do n ow ?
What do I do now?
Vehicle tool kit
The tools ore stored underneath the floor
panel in the luggage comportment.
Fig. 182 Luggage compartment: tool kit
When you need access to the vehicle too l kit
or jack*, you will need to take out the spare
tire* and cover ¢
page 252.
The vehicle tool kit includes:
- Hook for removing wheel covers*
- Alignment pin for changing the whee l
- Screwdriver w ith reversible blade
- T ool for chang ing ligh t bu lbs
- Reversible bit (reversible Torx bit for chang-
ing light b ulbs)
- Rod for jack
- Jack*
- Lug wrench
- Towing eye
Some o f the ve hicl e items listed above a re
p rovided on certain models o nly or are option­
a l extras.
Before returning the jack* to its place, retra ct
the jack a rm fully .
_&. WARNING
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten whee l bolts, s ince the bolts can ­
not attain the necessa ry tightening tor­
que i f you use the hex head, potentially
causing an accident.
- The factory -supplied jack is intended on­
ly for your veh icle model. Under no cir­
c u mstances should it be used to lift heavy vehicles or othe
r loads; yo u risk in­
juring yo urself .
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, wh ich could cause an acc ident.
- Support the vehicle securely wit h app ro­
priate stands if work is to be performed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there
is a potentia l risk for injury.
Space-saving spare tire
(compact spare tire)
App lies to vehicles: wit h space-saving spare t ire
The spore tire/wheel is located in the luggage
compartmen t under the cargo floor cover. It
is intended for short-term use only.
F ig . 1 83 Spa re tire
Removing the spare t ire
.. Lift t he cargo floor by the p lastic handle
¢fig . 183.
.. Hook the handle into the luggage compart­
ment weather strip.
.. Turn the large screw ¢
fig. 183 counter­
clockw ise .
.. Take out the spare tire .
.. Always store the vehicl e tool kit, the jack*,
and the rep laced tire in the luggage com­
pa rtment
¢page 130.
.. Unhook the cargo floor be fo re closing the
rea r lid.
Using the spare tire (compact spare tire)
T he compact spare ti re is only inte nded for
eme rgen cies unt il you can reach a rep air shop.
Repl ace it as quickly as possible with a stand­
ard wheel and tire.
T he re a re some restr ictions on the use of the
c ompac t spa re tire. The compact spa re tire ...

has been designed specifically for your type of
vehicle.
It must not be swapped with a com­
pact spare t ire from another type of veh icle .
Snow cha ins
F or techn ica l reasons, the use of snow chains
on the compact spare tire is
not p ermitt ed .
If you do have to dr ive with snow cha ins and a
front tire fails, mou nt the spare whee l w it h
tire ins tead of a rea r tir e. Install the snow
chains on the rear t ire and use it to replace
the defective front tire .
A WARNING
-Never use the spare tire if it is damaged
or if it is worn down to the tread wear in ­
dicators.
- If the spare tire is mo re than 6 years o ld,
use it only in an emergency and w ith ex­
treme 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
soon as poss ible. The tire pressure of the
compact spa re tire must be 4.2 bar ; oth­
erwise, you risk hav ing an accident.
- Do not drive faster than SO mph (80 km/
h). You risk having an acc ident .
-Avo id full-throttle acce lerat ion, heavy
braking, and fast corner ing . You risk hav­
ing an acc ident.
- Never drive us ing more t han one spare
wheel and tire . You risk hav ing an acci­
de nt.
- No rma l summer or winte r tires must not
be mounted on the compact spare whee l
rim.
- For technical reasons, the use of ti re
ch ains on the spare tire is no t permitted.
If it is necess ary to dr ive wi th tire ch ain s,
the spare whee l must be moun ted on the
front axle in the event o f a flat in a rear
t ire. The newly ava ilable front w heel
must then be installed in place of the
What do I do now? 253
'
rea r whee l w ith the flat tire. Installing
the t ire cha in be fore mounting the whee l
and tire is recommended.
- Loose items in the passenger compart­
ment can cause serious personal injury
during hard brak ing or in a n accident.
Never store the inflatable spa re tire or
jack and tools in the passenge r compart­
ment.
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 expe rie nce a tir e fail ure, p ull the
car we ll away from mov ing traffic and try to
reac h
level ground before you stop ¢ .&, .
.,. All passengers should
leave the car and
move to a safe location ( for instance, behind
the guardra il) ¢ .&, .
.,. Engage the
park ing brake to prevent your
veh icle from rolling unintentionally¢.&, .
.,. Shift into
1st gear on veh icles with man ual
transm iss ion, or move th e
selector lever to
the P po sition
on vehi cles w ith automa tic
t ra nsm iss io n.
.,. If you are towing a tra iler : u nhi tch the trail­
er from your vehicle .
.,. Take the
ja ck r=:> page 252 and the spare tire
r=:> page 252 out of the luggage compart­
ment.
A WARNING
You o r you r passengers could be i njured
while changing a w heel if you do not fo l-
low these saf ety p recaut ions :
- If you have a fla t tire, move a safe d is­
tance off th e road . T urn off the engine,
tur n the eme rgency flashers on and use
o ther warni ng devi ce s to a le rt other mo­
t oris ts.
- Ma ke sure tha t passenge rs wait in a safe
p la ce aw ay from the vehicle and well
-
away from the road and tra ffic. .,. •
•