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 201
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 20 2.
Engine cooling system
Towing 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 . .,..
•
•
202 Trailer towing
Tire pressure
When towing a trailer, inflate the tires 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 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
chains, make sure they will not drag on the road when you are driving.
The 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
care and consideration.
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle
and trailer, please note the following:
.,. Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car it
self is not loaded.
.,. Be especially 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 trailer with an empty car re
sults in a highly 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 permissi
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 while 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 -particularly
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 vehicles towing trailers are lower than for
regular vehicles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving downhill, 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 instrument cluster starts flashing, pull
off the road, stop and let the engine
idle for
about two minutes to prevent heat build-up .
_& 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
provided by Audi.
-
Vehicle care and cleaning 207
Component Situation Solution
Te xtile s,
Stains adhering to Vacuum cleaner
Vinyl, the surface
Alcantara Water-based stains Absorbent cloth and mild soap solutiona>
such as coffee, tea, blood, etc.
Oil-based stains Apply a mild soap solutiona>, blot away the d issolved oil
such as oil, make- or dye, treat afterward w ith water, if necessary
up, etc.
Special stains such Special stain remover, blot with absorbent material,
as ballpoint pen, treat afterward with mild soap solutiona>, if necessary
na il polish, latex
pa int, shoe polish,
etc.
Natural leather Fr es h stains Cotton cloth with a mild soap solutiona)
Water-based stains Fresh sta ins: absorbent cloth
such as coffee, tea, Dr ied stains: sta in remover suitable for leather
blood, etc.
Oil-based stains Fresh sta ins: absorbent cloth and stain remover suitable
such as oil, make- for leather
up, etc . dried sta ins: Oil cleaning spray
Special stains such Stain remover suitable for leather
as ballpo int pen,
na il polish, latex
pa int, shoe polish,
etc .
Care Regularly
apply conditioning cream that protects from
light and penetrates into the material. Use specially-col-
ored conditioning cream, if necessary.
Carbon parts Dirty Clean the same way as plastic parts
al Mild soap solution: maximum two tablespoons neut ral soap in a liter of water
& WARNING
The windshie ld may not be treated with
water-repelling windshie ld coating agents .
Unfavorab le conditions such as wetness,
darkness, or low sun can result in in
creased glare. W iper blade chatter is also
possible.
- Headlights/tail lights
- Never clean headlights or tail lights
w ith a dry cloth or sponge. -
Do not use any cleaning product that
contains alcohol, because they could
cause cracks to form .
-Wheels
-Never use any paint polish or other
abrasive mater ials.
- Damage to the protective layer on the
rims such as stone chips or scratches
must be repaired immediately.
- Sensors/camera lenses
- Never use warm or hot water to re-
move snow or ice from the camera
len s. This could cause the lens to crack .
IJII>
•
•
218 Checking and filling
temperatures stay below freezing point for long periods.
Detergent additives in the oil w il l make fresh
oil look dark after the eng ine has been run
ning for a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oi l more often than
recommended.
Damage or malfun ctions due to lack of
maintenance
It is essential that you change your oil at the
recommended intervals using only engine o il
that complies with Audi oi l standard
VW 502 00. Your Limited New Vehicle War
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
due to fail ure to fo llow recommended mainte
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet . Your dealer will have to
deny warranty coverage unless you present to
the dea ler proof in the form of Service or Re
pa ir Orders that all scheduled ma intenance
was performed in a timely manner.
Eng ine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving parts.
In order to provide effective lubrication and
cool ing of internal engine components, all in
ternal combustion eng ines consume a certain
amount of oil. O il consumption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the engine. Typically, engines
with a specif ied break-in period (see
¢
page 195) consume more oil during the
break-in period than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized.
Under normal conditions, the rate of oil con
sumption depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road condit ions . Further fac
tors are the amount of oil d ilution from water
condensat ion or fuel residue and the oxida
tion level of the oil. As any engine is subject to wear as mi
leage builds up, the oil consump
tion may increase over time until replacement
of worn components may become necessary.
With all these variab les coming into play, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es
tablished or specified. There is no alternative
to regu lar and frequent check ing of the o il lev
el, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
Ill in the instrument cluster lights up, you
shou ld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
¢
page 219. Top off the oil at your earliest
convenience ¢
page 219.
A WARNING '"---
Before you check anythi ng in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢
A in Working in the engine
compartment on page 214.
(D Note
Driving w ith an insufficient o il level is like
ly to cause severe damage to the engine .
(D Tips
-The oil pressure warning display. is
not an indicator of the oil level. Do not
rely on it. Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at regular intervals, pref erably each time you refuel, and always
before going on a long trip.
- If you have the impression your engine
consumes excessive amounts of oil, we
recommend that you consult an author
ized Audi dealer to have the cause of
your concern properly diagnosed. Keep in
m ind that the accurate measurement of
oil consumption requ ires great care and
may take some time. An authorized Aud i
dea ler has instructions about how to
measure oil consumption accurately.
-
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the pr oblem of proper d isposa l
of brake flu id as we ll as the special tools
requ ired and the necessary expert ise, we
recommend that you have the brake fluid
changed by your author ized Audi dealer .
Battery
General information
Under normal operating conditions, the bat
tery in your Audi does not need any mainte
nance. With
high outside temperatures or
long daily dr ives we recommend that you have
the electro lyte level checked by an authorized
Aud i dealer or qualified workshop . The elec
trolyte leve l should also be checked each time
the battery is charged ¢
page 22 7.
H ave the battery checked when you take your
ve hicle in for service . Yo u are well adv ised to
replace a battery that is older than 5 yea rs .
W ith certa in types of a irbag deployment, t he
b attery is d isconnected from the vehicle elec
tr ica l system for safety reasons¢.&.
in Re
pair, care and disposal of the airbags on
page 159.
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some vehicle functions (power w indow regu
lators , for example) are lost if the battery ter
m inals a re d isconnected. These func tions have
to be re lea rned after the batte ry term inals a re
connected agai n. T o prevent this , the bat tery
should only be d isconnec ted from the vehicle
e lec tric al system when absolu tely necessa ry
for repairs .
Vehicles not driven for long periods
If you do not drive you r vehicle over a period
of severa l days or weeks, elec trical compo
nen ts are gr adually cut b ack o r swi tched off .
This redu ces energy cons umption and main
tains starting capab ility over a longer per io d
¢ page 193.
Some o f the conven ience f unctions m ay not
ope rate, su ch as the in ter ior lig hts or t he
Checkin g and fillin g 225
power seat adjus tment. The convenience
funct io ns w ill be available again when yo u
turn o n the ign ition and start the engine.
Winter operation
D ur ing the w inte r mon ths, bat tery capa city
tends to dec rease as tempera tures drop . This
is beca use more power is a lso consumed wh ile
starting, and the headlights, rear window de
fogge r, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary powe r consumpt ion, pa r
ticular ly in city traffic or when traveling only
sho rt distances. Let yo ur authorized A udi
dealer check the capacity of the vehicle bat
tery before w inter sets in
¢ page 227. A well
charged battery will no t on ly prevent star tin g
problems w hen the weather is cold, but w ill
also last longer .
@ Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for seve ral
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery s hou ld be removed and
stored where it will not freeze . This will
p revent it from be ing damaged and having
to be repla ced .
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the bat tery.
The battery is located in the luggage compar t
ment under the floor . B efo re you che ck any
thi ng in the luggage compartment,
read and
heed all WARNINGS
¢ ,&. .
Always heed the safety warnings , when work
i ng on the veh icle batte ry or t he vehicle e lec
t rical sys tem to p reven t inju ry.
The following WARNINGS are very
important when working on the battery:
Always heed the following WARNING SYM· BO LS and safety precautions when working
on the battery .
®
Always wear eye protection.
•
•
226 Check ing and filling
&
Batter y acid contain s sulfuric acid . Al ·
wa ys wear glo ves and eye prote ction .
@
No
- spar ks
- flames
- smoking .
~
When a b attery i s ch arged , it p roduce s
h y d rogen ga s whi ch i s ex plosi ve and
c ould cau se per sonal inju ry.
®
Alwa ys keep the battery well out of
r ea ch of children .
A WARNING
Whenever working on the battery or on
the electrical system, there is the risk of
injury , acc ident and even fire. Read and
heed the following WARNINGS:
-Always wear eye protection. Do not let battery acid or any lead part icles get on
your sk in or cloth ing . Sh ield your eyes .
Explosive gases can cause blindness or
other injury .
- Battery acid contains sulfur ic acid . Sulfu
ric acid can cause blindness and severe
burns.
- Always wear gloves and eye protection.
Do not tilt the battery because ac id
could leak out of the vent ilation open
ings.
- If you get battery acid in yo ur eyes or
on your sk in, immediately rinse with
cold water for severa l minutes and get
medical attention .
- If you should ingest any battery acid,
seek medical attention immediately.
- Do not expose the battery to an open
flame, electric sparks or an open light.
- Do not smoke.
- Do not interchange the positive and neg -
ative cab les.
- When working on the battery, be sure
not to short-circuit the terminals with
tools or other metal objects. This would
cause the battery to heat up very quickly,
wh ich could lead to damage or explosion
and personal in jury.
-
- When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal injury.
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children.
- Before work is done on the electrical sys
tem, disconnect the negat ive ground ca
ble.
- Before performing any work on the e lec
trica l system, switch off the engine and
ignit ion as well as any electrical equip
ment. The negative cable on the battery
m ust be disconnected .
If you are just go
ing to replace a light bulb, then it is
e nough to swi tc h off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other
wise you wi ll set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, f irst
d isconnect the negat ive cab le and then
the posit ive c ab le.
- Before reconnecting the batte ry, ma ke
sure all e lectr ica l consumers are sw itch
ed off . Re conne ct the pos it ive cab le first
and then the negative cable. Never inter
change the cables - this could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out
battery. It could exp lode! If a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced . A dis
charged battery can freeze over at 32°F
(QOC).
- Make sure the vent hose is always attach
ed to the opening on the s ide of the bat
tery.
- Never use batteries which are damaged.
There is the danger of an explosion! Al
ways rep lace a damaged battery.
A WARNING
Ca lifornia Proposition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac
cessories conta in lead and lead com
pounds, chem icals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and reproduc
tive problems . Wash hands after han-
dling.
~
264 Fuses and bulbs
No. Consumer
5 Electromechanical parking
brake
6 Electronic damping control
7
Electromechanical parking
brake
8 Rear exterior lighting
9 quattro sport
10 Rear exterior lighting
11 Central locking
12 Terminal
30
Fuse panel © (brown)
No. Consumer
1 Luggage compartment lid
contro l module (allroad)
2 12-volt
socket, cigarette
lighter
3 DCDC converter path 1
4 DCDC
converter path 2,
so und amp lifier, radio
6
Right upper cab in heat ing
(Cabr iolet)
7
Electromechanical parking
brake
Right front door (w indow
9 regu lator, central locking,
mirror, switch, lighting)
1 0 Left upper cabin
heating
(Cabr iolet)
T wo -door models : rear right
window regu lator; Four-
11 door models: rear
right door
(window regulator, central
locking, sw itch, lighting)
12 Cell phone prep
Fuse panel © (black)
No. Consumer
1 Right front seat heating
4
MMI
5 Radio
6 Rear view camera
Amps
5
15
30
30
35
30
20 5
Amps
30
20
40
30
30
30
30
30
30
5
Amps
15
7,5
5
5
No . Consumer Amps
7 Rear window heater (all-
30
road)
8 Rear Seat Entertainment s
Bulbs
Replacing bulbs
For your safety, we recommend that you hove
your authorized Audi dealer replace any bulbs
for you.
It is becoming increasingly more and more
difficult to replace vehicle light bulbs since in
many cases, other parts of the car must first
be removed before you are able to get to the
bulb. This applies especially to the light bulbs
in the front of your car which you can only
reach through the engine compartment .
Sheet metal and bulb holders can have sharp
edges that can cause serious cuts, parts must
be correctly taken apart and then properly put
back together to help prevent breakage of
parts and long term damage from water that
can enter housings that have not been p roper
l y resea led.
For your safety, we recommend that you have
you r authorized Aud i dea ler replace any bulbs
for you, since yo ur dealer has the proper tools,
the correct bulbs and the expertise .
Gas discharge lamps (Xenon lights)*:
Due to the high electr ical voltage, have the
bulbs replaced by a qualif ied technician .
Headlights wit h Xenon light are identified by
the high voltage sticker .
_&. WARNING
Changing Xenon lamps witho ut the neces
sa ry equipment can cause serious personal
injury.
- Bulbs are pressurized and can explode
when being changed. Potential risk of in
jury!
-
@ Tips
The discharged battery must be properly
connected to the vehicle's electrical sys
tem. When jump starting or charg ing the
battery, never connect the negative
ground cable to the battery negat ive post
because the ba ttery manager system must
be ab le to detect the battery's state of
charge. Always connect the negative
g round cab le to the negative ground pos t
of t he battery manager cont ro l unit.
Use of jumper cables
Make sure to connect the jumper coble
clomps in exactly the order described b elow!
Fi g. 21 1 Eng ine co mpar tment: Co nnecto rs fo r jum per
c ab les a nd c har ge r
F ig. 212 Jump start in g w ith t he ba ttery of a not her ve ·
hi cle :@ booster battery, @ disc harged veh icle battery
The procedure described below for connecting
jumper cables is intended to provide a jump
start for your veh icle .
Vehicle with di scharged battery :
~Turnoff lights and accessories , move lever
of automatic transmission to N (Neutral) or P (Park) and set parking brake .
Emergency situ ation s 267
Connect POSITIVE(+) to POSITIVE(+ )
(red )
~ Remove the cover above the jump start con
nection .
~ Open the cover on the positive pole
¢fig . 211 .
1. Connect one end of the red positive cable
on the
jump sta rt bolt c::;, fig. 212 (D
(Bolts under cove r= "posit ive ") of the ve
hicle to be started @.
2 . Conne ct the othe r end to the pos itive ter -
mina l@ of the booster battery @.
Connect NEGATIVE (-) to NEGATIVE (-)
(black )
3. Co nnect one end o f the b lack neg ative c a
ble to the nega tive te rmi na l@ of the
booster battery @.
4 . Connect the other end to the
jump start
bolt @
(Bolts with hex head = "negative")
of the vehicle to be started @.
Starting the engine
~ Start the engine of the ve hicle with the
booste r batte ry @ . Run the engine at a
moderate speed.
~ Start engine with d ischarged vehicle battery
® in the usual manner .
~ If the engine fails to start: do not keep t he
s tarter cran king for lo nger than 10 seconds .
Wait for about 30 seco nds and the n try
aga in.
~ W ith engi ne runni ng, remove jumpe r cab les
from both vehicles in the exa ct
reverse o r
der .
~ Close the cover on the positive pole .
T he b attery is vented to the o utside to p reven t
gases from en tering the veh icle in ter ior . Ma ke
s ur e that the j umper clamps a re well connect
ed with their
metal ports in full contact with
the batte ry term inals.
A WARNING
To avoid serious personal injury and dam
age to the vehicle, heed all warnings and
in structions of the jumper cable ma nufac-
turer . If i n dou bt, call for road servic e.
Ill>