2014 AUDI Q5 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, please remember
that the additional load will affect durability,
economy and performance .
T railer 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.
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.
T he 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 brakes
If your trailer is equipped with a braking sys­
tem, check to be sure that it conforms to all
regulations .
Trailer towing 213
The trailer hydraulic brake system must not be
directly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
¢ &. .
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 .
.8, 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
Weight Rating will also change the per­
formance and handling characteristics of
your vehicle, which could cause a crash resulting in serious injury or death.
-
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214 Trailer towing
Operating instructions
6"
i ~
I 1,2 ..
{ ~
~
,,
-
2
Fig. 189 Pe rmi tted ball posit ion of the tra iler h itch
T ra ile r tow ing weight s
With a factor y-insta lled or an afte rm arket
trailer h itch, the max imum permissib le trailer
weight is 4,400 lbs (2,000 kg). The maximum perm iss ible unbraked trailer weight is 1,650
lbs (750 kg). These spec ifications apply when
driving on roads hav ing an incl ine of less than
12%.
P erm is s ible tongue load
For best vehicle handling under these
changed condit ions, adjust the trailer load so
that the tongue load is at the maximum al­
l owable or slightly lower . You can get an ap­
p rox imation of the tongue load w ith a bath­
room scale or you can measure the load at a
tr ucking company or weighing sta tion.
W ith a
fact ory -in stall ed or an aftermarket
trailer h itch, the max imum pe rm issible load
on the ball hitch may not exceed 440 lbs (200 kg).
It is recommended to use the maxi­
mum permissible load .
Trailer lo ad distribut ion
Be sure the load in the trai ler is held securely
in place to prevent it from shifting fo rward,
backward or s ideways.
N eve r allow a p assenger to rid e in a trail er
¢ .&. in Driving instructions on page 215.
Ball mount
The trailer hitch may only be used with su ita­
ble ball mount and ball¢
fig. 189. Installa­
tion of the hitch ball must be carr ied out in ac- cordance with the manufacturer's instruc­
tions.
Eng ine cooling system
T owing a t railer makes the engine work hard­
er . It is important that the cooling system's
performance is up to the additional load .
Make sure that the cooling system has enough
fluid.
Tire pressur e
When towing a trailer, inflate the tires of your
vehicle to the cold tire pressu re listed under
" F u ll load" on the tire pressure label. The tire
pressure label is located on the driver's side B·
pillar. Inflate trailer tires to trailer and tire
manufacturers' spec ificat ions.
Lights
T he headlight settings shou ld be checked wi th
the trai ler attached before driving off . Check
to make sure both vehicle and trailer lights
are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure trailer safety chains are properly con­
nected from the tra iler to the hitch on the ve­
hicle . Leave enough slack in the chains to per­
mit turning corners . When you install safety
chains, make sure they will not drag on the
road when you are driving.
T he chains should cross under the trailer
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of separation from the hitch .
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
core and consideration.
T o obtain the best possible handling of vehicle
and t railer, please note the fo llowing :
.,. Do not tow a loaded t railer when you r ca r it­
self is not loaded .
.. Be especially caref ul when passing ot her
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 tra iler with an empty ca r re­
sults in a high ly unstable distribution of
weight. If this cannot be avoided, drive at very low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control.
A "balanced" rig is easier to operate and con ­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and permiss i­
ble, while keeping the trailer as light as possi­
ble under the circumstances. Whenever possi­
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com ­
partment of the tow vehicle wh ile observing
tongue load requirements and vehicle loading
considerations .
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficult 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 -part icularly
when going downhill.
Reduce vehicle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest sign of swaying.
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits. In some areas, speeds
for veh icles towing trailers are lower than for
regular vehicles.
Always apply brakes early . When driving
downhill, shift into a lower gear to use the en ­
g ine braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to ove rheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
T he 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 immed iate ly and/or turn off the
air cond itioner.
Trailertowin g 215
If the coolant temperature warning light in
the instr ument cluster starts flashing., pull
off the road, stop and let the engine
idle for
about two minutes to prevent heat build -up.
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov­
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident. Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not properly wearing the restraints
prov ided by Audi .
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle handles differently when towing
-
a trailer because of the additional weight and
different weight distr ibut ion. Safety, perform­
ance and economy will greatly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actually tow your tra iler, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you
have become completely familiar w ith the way
your vehicle-tra ile r combination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice .
Backing up with a trailer generally requires
steering action opposite to that when backing
u p you r vehicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater d ista nce between your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you. You w ill need
more room to stop. To compensate fo r the
trailer, you w ill need a larger than normal
turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot ac­
celerate as fast as you normally would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure yo u have
enough room to pass. After passing, a llow
plenty of room for your trailer before chang­
ing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts , sharp t urns or rapid lane
changes.
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216 Trailertowing
-Do not tow a trailer during the break-in
period of your vehicle .
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load
<=> page 293.
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:
,,. Apply the foot brake.
,,. Have someone place chocks under both the
vehicle and the trai ler wheels.
,,. With chocks in place, slowly re lease the
brakes until the whee l chocks absorb the
load.
,,. Turn the wheels towards the curb .
,,. Apply the parking brake .
,,. Move the selector lever to P.
When restarting after parking:
,,. Apply the foot brake.
,,. Start the eng ine.
,,. Move the selector lever to D/S.
,,. Re lease the park ing brake and slowly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks.
,,. Stop and have someone retrieve the wheel
chocks.
@ Tips
If you move the selector lever of the auto­
mat ic transmission to P before applying
the parking brake and before blocking the
wheels, you may have to use more force
later to move the lever out of the P posi­
tion.

256 Tires and wheels
-Carrying more weight than your vehicle
was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in­
crease the risk of the loss of vehicle con­
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
vehicle within a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload­
ed can fail suddenly , including a blowout
and sudden deflation, causing loss of
control and a crash.
- Always make sure that the total load be­
ing transported -including the weight of
a trailer hitch and the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer -does not make the vehi­
cle heavier than the vehicle's Gross Vehi­
cle Weight Rating.
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 Limit
1. Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OC­
CUPANTS AND CARGO
SHOULD NEVER EXCEED XXX
KG OR XXX LBS" on your ve­
hicle's placard (tire inflation
pressure label)
¢ page 251,
fig. 205.
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 251, fig. 205.
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. (1400-7 SO
(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 ..,

268 What do I do now?
What do I do now?
Jack, tools and
inflatable spare tire
Onboard tool kit and vehicle jack
The vehicle tools and vehicle jack* are stored
in the luggage compartment under the floor
cover.
Fig . 211 Luggage compartment: on board tool kit and
vehicle jack
The vehicle jack* is stored under the on board
tool kit¢
fig. 211.
Hybrid drive*: the storage location of the on­
board tool kit varies
¢ page 104.
The onboard tool kit includes:
- Hook for removing wheel covers*
- Plastic hook to remove whee l bolt covers*
- Alignment p in for changing wheels
- Wheel bolt wrench
- Folding chocks
- Screwdriver with reversible blade
- Socket (removable Torx socket)*
- 10 x 13 open ended wrench (for disconnect-
ing the battery cables)
-Towing eye
Before storing the jack*, make sure it is
wound back down as far as it will go.
& WARNING
Improper use of the vehicle jack* can
cause serious personal injuries.
- Never use the jack* supplied with your
Audi on another vehicle, particularly on a
heavier one . The jack* is only suitab le for
use on the vehicle it came with . -
Using a bumper jack to raise the vehicle
will damage the bumper system. The
jack may slip, causing injury.
- Never support your vehicle on cinder
blocks, bricks or other objects. These
may not be able to support the load and
could cause injury when they fa il.
- Never start or run the engine while the
veh icle is supported by the jack*.
- If you must work under the vehicle, al­
ways use safety stands specifically de­
signed for this purpose.
- Never use the hexagonal socket in the
handle of the screwdriver to loosen or
tighten the wheel bolts.
- Always make sure the inflatable spare
tire* and even a flat t ire are secured in
place and not loose, otherw ise they
could fly forward, causing personal injury
to passengers in the vehicle in an acci­
dent or sudden maneuver.
@ Tips
Some of the on board items listed above
are provided on certain models only or are
optiona l extras.
Folding chocks
The folding chocks are part of the on board
tool kit.
Fi g. 2 12 Open ing folding choc ks
To use the chocks, you first have to raise the
support plate¢
fig . 212 (D and then insert
the locking plate with the two "tabs" into the
elongated holes in the base plate @¢& .
Ill>

_& WARNING
-The chock cannot fulfil its funct ion and
may lose its stability if the "tabs" on the
support plate are not inserted cor rectly
into the elongated holes in the base
pla te. If th is happens, the vehicle may
st ar t to move whi le a wheel is being
changed .
- Never use the folding chocks if they are
damaged or i f th ey have not been assem ­
bled correct ly .
Removing bass box
Applies to vehicles: with bass box
Before the inflatable spare tire* can be taken
out, the bass box must
be removed.
Fig . 2 13 Spare w hee l well : Bas s box
Removing bas s bo x
.,. Lift up the cargo floor using the hand le .
.,. Sq ueeze the locking tabs
c:!;> fig . 213 (D of
the connector.
.,. Disconnect the connector @and place the
lead to one side.
.,. Turn the large screw counter -clockwise .
.,. Carefu lly remove the bass box .
Install ing bas s bo x
.,. Carefu lly place the bass box in the wheel.
The inscr ipt ion "FRONT" on the bass box
must face forward .
.,. Reconnect the connector that was removed .
.,. Secure the bass box with the large screw.
.,. Fold the cargo floor back down.
What do I d o now ? 269
Inflatable spare tire
Applies to vehicles: with inflatable spare tire
The inflatable spare tire expands to its full di­
ameter when it is inflated.
Fi g. 21 4 In flatable spa re t ire w it h comp ressor
Removing inflatable spare tire
.,. Lift up the cargo floo r using t he handle .
.,. Remove the dirt t ray .
.,. Turn the large screw
c:!;> fig. 214 co unter­
clockw ise .
.,. Remove the bass box as required
c:!;> page 269 .
.,. Take out the inflatable spare tire .
.,. Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack*
and the replaced tire in the luggage com ­
partment
c:!;> page 145.
Stowing the inflatabl e spare t ire
.,. Release the air by unscrewing the valve
stem .
.,. Screw the valve stem back in afterwards .
.,. Wait a few hours befo re placing the wheel in
the spare wheel well
c:!;> .,&. .
"'Insta ll the bass box as required c:!;> page 269 .
.,. Secure the wheel with t he la rge screw .
.,. Place the d irt tr ay back in .
.,. Fold the cargo floor back down.
After using the inflatable spare wheel
T he inflatab le spare tire can be re-used as
l ong as it is not damaged and is not wo rn
down to the t read wea r indica tors
c:!;> ,& .
When you let the a ir out of the inflatab le
spare t ire , it does not assume its folded shape
again for s evera l hours . U nti l then , it canno t
be pla ced ba ck in the spare whee l we ll and
stowed secure ly.

Emergency situations
General
This chapter i s 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 tran smission
cannot be started by pu shing 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 sho uld fail to start because of a
discha rged o r weak battery, the battery can be
connected to the battery o f
another vehicle,
using a
pair of jumper cables to start the en­
g ine.
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently la rge
c ross section to carry the starter c urrent safe­
l y. Refer to the man ufacturer's specifications.
Use o nly jumper cables with
insulated te rm i­
na l clamps w hich are d istinctly mar ked:
plus (+) cable in mos t cases co lore d red
minus (-) cab le
in most cases colored black .
A WARNING
Batterie s contai n elec tricity, ac id, an d gas.
Any of these c an cause ve ry ser io us or fatal
injury. Foll ow the instr uctions bel ow fo r
safe han dling of your veh icle's b attery .
- Alw ays s hield you r eye s and avoid lean­
ing over the bat te ry whenever p ossib le.
- A dis ch arged b attery c an free ze at te m­
pera tures ju st be low 3 2 °F ( 0 °C ). Befo re
Emergency situations 283
connecting a jumpe r cab le, you must
thaw the fr ozen battery c omp lete ly, ot h­
erwise it could explode.
- Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes
or skin. Fl ush any contacted area with
wate r immediately.
- Improper use of a booster battery to start a vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batter ies genera te exp losive gas­
es. Keep spar ks, flame and lighted c iga ­
rettes away from batte ries.
- Do not try to jump start any ve hicle w ith
a low ac id leve l in the battery.
- The vo ltage of the booste r batte ry m ust
a lso have a 12-Vol t rating. T he capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery sho uld not be
lowe r tha n that of the discharged bat­
tery . U se of batte rie s of d iffe ren t voltage
or substan tially diffe rent "Ah" rat ing
may c au se a n exp losion and persona l in­
JU ry.
- N ever cha rge a fro zen batte ry. Gas tr ap­
pe d in t he ice may c ause an explosion.
- Never cha rge or use a batte ry tha t h as
been fr ozen. T he battery case may have
be weakened.
- Us e of b atter ies of differe nt voltage or
sub stant ia lly diff eren t ca pa city (Ah) ra t­
i ng may c ause an ex plosion an d injury .
Th e capac ity (Ah) of the booster bat tery
should not be lower than that of the dis ­
charged batte ry .
- Before you chec k any thing in the engine
compa rtment, always read and hee d all
WARNINGS
¢page 231.
(D Note
-App lyin g a higher vo ltage booster ba t­
t ery w ill cause expens ive damage to se n­
sit ive e lectronic com ponents, such as
cont ro l units, relays, rad io, etc.
- The re must be no electrical contact be­
tween the vehicles as ot herwise c urrent
co uld a lready start to f low as soon as the
p o sit ive(+) term inals a re connected. ..,. •
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