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If and when
● Screw in the towline anchorage into its position anticlockwise as far as
it will go ⇒
. Use a suitable tool to firmly tighten the towline anchorage in
its location.
● After towing, remove the towline anchorage by turning it clockwise and
put the cover back in place.
CAUTION
● The towline anchorage must always be completely and firmly tightened.
Otherwise, it could be released while towing and tow-starting.
● Vehicles with a factory fitted towing bracket, can only be used for towing
with a tow bar, specially designed to fit on a tow hitch ball. Otherwise, the
tow hitch ball and the vehicle may be damaged. Otherwise, a tow rope
should be used.
Towing advice
Towing requires some experience, especially when using a tow rope. Both
drivers should be familiar with the technique required for towing. For this
reason, inexperienced drivers should abstain.
While driving, avoid excessive traction forces and jerking. When towing on
an unpaved road, there is always a risk of overloading and damaging the
anchorage points.
If the vehicle is towed, with the hazard warning lights on and the ignition
switched on, the turn signal may be used to indicate changes of direction.
Simply operate the turn signal lever as usual. Meanwhile, the hazard warn-
ing lights will go off. When the turn signal lever is returned to the rest posi-
tion, the hazard warning lights will be turned on automatically. Notes for the driver of the towed vehicle
●
Leave the ignition on to avoid locking the steering wheel, to release the
electronic parking brake and to activate the turn signals, the horn as well as
the window wipers and window washers.
● As the power assisted steering does not work if the engine is not run-
ning, you will need more strength to steer than normally.
● The brake must be depressed must harder as the brake servo does not
operate. Avoid hitting the towing vehicle.
● Note the instructions and information contained in the Instruction Man-
ual for the vehicle to be towed.
Notes for the driver of the towing vehicle
● Accelerate gently and carefully. Avoid sudden manoeuvres.
● Brake well in advance than usual and brake gently.
● Note the instructions and information contained in the Instruction Man-
ual for the vehicle to be towed.
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351
Description of specifications
Towing a trailer Trailer weights
Trailer weight
The trailer weights and drawbar loads approved are selected in intensive tri-
als according to precisely defined criteria. The approved trailer weights are
valid for vehicles in the UE for maximum speeds of 80 km/h (50 mph) (in
certain circumstances up to 100 km/h (62 mph)). The figures may be differ-
ent in other countries. All data in the official vehicle documentation takes
precedence over these data at all times ⇒
.
Drawbar loads
The maximum permitted drawbar load on the ball joint of the towing bracket
must not exceed 100 kg.
In the interest of road safety, we recommend that you always tow approach-
ing the maximum drawbar load. The response of the trailer on the road will
be poor if the drawbar load is too small.
If the maximum permissible drawbar load cannot be met (e.g. with small,
empty and light-weight single axle trailers or tandem axle trailers with a
wheelbase of less than 1 metre), a minimum of 4% of the actual trailer
weight is legally required for the drawbar load.
WARNING
● For safety reasons, you should not drive at speeds above 80 km/h (50
mph) when towing a trailer. This also applies to countries where higher
speeds are permitted.
● Never exceed the maximum trailer weights or the drawbar load. If the
permissible axle load or the permissible total weight is exceeded, the
driving characteristics of the vehicle may change, leading to accidents,
injuries and damage to the vehicle.
Wheels
Tyre pressure, snow chains, wheel bolts
Tyre pressures
The sticker with the tyre pressure values can be found on the inside of the
fuel tank flap. The tyre pressure values given there are for cold tyres. The
slightly raised pressures of warm tyres must not be reduced. ⇒
Snow chains
Snow chains may be fitted only to the front wheels.
Consult the section “wheels” of this manual.
Wheel bolts
After the wheels have been changed, the tightening torque of the wheel
bolts should be checked as soon as possible with a torque wrench ⇒
.
The tightening torque for steel and alloy wheels is 140 Nm.
WARNING
● Check the tyre pressure at least once per month. Checking the tyre
pressure is very important. If the tyre pressure is too high or too low,
there is an increased danger of accidents, particularly at high speeds.
● If the tightening torque of the wheel bolts is too low, they could loos-
en while the vehicle is in motion. Risk of accident! If the tightening tor-
que is too high, the wheel bolts and threads can be damaged.
Note
We recommend that you ask your Technical Service for information about
appropriate wheel, tyre and snow chain size.
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359
Technical specifications
Dimensions
Length / Width (mm)4,854/1,904Height at kerb weight (mm)1,720Wheelbase (mm)2,919Turning circle diameter (m)11.9
Front/rear a)
track width (mm)1,557 / 1,569
1,605 / 1,617
a) This data will change depending on the type of wheel rim.
Capacities
CapacitiesFuel tank 70 litres. Reserve 8 litres.Windscreen washer fluid container /
with headlight washer 3.5 l/ 6 l
Tyre pressureSummer tyres:
Correct tyre pressure can be seen on the sticker on the inside of the tank
flap.
Winter typres:
The pressure of these tyres is 0.2 bar higher than that of summer tyres
(2.9 psi / 20 kPa).
CAUTION
● Special care should be taken when parking in areas with high kerbs or
fixed barriers. Objects protruding from the ground may damage the bumper
or other parts of the vehicle during manoeuvres.
● Special attention is required when driving through entrances, over
ramps, kerbs or other objects. The vehicle underbody, bumpers, mudguards
and running gear, and the engine and exhaust system could be damaged as
you drive over these objects.
Safety FirstOperating instructionsPractical TipsTechnical Specifications

Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Brake servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Electronic parking brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Emergency braking function . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Parking brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Brake assist systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Brake assist system (BAS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Brakes Brake assist systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Brake fluid level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Changing the brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Emergency brake indicator in case of sud-den braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Running-in brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Brake servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189, 191
Brake system Malfunction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Brake systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Braking assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Brake assist system (BAS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Breakdown Securing the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Bulb fault See changing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330 C
Card compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Care See "Care of your vehicle" . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Vehicle interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Care of your vehicle Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Caring for paintwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Carrier system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Malfunction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
CD changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142, 150
Central locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75, 78 Anti-theft alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Locking/unlocking the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . 77
Central locking system After airbag deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Opening doors individually . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Centre armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Changing Windscreen wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Changing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310 Changing a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Preparations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Raising the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Wheel bolts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Changing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330 Bodywork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Control lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330 Front bumper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Halogen headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Initial operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Number plate light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Rear lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Sea changing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Tail lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336, 337
Xenon headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Changing gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Automatic gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Engaging gears (manual gearbox) . . . . . . 179
Manual gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Manually unlocking the gear selector lever . .323
Selecting gears (automatic gearbox) . . . . 180
Warning and control lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Changing gears Gear recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Tiptronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Changing the battery of the vehicle key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Changing the wheel After changing the wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Checking Tyre pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Checking the oil level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Check list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Checklist Before working in the engine compart-ment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Changing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
In case of an emergency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
363
Index