Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a trailer, please remember
that the additional load will affect durability,
economy and performance .
Trailer towing not only places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra
tion from the driver.
For this reason, always follow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
(D Note
If you are going to tow a trailer, you must
activate the trailer operation mode
q page 159, Towing a trailer.
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 vehicle'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~.&.
Trailer towing 241
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
directly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
q .& .
Safety chains
Always use safety chains between your vehicle
and the trailer.
Trailer lights
Trailer lights must meet all regulations. Be
sure to check with 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 vision to the rear.
_&. WARNING
-If a trailer has electrical brakes please
note that these brakes are not activated
by the factory-fitted control unit -risk of
accident!
- After 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.
- Never install a "weight distributing" or
"load equalizing" trailer hitch on your ve
hicle. The vehicle was not designed for
these kinds of trailer hitches. The hitch
attachment can fail, causing the trailer
to tear loose from the vehicle.
- The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating for your
vehicle, found on the safety compliance
label on the driver's side B-pillar, must
never be exceeded under any circumstan
ces. Exceeding the Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating of your vehicle is likely to damage
your vehicle, and such damage will not
be covered by your Limited New Vehicle
-
Warranty. Exceeding the Gross Vehicle ~
•
•
314 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
Your vehicle is equipped with an automatic
transmission. Consequently, the engine
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 safe
ly. Refer to the manufacturer's specifications.
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 °C). 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 255, 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. ..,.