206 Trailer towing
Trailer towing
Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a trailer, p lease remember
that the additional load will affect durability,
economy and performance .
Trailer towing not on ly 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.
@ Note
If you are going to tow a trai ler, you must
activate the trailer operation mode
c:::> page 206, Operating instructions.
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 cor rect
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
trai ler hitch ball mount. This prevents the
hitch from causing damage should your vehi
cle be struck from behind
c:::> A.
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is equipped with a brakin g sys
tem, check to be sure that it conforms to all
regulations.
T he trailer hydraulic brake system must not be
directly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system .
Safety chains
Always use safety chains between your veh icle
and the trailer.
Trailer lights
Trailer lights must meet all regulations. Be
sure to check with your 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 v is ion to the rear .
A WARNING
--
After removing the trailer hitch, do not
store it in your vehicle . In case of sudden
braking, the hitch could fly forward and in
jure you or your passengers.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
A trailer for your vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 trailer.
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the load in the trailer is held securely
in place to prevent it from shift ing forward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
c:::> A in Driving instructions on page 208.
Engine cooling system
Towing a trailer makes the engine work hard
er . It is important that the cooling system 's
performance is up to the additional load.
238 Check ing and filling
- Char ge the bat tery i n a we ll ven tilated
area. Kee p away from open flame or elec
trical spa rk. Do n ot smoke. Hydrogen gas
generated b y the battery is explosive.
- To reduce the danger of explosion, never
connect or disconnect charger cables
wh ile the charger is operating.
- Fast charg ing a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a compe
tent technicia n w ith the proper equ ip
ment.
- Battery acid that may spill during charg ing should be washed off wit h a solution
of warm water and baking soda to neu
t rali ze the acid.
(D Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to
start the engine. This will se riously dam
age sensitive elect ronic components, such
as control units, relays, rad io, etc., as we ll
as t he battery charger.
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifi
c ations and dimensions as the original equip
ment battery.
Intell igent energy management in your veh i
cle is respons ible for d istributing the e lectr i
cal energy throughou t your vehicle
qpage 199. The intel ligen t energy manage
ment system w ill keep the engine battery
charged better than vehicles without th is sys
tem. To make sure the additional electrical en
ergy is available once again after you have
changed the battery, we recommend that you
install batteries of the same type and ma nu
facture only (the same as those installed at
the time your vehicle was delivered). Specifi
cations a re listed on the battery ho using. Yo ur
author ized de aler must code the b attery in
the energy management system to enable you
to use the energy management fu nctions cor
rectly after replacing the battery. T
he new battery must have the same capacity,
vo ltage ( 12-volts), amperage, construction
and plug sea ling.
When ins tall ing t he battery, make su re the ig
nition and a ll elect rical consume rs are switch
ed off.
(D Note
M ake sure the ven tilat ion hose on the side
of the ba ttery is connecte d, otherwise
fumes or batte ry acid can lea k out .
- Veh icles with the Start-S top-System * are
equip ped with a spec ial cycle-proof AGM
battery . Install ing a d iffe rent type of
battery can cause problems in the vehi
cle e lectr ica l system. Whe n replac ing the
vehicle battery, always install one w ith
the same specifications as the origi na l
battery.
@) For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recomme nd your author
i zed Audi dealer change the battery fo r
you. Batteri es contain sulfur ic acid and
l ead and must a lways be di spo sed o f prop
erly in comp liance wi th all envi ronmental
regulations. Disposing of vehi cle batter ies
imprope rly is very dange rous to the envi
r onment.
Windshield/headlight
washer container
F ig . 1 94 Engine compartment: cover on the windshield
a n d headlight * was her fl ui d reservo ir
Ill>
2 7 4 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 ope rations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
Q;) Note
Vehicles w ith an automatic transmission
cannot be started by pus hing o r tow ing.
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 veh icle,
using a
pair of jumpe r cables to start the en
g ine .
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently large
cross section to carry the starter current safe
ly. Refer to the manufacturer's specif ications.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated termi
na l clamps which are distinctly marked:
plus(+) cable in most cases colored red
minu s(-) cable
in most cases colored black .
A WARNING
Batteries contain electricity, acid, and gas.
Any of these can cause very serious or fatal
inju ry. Follow the instructions below for
safe handling of your veh icle's battery.
- Always shield you r eyes and avoid lean
ing over the battery whenever possible.
- A discharged battery can freeze at tem
peratures just be low 32 °F (0 °C). Before connecting a
jumper cable, you must
thaw the frozen battery complete ly, 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 vo ltage 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 d ifferent voltage
or substantially different "Ah" rating
may cause an exp losion and personal in
jury.
- Never charge a frozen batte ry. 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 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 a ll
WARNINGS¢
page 224.
(D Note
- App lying a higher voltage booster bat
tery will cause expensive damage to sen
sitive electronic components, such as
contro l units, relays, radio, etc .
- Th ere must be no electrical contact be
tween the vehicles as otherwise current cou ld already start to f low as soon as the
positive(+) terminals are connected. .,.