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 .
Trailer 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.
(D Note
If you are going to tow a trai ler, you must
ac tivate the trailer operation mode
c::> page 209, Operating instructions.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weig ht-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 securely on t he ve hicle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a trail er
hi tch w ith a removab le ball moun t. A lways
check wi th t he tra ile r hi tch man ufa ctur er to
make sure that you are using the cor rect
h itch.
Do not us e a bumper hitch .
The hitch m ust be installed in such a way that
i t does not interfe re with the impac t-absorb
i ng bumper syst em. No mod ificat ions should
b e made to the vehi cle e xhaus t and br ake sys
tems . From t ime to time, check th at a ll hitc h
mo unt ing bo lts rem ain securely fas tened.
When you are not towing a trail er, remove the
tra ile 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 behind~ .&.
Trailer towin g 209
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is equippe d wi th a bra king sys
tem, check to be s ure that i t conforms to all
regulations .
T he trailer hyd ra u lic bra ke sys tem mus t not be
d irec tly connec ted to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system .
Safety chains
Always use safety chains be tween your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Trai ler lights must meet all reg ulations. Be
su re to c heck with your Audi dea ler for correct
wir ing, switches and relays .
Mirrors
If you a re unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regula r outside mirrors, then you
must insta ll extended mir rors. It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rear.
_&. WARNING
-
Afte r removi ng the trailer hitch , do no t
s tor e i t in yo ur v ehicl e. In case of sudden
b raki ng, the hi tch co uld fly forwar d and in
j ur e you o r yo ur pass enge rs.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
A tra ile r fo r you r vehi cle is l imited to a typi cal
cla ss 1 o r class 2 tr ailer.
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the load in the tra ile r is held secure ly
in place to p revent it from shift ing fo rward,
ba ckward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
c::> .& in Driving instructions on page 211 .
Engine cooling sy stem
Towing a t railer ma kes the engine wor k hard
er . It is impo rtant that the cooling system's
performance is up to the additional load.
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cracked and weakened when the battery
froze.
- Charge the battery in a well ventilated
area. Keep away from open flame or elec
trical spark. Do not smoke. Hydrogen gas
generated by the battery is explosive.
- To reduce the danger of explosion, never
connect or disconnect charger cables
while the charger is operating.
- Fast charging a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a compe
tent technician with the proper equip
ment .
- Battery acid that may spill during charg
ing should be washed off with a solution
of warm water and baking soda to neu
tralize the acid.
0 Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to
start the engine . This will seriously dam
age sensitive electronic components, such
as control units, relays, radio, etc., as well
as the battery charger.
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifi
cations and dimensions as the original equip
ment battery.
Intelligent energy management in your vehi
cle is responsible for distributing the electri
cal energy throughout your vehicle
q page 202. The intelligent energy manage
ment system will keep the engine battery
charged better than vehicles without this 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 manu
facture only (the same as those installed at
the time your vehicle was delivered). Specifi
cations are listed on the battery housing. Your
authorized dealer must code the battery in
the energy management system to enable you
to use the energy management functions cor rectly after replacing the battery.
Checking and filling 241
The new battery must have the same capacity,
voltage (12-volts), amperage, construction and plug sealing.
When installing the battery, make sure the ig
nition and all electrical consumers are switch
ed off.
(D Note
Make sure the ventilation hose on the side
of the battery is connected, otherwise
fumes or battery acid can leak out.
- Vehicles with the Start-Stop-System* are
equipped with a special cycle-proof AGM
battery. Installing a different type of
battery can cause problems in the vehi
cle electrical system. When replacing the
vehicle battery, always install one with
the same specifications as the original
battery.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recommend your author
ized Audi dealer change the battery for
you. Batteries contain sulfuric acid and lead and must always be disposed of prop
erly in compliance with all environmental
regulations. Disposing of vehicle batteries
improperly is very dangerous to the envi
ronment.
Windshield/headlight
washer container
Fig. 199 E ng in e compar tment: cov er on th e w in ds hield
and headl ig ht* washer fluid reservoir
II-
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2 76 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 vehicle,
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 22 7.
(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. .,.