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 .
- The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating for your
vehicle would be exceeded if your vehicle
is simultaneously equipped with Panor
amic sliding sunroof; third-row seating;
trailer towing equipment (factory or
dealer-installed), and running boards
(dealer-installed) . UNDER NO CIRCUM
STANCES MAY ALL SUCH ITEMS BE IN
STALLED ON THE SAME VEHICLE.
Operating instructions
MAX 6.9"
MAX175mm
E
1/1 E 1/1 ... a)
m
Fig. 231 Perm itted ba ll posit ion of the trailer hitch
Trailer towing weights
With a factory-installed trailer hitch, the
maximum permissible trailer weight is 6,615
lbs (3,000 kg). The maximum permissible un
braked trailer weight is 1,650 lbs (750 kg).
With an
aftermarket trailer hitch, the maxi
mum permissible trailer weight is 5,512 lbs
(2,500 kg). These specifications apply when
driving on roads having an incline of less than
12%.
Permissible tongue load
For best vehicle handling under these
changed cond itions, adjust the trailer load so
that the tongue load is at the maximum al
lowable or slightly lower. You can get an ap
proximation of the tongue load with a bath
room scale or you can measure the load at a
trucking company or weighing station .
With a
factory-installed trailer hitch, the
maximum permissible load on the ball hitch Trailer towing 241
may not exceed 662 lbs (300 kg). With an
af
termarket
trailer hitch, the maximum permis
sible load on the ball hitch may not exceed
551 lbs (250 kg).
It is recommended to use
the maximum permissible load.
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the load in the trailer is held securely
in place to prevent it from shifting forward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢ .& in Driving instructions on page 242.
Ball mount
The trailer hitch may only be used with suita
ble ball mount and ball ¢
fig. 231. Installa
tion of the hitch ball must be carried out in ac
cordance with the manufacturer's instruc
tions. At the height dimension of 1.5 in
(38.S mm) a tolerance of+/- 0.5 in (12. 7 mm)
is permissible.
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.
Make sure that the cooling system has enough
fluid .
Tire pressure
When towing a trailer, inflate the tires of your
vehicle to the cold tire pressure listed under
"Full 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' specifications .
Lights
The headlight settings should be checked with
the trailer 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 trailer to the hitch on the
ve
hicle. Leave enough slack in the chains to per
mit turning corners. When you install safety
Ill-
•
•
24 2 Trailer towing
chains, make sure they wi ll not drag on the
road when you are driving .
The cha ins shou ld cross under the tra ile r
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
0 Note
If you are going to tow a tra ile r, you must
activa te the trailer operation mode
~ page 159, Towing a trailer.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
cor e and consid eration.
To obta in the best poss ible handling of vehicle
and tra ile r, p le ase no te the following:
.. Do not tow a loaded tra iler when your car it
self is not loaded.
.,. Be especia lly careful when pass ing othe r
vehicles .
.. Observe speed limits.
.. Do not driv e at the maximum p ermissible
speed.
.. Always apply brakes early.
.. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight di stributio n
Towing a loaded trai ler with an empty ca r re
sults in a high ly unstable distribution of
weight . If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
l ow speeds only to avoid the risk of los ing
steering control.
A "balanced" rig is eas ier 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
b le under the circumstances. Whenever possi
b le, transfer some cargo to the luggage com
pa rtment of the tow veh icle 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 permiss ible speed . Re- duce your speed even more i
f load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable - particularly
when going downhill.
Red uce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing.
Do not
t ry to stop the swa ying by acceleratin g.
Observe speed limits. In some a reas, speeds
f or vehicles tow ing tra ile rs are lower than for
r egular vehicles.
Always apply brakes early. When driving down hill, shift into a lowe r gear to use the en
gine braking effect to s low the vehicle . U se o f
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
T he coo lant tempe ratu re gauge ~ page 10
must be observed caref ully. If the need le
moves close to the upper end of the scale, re
duce speed immediately and/or turn off the
air conditioner.
If the coolant temperature warn ing light in
the instr ume nt cluster starts flashing., pull
off the road , stop and let the engine
idle for
about two min utes to prevent heat build -up .
A WARNING "--
Anyone not proper ly 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
p rov ided by A udi .
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle handles d ifferently when towing
-
a trai ler because of the additional weight and
different weight distr ibut ion. Safety, perform
ance and economy will great ly depend on how
ca refully you load your tra iler and operate
yo ur rig .
Before you act ua lly tow your tra iler, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep pract ic ing unt il you
Vehicl e ca re a nd cl eanin g 245
A WARNING
-Only wash the vehicle when the ignition
is off and follow the instructions from
the car wash operator to reduce the risk of accidents .
- To reduce the r isk of cuts, protect your
self from sharp metal components when
wash ing the underbody or the inside of
t he wheel housings.
- After washing the vehicle, the braking ef
fec t may be delayed due to mo isture on
the brake rotors or ice in the winter. The
brakes must be dried first with a few
careful brake applications.
Q) Note
- If you wash t he vehicle in an automatic
car wash, yo u must fold the exterior m ir
rors in to reduce the r is k of damage to
the mirrors. Power folding exterior mir
rors* must only be folded in and out us
ing the power folding function.
- Compare the track of your vehicle with
the distance between the guide rails of
the facility -there is a risk of damage to
the wheels and tires .
- Compare the height and width of your
vehicle with the he ight and width of the
tunnel at the fac ility. -
To prevent paint damage, do not wash
the vehicle in direct sunlight.
- T o reduce the r isk o f damage to the sur
face, do not use insect removing spong
es, kitchen sponges or similar items.
- Matte finish painted vehicle compo nents:
- To reduce the risk of damage to the
surface, do not use polishing agents or
ha rd wax .
- Never use car wash cycles that apply protective wax.
It can destroy the
matte fin ish effect .
- Do not place any stickers or magnet ic
signs on vehicle parts painted w ith
matte fin ish paint. The paint cou ld be
damaged when the stickers o r magnets
a re removed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Only wash the ve hicl e in facilities spec ially
designed for that purpose . This will red uce
the r is k of dirty water contam inated with
oil from entering the sewer system.
Cleaning and care information
When clean ing and caring for individual vehi
cle components, refer to the follow ing tables.
The information contained there is s imply rec
ommendations . For quest ions or for compo- nents that are not listed, refer to an author
ized Audi dealer or a qualified workshop. Also
follow the information found in c> ,& .
Cle aning e xterio r
Component Situation Solution
Wip er blades
Dirty c> page 66, Cleaning windshield wiper blades
Headlights / Dirty Soft sponge with a mild soap so lution a>
t a il lights
S en sor s/
Dirty Sensors: soft cloth w ith a so lvent-free cleaning product
camera len ses Camera lenses: soft cloth with an alcohol-free cleaning
so lution
Snow/ice Hand brush/solvent-free de -icing spray
•
•
Checking and fillin g 259
Engine compartment
These are the most important items that you can check .
Fig. 2 41 Typ ical layout for conta iners, e ngin e oi l dipst ick and engine oi l fille r cap
(D Windshield/headlight washer
t .
(~) con ainer ,.,., ....... ... .. .. .
@ Coolant expansion tank (-L) .. .
®
@
®
®
(f)
Eng ine oi l filler cap ("1:::r.) ..... •
Engine oi l dipstick .. .... .... .
Brake fluid reservo ir
(0)) ..... .
Power stee ring reservoir ... .. .
Jump start connector(+) under 272
265
263
262
267
228
a cover, (-) with hex head screw 270, 307
The pos ition of the engine o il filling hole and
the eng ine oil dipstick¢
fig. 241 (position @
and @) can
vary according to the type of en
g ine.
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARN INGS ¢.&.
in Working in the engine
compartment on page 257.
Engine oil
Engine oil specifications
The engine in your Audi needs the right kind
of oil.
The engine in your Audi is a sophisticated
powerplant that was built to exacting spec ifi
cations . Th is eng ine needs the right k ind of
engine oil that meets specifications regardi ng
quality and viscosity so that it can run
smooth ly and reliab ly. Choosing the right o il
and changing oil within the time and mileage
intervals printed in your vehicle's Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet matters a lot more to
day than it did years ago . Audi has deve loped
a spec ia l quality standard for engine oil that
will help assure that your vehicle's engine w ill
get the lubrication it needs for proper opera
tion.
Modern engine lubrication has taken a quan
tum leap in the last few years. Many synthetic
IIJ>,
-Antifreeze is poisonous . Always store an
t ifreeze in its or iginal container and well
out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con
tainer clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant pollutes the environment and
could cause an engine fire. Excess coo l
ant will be forced out through the pres
sure re lief va lve in the cap when the en
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze ¢
page 264 must be re
stored as soon as possib le.
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be reused. Al
ways dispose of used coolant while observ ing all environmental regulations .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself
The radiator fan is driven by the engine via the
V-belt . The viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan accord ing to the temperature of the
coolant .
An auxiliary electric radiator fan* switches on
and off depending on coolant temperature
and other vehicle operating conditions .
After you switch the engine off, the auxilia ry
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself¢& , if
- the temperature of the engine coolant rises due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartment, or
- the engine compartment hea ts up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight .
Checking and fillin g 267
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of personal injury nev
er touch the rad iator fan.
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can switch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running .
- The auxiliary radiator fan switches on au
tomatically when the engine coolant reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coo lant temper
ature drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brak e fluid lev el can be check ed with a
quick glance.
N
N
-N ,.
:8
Fi g. 246 En gin e compa rtm en t: cover o n the bra ke fluid
reservoir
Before you check anything in the eng ine com
partment ,
always read and heed all WARN
INGS ¢ A in Working in the engine compart
ment on page 257.
.,. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir ¢
fig. 246, ¢ page 259,
fig. 241.
The brake fluid level must be be
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings .
The brake fluid reservoir is located at the rear
partition of the eng ine compartment on the
left side ¢
page 259.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the
brake pads. This is not cause for alarm. ..,_
268 Check ing and filling
If the brake fluid level falls considerably be
low the "MIN" mark, the brake warning/indi
cator light (U .S . mode ls:
1111 , Canadian
models: .) will come on
<::> page 19 and
<::> page 32. Do not continue to operate the ve
h icle . The complete brake system should be
thoroughly checked by an authorized Aud i
dea ler or qualified workshop and the cause
corrected. If the brake fluid level is too low,
the brake warning/indicator light will illum i
nate . Contact an authorized Aud i dealer
im
m ediatel y.
@ Tips
The brake fluid rese rvoir is located unde r
neath the cove r.
Changing brake fluid
Hove the broke fluid changed by on experi
enced technician.
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
h igh , corrosion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime. The bo iling po int of the
brake fluid wi ll also decrease considerably and
decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
e ver y tw o year s. Always use new b rake fluid
which conforms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS 1 16 DO T 4".
The brake flu id reservo ir can be difficult to
reach, therefore, we recommend that yo u
have the brake f luid changed by you r author
ized
Audi dea ler. Your dea ler has the correct
too ls, the right brake fluid and the know -how
to do this for you.
A WARNING
- Brake fluid is poisonous . It must be stor
ed only i n the closed orig inal container
o ut of the reach of children!
- Brake fa ilure can result from old or inap
propriate b rake fluid. Observe these pre
caut ions: -
Use only brake fluid that meets SAE
specification
J 1703 and conforms to
Federa l Motor Vehicle Standard 116.
Always check with your authorized Audi
dealer to make sure you are using the
correct brake fluid . The correct type of
brake f lu id is also ind icated on the
brake flu id reservoir.
- T he brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the bra kes ca n cau se a vapo r lock if
the b rake fluid is left in the system too
l ong . This can seriously affect the effi
c iency of the brakes as well as your
safety. This co uld resu lt in an accident.
(D Note
Bra ke fluid will damage the paint of you r
vehicle .
(® For the sake of the environment
Because of the p rob lem of p roper disposal
of b ra ke fluid as well as the spec ial too ls
r equired and the necessary expertise, we
re commend that yo u have the brake fluid
changed by yo ur authorized Aud i dea ler.
Battery
General information
U nder normal ope rat ing cond itions, the bat
tery in yo ur Audi does not need any ma inte
nance. With
high o utside tempe ra tur es or
l ong dai ly drives we recommend that you have
the e lectrolyte level checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop. The elec
trolyte level should also be checked each time
the battery is charged
<::> page 2 70.
Have the battery checked when yo u take your
vehicle in for service. You are well advised to replace a battery that is o lder than 5 years .
With certain types of airbag deployment, the batte ry is disconnected from the veh icle elec
trical system for safety reasons¢.&
in Re
pair , core and disposal of the airbags on
page 197.
~
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 fa ilure, pull the
car well away from moving traffic and try to
reach
level gro und before you stop¢.&_ .
.. All passengers should
leav e the car and
move to a safe location (fo r instan ce, be hind
the guardra il) ¢.&_ .
.,. Engage the
parkin g brake to prevent your
vehicle from ro lling unintentionally ¢.&_ .
.. Move
selecto r le ver to p osition P ¢ .&_ .
1> Ifyou are towing a trai ler: unhitch the trail
er from your veh icle.
.,. Block the diagonally opposite wheel with
the folding chocks or other objects .
.. Take the
jack and the inflatab le spare tire
out of the luggage compartment
¢ page 294.
& WARNING
You or your passengers cou ld be injured
while changing a whee l if yo u do not fol
low these safety precautions:
- If you have a flat t ire, move a safe dis
tance off the road . Turn off the eng ine,
t ur n the emergency flashers o n 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 he lp prevent the veh icle from mov ing
sudden ly and possibly slipping off the
jack, always fully set the parking b rake
and block the whee l diagonally opposite
the wheel being cha nged with the fo ld
ing chocks or othe r objects. When one
front whee l is lifted off the g ro und, plac
ing the A utomat ic Transm iss ion in P
(Park) wi ll
not prevent the vehicle from
moving .
-
What do I do now? 297
-Before you change a whee l, 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 com
partment
<=:>page 170 .
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel , follow these
quence described below step-by-step and in
exactly that order.
1. Activate the vehicle jack mode (only
vehicles with Adaptive Air S uspension)
¢ page 159 .
2. Remove the decorati ve wheel co ver* . For
more details see also <=:>
page 298, Deco
rative wheel covers
or <=:> page 298,
Wheels with wheel bolt caps .
3. Loosen the wheel bolt s¢ page 298 .
4. Loca te the p roper mounting point for the
jack and align the jack be low that point
¢ page 299.
5. Lift the car with the jack Q page 299 .
6. Remove the wheel with the flat ti re and
then install the
inflatable spare tire
¢ page 300.
7. Tig hte n all wheel bolts lightly.
8 .
Lowe r the vehicle with the jack .
9. Use the wheel bolt w rench and
firmly
t ighten all wheel bolts¢ page 298 .
10. Replace the decora tive whe el co ver* .
11. Deactivate the vehicle jack mode (on ly
vehicles with Adaptive Air S uspension)
¢ page 159 .
A WARNING
Always read and follow all WARNINGS and
informat ion<=:>
& in Raising the vehicle on
page 300
and <=:> page 301.
•
•
308 Emergen cy si tuation s
@ Tips
- The discharged battery must be properly
connected to the vehicle's electrical sys
tem. When jump starting or charging the
battery, never connect the negative
ground cable to the battery negative post because the battery manager sys
tem must be ab le to detect the battery 's
state of cha rge. A lways connect the neg
at ive g round c able to the neg ative
ground post o f the battery manager co n
trol uni t.
Use of jumper cables
Make sure to connect the jumper coble
clomps in exactly the order described below!
Fig. 271 Eng ine compartme nt: Co nnecto rs fo r jumper
cab les and c harger
®
Fi g. 272 Jump starting with the battery of another ve
hicle: A - booste r battery, B - discha rged vehicle battery
The procedure described below for connecting
jumper cables is intended to provide a jump
start for your veh icle.
Vehicle with discharged b attery :
.. Turn
off lights and accessories, move lever
of automatic transmission to N (Neutral) or
P (Park) and set parking brake. Connect POSITIVE(+) to POSITIVE(+
)
(red )
.. Open the red cover on the positive pole
¢fig. 271.
1. Connect one end of the red positive cable
on the
jump start bolt c::;, fig. 2 72 @
(Bolts under red cover = "positive") of the
vehicle to be started @.
2. Connect th e othe r end to the positive ter-
mi na l@ of the booster batte ry @ .
Connect NEGATIVE (-) to NEGATIVE (-)
(black )
3. Connect one end of the b lack negative ca
ble to the negat ive termi na l@ of the
booster ba ttery @.
4 . Connect the othe r end of the black nega
tive cab le to the
jump start bolt@ (Bolts
with hex head= "negative") of the vehicle
to be started @.
Sta rting the engine
.. Start t he engine o f the veh icle w ith the
booste r ba ttery @. Run the engine at a
moderate speed .
.. Start engine with discharged vehicle battery
@ in the usual manner.
.. If the engine fails to start: do not keep the
starter crank ing for lo nger than 10 seconds.
Wait for about 30 seconds an d the n try
again.
"" With engine running, remove j umpe r cab les
from both vehicles in the exact
reverse o r·
de r .
.. Close the red cover on the positive pole .
T he battery is vente d to the outside to p reven t
gases from entering the veh icle inter ior. M ake
s u re that the j umper clamps are well connec t
ed with their
metal ports in full contact with
the battery term inals.
A WARNING
-
To avoid serious persona l injury and dam-
age to the veh icle, h eed all warnings and
i nstructions of the jumper cable ma nufac-
turer. If in doubt , call for road service. ,..