2015 AUDI A4 towing

@ Tips
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Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects
certain difficult driv ing situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw) out of cont ro l and he lps you to get the vehicle
back under control by select ively b rak ing the
wheels, and/or red ucing engine powe r and
p roviding steering assistance to help hold the
ve hicle on the driver's intended course . The in­
dicator light
DJ in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations.
It is important to remem­
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
phys ics. It will not a lways be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
h elp you master situat ions where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of fr iction of
the road surface. When there is a sect io n of
d ry road that is s udden ly cove red with water,
slush o r snow, ESC canno t perform the same
way it would on the dry su rface.
If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a c ush ion of wate r in­
stead of the road surface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because con-
Int ellig ent technolog y 185
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast corner ing, particular ly on wind ing
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult dr iv ing s ituations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic and weather conditions . ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical lim its, in­
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a veh icle
o n the road if road departu re is a result of
driver ina ttent io n. Instead , ESC imp roves the
poss ibility of keep ing t he vehicle under con­
trol and on the road during extreme maneu­
vers by using the driver's steering i nputs to
help keep the vehicle go ing in the intended di­
rect ion. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC is switched on all the time. In certain sit­
uat ions when you need less traction, you can
switch off ASR by pressing the butto n
[ill
~ page 187, fig. 174 or~ page 187,
fig. 175. Be sure to sw itch ASR on aga in when
you no lo nger need less traction.
The following systems are integrated in the
ESC:
Anti-lock bra king sy stem (ABS )
ABS prevents the whee ls from locking up
when brak ing. T he vehicle can st ill be steered
even dur ing hard braking. App ly steady pres­
su re to the brake peda l. Do not pump the ped­
al. A pulsing in the brake pedal ind icates that
the system is helping you to brake the veh icle .
Brake assi st system
The brake ass ist system can decrease braking
distance. It increases brak ing power when the
drive r presses the brake peda l quickly in emer­
gency s ituations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal unti l the s ituation is over. In
vehicles wi th adap tive c rui se control*, the
brake assis t system is more sensitive if the
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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 199
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 200.
Engine cooling system
T owing 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 . .,..
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200 Trailer towing
Tire pressure
When towing a trai le r, inflate the tir es 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 dr iving off. Check
to make sure both vehicle and tra iler lights
are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure trailer safe ty cha ins are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
hicle. Leave eno ugh slack in the chains to per ­
mit turning corners. When you install safety
cha ins, make sure they w ill not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains shou ld cross under the trai ler
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 trai ler, p lease note the following:
.,. Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car it­
self is not loaded .
.,. Be especia lly 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 trai ler with an empty car re­
sults in a highly unstable distribution of
weight . If this cannot be avo ided, drive at very
low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steering control. A "ba
lanced" rig is easier to operate and con­
tro l. This means that the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and permissi­
ble, while keep ing the trai ler as light as possi­
ble under the c ircumstances. Whenever poss i­
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com ­
partment of the tow veh icle while obse rving
tongue load requi rements and vehicle load ing
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more d iff icu lt 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 -pa rticularly
whe n going downhill.
Reduce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing.
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits . In some areas, speeds
for vehicles tow ing tra ilers are lower than for
regular vehicles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving
downh ill, 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 •
i n the i nstrument cluster starts flashing, pull
off the road, stop and let the engine
idle for
abo ut 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 p roper ly wea ring the restraints
provided by Audi.
-

Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle hand les different ly when tow ing
a trailer because o f the addit ional weight and
d iffe ren t weight distribution . Safety, pe rform ­
ance and economy w ill greatly depend on how
caref ully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
B efore you actua lly tow your trailer, pr actice
turning, stopp ing and bac king up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you have become comp lete ly fam iliar with the way
your veh icle-trailer comb ination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is d ifficu lt a nd requires practice .
Backing up with a tra iler genera lly requires
steer ing action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a trailer.
M aintain a g reater distance betwee n your ve­
h icle and the one in front o f you . You will need
mo re room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you will need a larger than normal
turning radius .
W hen pass ing, remember that yo u cannot ac ­
celerate as fast as yo u normally wo uld be­
cause of the added load. Ma ke s ure you have
e nough room to pass . After passing , allow
p lenty o f room fo r your tra iler before chang­
in g la nes aga in .
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rap id lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a tra iler during the break-in
period of you r vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your A udi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load
o page 283.
Trailer towin g 201
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:
.. App ly the foot brake.
.. Have someone p lace chocks under both the
veh icle and the tra iler wheels .
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release t he
bra kes unt il t he whee l choc ks absorb the
load .
.. Tu rn the whee ls towards the curb.
.,. App ly the par king b rake .
.. Place an a utomatic transm ission* in P, re ­
spectively a manual transmission in first or
reverse gear.
When restarting after parking:
.,. App ly th e foot br ake .
.. Start t he en gine.
.. Move the selector lever to D/S , respect ively
a man ual transmiss ion in first gea r.
.. Release the parking bra ke and s low ly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks .
.. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks.
@ Tips
If you move the selector leve r of the auto­
matic transmissio n* to P before applying
the pa rking brake and before blocking the
whee ls, you may hav e to use mor e forc e
l ater to m ove the le ver out of the P posi­
tion.
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M N
~ co
rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
shown on the sticker
c=> page 234, fig. 189.
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. (1400-750
(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
to determine how this re­
duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle .
.,.Check the tire sidewall
{c:> page 248, fig. 193) to de­
termine the designated load
rating for a specific tire.
Tires and wheels 245
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends
on a lot of different things in­
cluding proper installation and
balancing, correct tire pressure
and driving style.
Fig. 191 Tire tread : tread wear indi­
cators (TWI)
Fig. 192 Rotating tires for more even
wear
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The original tires on your vehi­
cle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm)
high "wear indicators"
c=> fig. 191 running across the
tread. Depending on the make,
there will be six to eight of
them evenly placed around the
tire. Marks on the tire sidewall (for example "TWI" or other

260 What do I do now ?
What do I do now?
Vehicle tool kit
The tools ore stored underneath the floor
panel in the luggage comportment.
Fig. 195 Seda n Lu ggage compart ment : too l kit
Fig. 196 a llroa d Lu ggage compart men t: too l kit
When you need access to the vehicle tool kit
or jack* , you will need to take out the spare
tire and cover
Q page 260 .
Depending on your vehicle's equipment, the
tool kit may also be located under the cargo
floor cover @
Q fig. 196 behind the seat back­
rest .
The vehicle tool kit includes:
- Hook for removing wheel covers *
- Alignment pin for changing the wheel
- Screwdriver w ith reversible blade
- T ool for changing light bulbs
- Reversible bit (reversible Torx bit for chang- ing light b ulbs)
- Rod for jack
- Jack*
- Lug wrench
- Towing eye Some of the vehicle items listed above are
provided on certain mode
ls only or are option­
al extras.
Before ret urning the jack * to its p lace, re trac t
the jack arm f ully.
A WARNING
-
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten wheel bo lts, since the bolts can­
not attain the necessary tightening tor­
que if you use the hex head, potentially
causing an acc ident .
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on­
ly for your vehicle model. U nder no c ir­
cumstances should it be used to lift
heavy veh icles o r othe r loads; you risk in­
juring yo urself .
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, wh ich could cause an acc ident.
- Support the vehicle securely with appro ­
priate stands if work is to be performed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there
is a potentia l risk for injury.
Space-saving spare tire
(compact spare tire)
Appl ies to veh icles : w ith space -sav ing spare tire
The spore tire/wheel is located in the luggage
comportment under the cargo floor cover . It
is intended for shor t-term u se only.
F ig. 197 Spa re ti re
Removing the spar e ti re
., lift the cargo floor by the p lastic handle
Q fig. 197 .
., Hook the handle into the luggage compart­
ment wea ther strip.

262 What do I do now ?
• Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack *
and the replaced tire in the luggage com­
partment ¢
page 132.
Stowing the infl atable spare tir e
• Release the air by unscrew ing the va lve
stem.
• Screw the valve stem back in afterwards.
• Wait a few hours before p lacing the wheel in
the spare wheel well¢.&_ .
• Secure the wheel with the large screw.
• Fold the cargo floor back down.
Aft er usi ng th e inflat able sp are wh eel
The inflatable spare tire can be re-used as
long as it is not damaged and is not worn
down to the tread wear indicators¢&. .
When you let the air out of the inflatable
spare tire, it does not assume its folded shape
again for several hours . Until then, it cannot
be p laced back in the spare wheel well and
stowed securely .
A WARNING
-Never use the spare tire if it is damaged
or if it is worn down to the tread wear in­
dicators.
- If the inflatable spare tire is more than 6
years old, use it only in an emergency and w ith extreme caut ion and caref ul
dr iv ing .
- The inflatable spare tire is intended only
for temporary and short-term use.
It
should be replaced as soon as possible
with the norma l wheel and tire.
- T he tire pressure value for the inflatable
spare t ire is located on the drive r's side
8 -pilla r
¢page 234, fig. 190.
-Maximum perm iss ible speed is SO mph
(80 km/h).
- Avoid full-throttle acce le rat ion, heavy
braking, and fast corner ing.
- When the air is let out of the inflatable
spare wheel, it does not ass ume its fold­
ed shape for severa l hours. Until t hen, it
cannot be p laced back in the spare wheel
we ll and stowed secu rely . -
Never drive with more than one inflata­
ble spare tire.
- For technical reasons, the use of tire
chains on the inflatable spare tire is not
perm itted. If it is necessary to drive with
tire chains, the inflatab le spare wheel
must be mounted on the rear axle in the
event of a f lat in a front tire . The newly
availab le rear whee l must then be instal­
led in place of the front whee l with the
f lat t ire. Instal ling the tire chain before
mount ing the wheel and tire is recom­
mended .
- L oose items in the passenger compart­
ment can cause serious personal injury
during hard braking or in an accident.
Never store the inflatable spare tire or
jack* and too ls in the passenger com­
partment.
(D Note
- The inflatable spa re tire has been deve l­
oped specifically for this vehicle mode l.
It must not be exchanged or used for
other vehicle models. Sim ilarly, inflata­
ble t ires from other vehicle models must
not be used.
- Normal summer or w inter tires must not
be installed on the inflatable t ire rim.
Inflating inflatable
spare tire
Applies to veh icles: w ith inflatable spare t ire
F ig. 199 Lu gg age compart ment: co mpressor
• Remove the cover for the veh icle tools and
remove the compressor. For some vehicle
models, the compressor is located i n a hold-
er under the spare tire . .,.

2 7 4 Emergency situations
Emergency situations
General
This chapter is intended for trained emer­
gency crews and working per sonnel who
have the necessary tools and equ ipment to
perform these ope rations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
Q;) Note
Vehicle s with an automati c transmission
cannot be started by pushing 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 should fail to start because of a
discha rged or wea k batte ry, 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 cab les of sufficiently
large cross section to carry the starter cur rent
safely. Refer to the manufact urer's spec ifica­
ti ons.
Use on ly jumper cables with
insulated te rmi­
na l clamps wh ic h are d istinctly mar ked :
plus (+) cable in most c ases co lore d red
minu s (-) cable
in most cases colored black .
A WARNING
Batterie s cont ain e lec tricity, a cid, a nd gas.
A ny o f these c an ca use ve ry ser io us or f atal
in ju ry . F ollow the i nstruc tio ns below for
safe ha ndling of your ve hicle's bat tery.
- Alw ay s sh ield yo ur eye s and a vo id le an­
ing over the batte ry w henever p ossib le . -
A discharged battery can freeze at tem­
pe rat ures just below 32 °F (0 °C). Before
connecting a jumper cable, you must
thaw the fr ozen battery complete ly , ot h­
e rwise it cou ld explode.
- Do not allow batte ry acid to contact eyes
or skin . Fl ush any contacted a rea wi th
wate r im media tely.
- Imp roper use of a booster battery to
s tart a vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batter ies generate explosive gas­
es . Keep sparks, flame and lighted ciga­
rettes away from ba tte ries .
- Do not try to jump start a ny ve hicle w ith
a low ac id leve l in the battery .
- The vo ltage of the booster batte ry m ust
a lso have a 12-Vo lt rat ing . The capacity
(A h) of the booster batte ry should not b e
lowe r than that of the discharged bat­
tery . U se o f batt erie s of d iffe ren t voltage
or subs tanti ally diffe ren t "Ah" rat ing
may c ause an exp losion and person al in­
ju ry .
- N ever ch arge a fr ozen bat te ry. Gas t rap ­
ped in the ice may ca use an ex plosion .
- N ever ch arge o r use a batt ery th at has
been fro zen. T he battery case may have
be weakened.
- Us e of batt erie s of di ffere nt vo ltag e or
substan tially differen t ca pa city (Ah) rat ­
i ng may cause an exp losion and injury.
T he capac ity (Ah) of the booster battery
should not be lower than that of the dis­
charged batte ry.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
W ARNI NGS¢
page 212.
(D Note
- App lyi ng a hig her voltage booste r bat­
tery wi ll cause expens ive damage to sen­
sitive e lectronic components, such as
cont ro l units, relays, rad io, etc.
- There must be no electrical contact be­ twee n the vehicles as otherwise current
co uld already start to f low as soon as t he
posi tive(+) terminals a re con nected . ..,.