
345
If and when
● Vehicles with an automatic gearbox.
● Vehicles with an electronic parking brake, given that it is possible that
the brake will not be disengaged.
● If the vehicle battery is flat, it is possible that the engine control units do
not operate correctly.
However, if your vehicle must absolutely be tow-started (manual gearbox):
● Engage the 2nd or 3rd gear.
● Keep the clutch pressed down.
● Switch on the ignition and the hazard warning lights.
● Release the clutch when both vehicles are moving.
● As soon as the engine starts, press the clutch and move the gear lever
into neutral. This helps to prevent a collision with the towing vehicle.
CAUTION
When tow-starting, fuel could enter the catalytic converter and damage it. 
Towing instructions
Tow rope or tow bar
When towing, the tow bar is the safest and vehicle friendly way. You should
only use a tow rope if you do not have a tow bar.
A tow rope should be slightly elastic to avoid damage to both vehicles. It is
advisable to use a tow rope made of synthetic fibre or similarly elastic mate-
rial.
Only secure the tow rope or tow bar to the towline anchorage or specially
designed fitting.
Vehicles with a  factory fitted towing device , can only be used for towing
with a tow bar, specially designed to fit on a tow hitch ball  ⇒ page 237.Towing vehicles with an automatic gearbox
Note the following for a towed vehicle:
●
Make sure the gear selector lever is in the  N position.
● Do not drive faster than 50 km/h (30 mph).
● Do not tow further than 50 km (30 miles).
● If a breakdown truck is used, the vehicle must be towed with the front
wheels raised. Note the following instructions for towing four all-wheel drive
vehicles.
Instructions for towing all-wheel drive vehicles
All-wheel drive vehicles can be towed using a toolbar or tow rope. If the ve-
hicle is towed with the front or rear axle raised, the engine must be turned
off to avoid transmission damage.
For vehicles with a double clutched DSG ®
 (direct shift gearbox) the instruc-
tions for towing vehicles with an automatic gearbox apply  ⇒ page 345.
Situations in which the vehicle should not be towed
In the following cases, the vehicle should not be towed but transported on a
trailer or special vehicle:
● If the vehicle gearbox does not contain lubricant due to a fault.
● If the vehicle battery is flat and, as a result, the electronic steering lock
and electronic parking brake cannot be disengaged if applied.
● If the vehicle to be towed has an automatic gearbox and the distance to
be covered is greater than 50 km (30 miles).
Note
The vehicle can only be towed if the electronic parking brake and steering
lock are deactivated. If the vehicle has no power supply or there is an elec-
tric system fault, the engine must be started using jump leads to deactivate
the electronic parking brake and electronic steering lock. 
Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications   

Sliding doors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Childproof lock  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Opening and closing electrically  . . . . . . . . . 82
Snow chains  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305, 351 All-wheel drive  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Spanner symbol  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Spare fuel canister  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Spare parts  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Special features Automatic car wash  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Folding exterior mirrors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
High pressure cleaning equipment . . . . . . 248
Parking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185, 189, 359
Pushing  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Radio reception  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Washing the vehicle  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Windscreen wipers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Special notes High-pressure cleaning system  . . . . . . . . . 239
Long parking times  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Towing  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344, 345
Tow starting  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Specifications Combined weight  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Drawbar load  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Trailer weight  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Specific notes Electric sliding doors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Spectacle case  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Speed rating  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Stabilising the vehicle and trailer combina- tion  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 Start-Stop function
Driving with a trailer  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Start-Stop Function  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Start assist See "Start assist systems"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Starting assistance  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341 Description  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Jump leads  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Positive pole on the starting assistancepoints  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Starting using an external battery See Starting assistance  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Steering Control lamp  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Counter steering assistance system  . . . . . 170
Electromechanical  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Power steering  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Steering column lock  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Tendency to pull to one side  . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Warning lamp  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Steering wheel Adjustment  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Rocker switches (Tiptronic)  . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Storage compartment on the roof console  . . . 144
Storage compartments  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Glove compartment lighting  . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Sudden braking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Sun blind  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Anti-trap function  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Closing  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Opening  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Sun blinds Rear side windows  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Sun visor  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Symbols
See "Lamps"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
System Automatic dipped beam control  . . . . . . . . . 99
Systems ABS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Adaptive headlights  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Anti-lock brake system (ABS)  . . . . . . . . . . 191
ASR  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192, 193
Auto Hold  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
BAS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Brake assist system (BAS)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Braking assist  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Cruise control  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
EDL and XDS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Electronic differential lock system (EDL andXDS)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)  . . . . . . . 191
ESC  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Lane Assist  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Lane Assist system  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Launch-Control Programme  . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Optical parking system  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Park Assist  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Park Assist system  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Parking aid  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Parking sensor system  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Rear Assist  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Rear assist system  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Sign Assist  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Start-Stop  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Start assist  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
373
Index