2013 AUDI S4 towing

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 199
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 200.
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 . .,..
•
•

200 Trailer towing
Tire pressure
When towing a trai le r, inflate the tir es of your
vehicle to the cold 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.
Lights
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.
Safety chains
Be sure trailer safe ty cha ins are properly 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 of vehicle
and trai ler, p lease note the following:
.,. Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car it ­
self is not 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.
Weight distribution
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
steering 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 trailer 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 the maximum permissible speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -pa rticularly
whe n going downhill.
Reduce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing.
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds
for vehicles tow ing trailers are lower than for
regular vehicles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving
downh ill, shift into a lower gear to use the en ­
gine braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge c> page 10
must be observed carefully . 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 •
in the in strument cluster starts flashing, pull
off the road, stop and let the engine
idle for
abo ut two minutes to prevent heat build-up .
_& WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
in g vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident. Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not p roperly wea ring the restraints
provided 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, pe rform ­
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 280.
Trailer towin g 201
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 choc ks 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 befor e 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.
•
•

244 Tires and wheels
pressure label) ¢ page 238,
fig.191.
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 pas­ sengers from
"XXX" kilo­
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
¢ page 238, fig. 191.
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. (1400-750
(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
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle .
.., Check the tire sidewall
(¢ page 246, fig. 195) to de­
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire.
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv­
ing style.
Fig. 193 T ire tread: tread wear ind icato rs (TWI)
____ Jj
Fig. 194 Rotating tires for more even wear
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The original tires on you r vehicle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators"
¢ fig. 193 running across the tread. Depend-
ing on the make, there will be six to eight of
them evenly placed around the tire. Marks on
the tire sidewall (for example "TWI" or other ..,

256 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. 197 Sedan Luggage compartment: tool kit
Fig. 198 allroad Luggage compartment: too l kit
When you need access to the vehicle tool kit
or jack*, you will need to take out the spare
tire and cover
Q page 256.
Depending on your vehicle's equipment, the
tool kit may also be located under the cargo
floor cover @
Q fig. 198 behind the seat back­
rest.
The vehicle tool kit includes:
- Hook for removing wheel covers*
- Alignment pin for changing the wheel
- Screwdriver with reversible blade
- Tool for changing light bulbs
- Reversible bit (reversible Torx bit for chang- ing light bu lbs)
- Rod for jack
- Jack*
- Lug wrench
- Towing eye Some of the vehicle
items listed above are
provided on certain mode ls only or are option­
al extras.
Before returning the jack* to its place, retrac t
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 you use the hex head, potentially
causing an acc ident.
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on­
ly for your vehicle model. Under no cir­
cumstances should it be used to lift
heavy vehicles or other loads; you risk in­
juring yourself.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, wh ich 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)
Appl ies to veh icles : w ith space -sav ing spare tire
The spore tire/wheel is located in the luggage
comportment under the cargo floor cover . It
is intended for short-term use only.
Fig . 199 Spare tire
Removing the spare tire
., lift the cargo floor by the plastic handle
Q fig. 199.
., Hook the handle into the luggage compart­
ment weather strip.

2 58 What do I do n ow ?
• Always store the vehicle too l kit, the jack*
and the replaced tire in the luggage com­
partment ¢
page 133.
Stowing the infl ata ble spare tir e
• Re lease the air by unscrew ing the va lve
stem.
• Screw the valve stem back in afterwards .
• Wait a few hours before placing the whee l
in the spare wheel well¢
,A.
• Secure the wheel with the large screw.
• Fold the cargo floor back down.
Aft er using th e inflat able sp are wh eel
The inflatable spare tire can be re-used as
long as it is not damaged and is not worn
down to the tread wear indicators¢&. .
When you let the air out of the inflatable
spare tire, it does not assume its folded shape
again for several hours . Until then, it cannot
be p laced back in the spare wheel well and
stowed securely .
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 inflatable spare tire is more than 6
years old, use it only in an emergency and w ith extreme caut ion and caref ul
dr iv ing .
- The inflatable spare tire is intended only
for temporary and short-term use.
It
should be replaced as soon as possible
with the norma l wheel and tire.
- T he tire pressure value for the inflatable
spare t ire is located on the drive r's side
8 -pilla r
¢page 238, fig. 192.
-Maximum perm iss ible speed is 50 mph
(80 km/h).
- Avoid full-throttle acce le rat ion, heavy
braking, and fast corner ing.
- When the air is let out of the inflatable
spare wheel, it does not ass ume its fold­
ed shape for severa l hours. Until t hen, it
cannot be p laced back in the spare wheel
we ll and stowed secu rely . -
Never drive with more than one inflata­
ble spare tire.
- For technical reasons, the use of tire
chains on the inflatable spare tire is not
perm itted. If it is necessary to drive with
tire chains, the inflatab le spare wheel
must be mounted on the rear axle in the
event of a f lat in a front tire . The newly
availab le rear whee l must then be instal­
led in place of the front whee l with the
f lat t ire. Instal ling the tire chain before
mount ing the wheel and tire is recom­
mended .
- L oose items in the passenger compart­
ment can cause serious personal injury
during hard braking or in an accident.
Never store the inflatable spare tire or
jack* and too ls in the passenger com­
partment.
(D Note
- The inflatable spa re tire has been deve l­
oped specifically for this vehicle mode l.
It must not be exchanged or used for
other vehicle models. Sim ilarly, inflata­
ble t ires from other vehicle models must
not be used.
- Normal summer or w inter tires must not
be installed on the inflatable t ire rim.
Inflating inflatable
spare tire
Applies to veh icles: w ith inflatable spare t ire
F ig. 201 Lu gg age compart ment: co mpressor
• Remove the cover for the veh icle tools and
remove the compressor. For some vehicle
models, the compressor is located i n a hold-
er under the spare tire . .,.

~ Unscrew the valve stem from the spare tire.
~ Screw the tire filler hose from the compres­
sor firmly onto the valve of the spare tire.
~ Insert the plug from the compressor into a
socket of the vehicle¢
page 64.
~ Switch the compressor on .
~ Let the compressor run until the value
specified on the tire pressure label is
reached
¢ page 238, fig. 192. Switch the
compressor off after running for 12 minutes
at the most -danger of overheating!
A WARNING
The compressor and the tire filler hose can
become extremely hot while they are run­
ning -danger of burns!
(D Note
Switch the compressor off after running
for 12 minutes at the most -danger of
overheating! Allow the compressor to cool
down for a few minutes before you use it
again.
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 tire failure, pull the
car well away from moving traffic and try to
reach
level ground before you stop¢ L!)..
~ All passengers should leave the car and
move to a safe location (for instance, behind
the guardrail) ¢
A.
~ Engage the parking brake to prevent your
vehicle from rolling unintentionally ¢
A.
~ Shift into 1st gear on vehicles with manual
transmission, or move the
selector lever to
the P position
on vehicles with automatic
transmission .
~ If you are towing a trailer: unhitch the trail­
er from your vehicle.
~ Take the jack¢ page 256 and the spare tire
¢ page 257 out of the luggage compart­
ment.
What do I do now? 259
A WARNING
You or your passengers could be injured
while changing a wheel if you do not fol­
low these safety precautions:
- If you have a flat tire, move a safe dis­
tance off the road. Turn off the engine,
turn the emergency flashers on and use
other warning devices to alert other mo­
torists.
- Make sure that passengers 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 possibly slipping off the
jack, always fully set the parking brake
and block the wheel diagonally opposite
the wheel being changed with the fold­
ing chocks or other objects. When one
front wheel is lifted off the ground, plac­ ing the Automatic Transmission in "P"
(Park) will
not prevent the vehicle from
moving .
- Before you change a wheel, be sure the
ground is level and firm. If necessary,
use a sturdy board under the jack.
- Always store the vehicle tool kit, the
jack* and the replaced tire in the luggage compartment
¢page 133.
(D Note
If you are changing the wheel on a steep
incline, use a rock or similar object to
block the opposite wheel to prevent the
vehicle from moving.
(D Tips
Obey all laws.
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel , follow these­
quence described below step-by-step and in
exactly that order.
l. Remove the decorative wheel cover* or
-
the wheel bolt caps*. For more details see..,.
•
•

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
(D Note
Vehicles with an automatic transmission
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
g ine.
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently
largecross section to carry the starter current
safe ly. Refer to the manufacturer's specifica­
tions.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated termi­
na l 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.
Emergency situations 269
-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 batter ies generate explosive gas­
es. Keep sparks, flame and lighted c iga­
rettes away from batteries.
- Do not try to jump start any veh icle w ith
a low ac id 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 diff erent voltage
or substantially different "Ah" rat ing
may cause an exp losion 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 batter ies of different voltage or
substantially different capacity (Ah) rat ­
ing may cause an exp losion and injury .
The ca pa city (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 213, Engine com­
partment.
(D Note
- App lying a higher voltage booster bat­
tery will cause expensive damage to sen­
sit ive electronic components, such as
control units, relays, rad io, etc .
- There must be no electrical contact be­
tween the vehicles as otherwise current
could already start to flow as soon as the
posit ive(+) terminals are connected. ..,. •
•