2016 AUDI A4 towing

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Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Important information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Fr ont airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Monito ring the Advanced Airbag System . 148
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1S2
Side curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lSS
Child safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1S8
Important information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Child seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Securing child seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
LATCH system (Lower anchorages and
tethers for children) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Addit ional information 175
Driver messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Intelligent Technology . . . . . . . . . . 176
Notice about data recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and vehicle control
modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
E lectronic Stabilization Control ( ESC) . . . . 177
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Electro-mechanical power assist, dynamic
steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Driving with your quattro . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Driving and the environment . . . . 185
Breaking in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Avoid damaging the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Driving through water on roads . . . . . . . . 185
Cata lytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Shutting down vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Economical and environmentally-friendly
driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
allroad: D riving offroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Trailer mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Driving with a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Trailer mode notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Operating instructions ...... .. .. .
Care and cleaning ........... .. .. .
General information ..... ... .. .. .. .. . 193
193 193
~ Car washes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 ..... v:, .....
Table of contents
Cleaning and care information . . . . . . . . . 194
Placing your v ehicle out of service . . . . . . 197
Fuel and Refueling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Refueling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Checking and Filling . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Engine compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20S
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Brake fluid .. .. .. .. ... ........... ... 2 11
Battery ......... .. ................. 212
Windsh ield/headlight* washer conta iner. 216
Wheels ...... .. .. ................. 217
Wheels and Tires ... ...... ....... .. .. 217
Tire pressure monitoring system 235
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Emergency assistance . . . . . . . . . . . 23 7
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 7
Space-saving spare tire (compact spare
tire) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Inflatable spare tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Inflating inflatable spare tire . . . . . . . . . . 239
Replacing wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Fuses and bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Fuses..... .... .. ......... .... .... .. 246
Bulbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Emergency situations . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Starting by pushing or towing . . . . . . . . . . 250
Starting with jumper cables . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Useofjumpercables ................. 251
Towing with a tow truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Raising the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Vehicle identification ......... ...... . .
Weights ... ... .. .. ................ .
Dimensions .. .. . ... ................ . 255
255
256
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Enhanced shift indicator
Applies to vehicles: with manual transmiss ion and tr ip com­
p uter with eff iciency program
F ig. 14 Display: enhanced s hift i ndicator
• In the efficiency program, press the function
selection switch¢
page 25, fig. 11@ repeat­
edly until the enhanced shift indicator appears
in the display.
The efficiency program also has an enhanced
shift ind icator. This enhanced shift indicator fol­
lows the same concept as the "standard" shift in­
dicator¢
page 26. The selected and the recom­
mended gears are highlighted in colors like a
traffic light .
The color of the circle indicates if the most suita­ b le gear is engaged or if you should shift up or
down.
Green circle w ithout or No gear or the most
with a gear suitable gear is engag-
ed
Yellow circle¢
fig. 14 Shift up or down one
gear
Red circle Shift up two gears
(D Note
This enhanced shift indicator can help you
conserve fuel. It is not designed to recom­
mend the correct gear in all dr iving situa­
tions . Only the dr iver can decide which gear is
correct in certain dr iving situations such as
when passing another veh icle, dr iving on hill s
or towing a trailer.
Driver in forma tion system
(D Tips
-The enhanced shift indicator display is dif­
ferent in vehicles with a monochrome dis­
play.
- The "standard" shift indicator* disappears
when the enhanced shift indicator is dis­
played.
Other equipment
Applies to vehicles: with trip computer with eff ic ie n cy pro­
gram
Fig. 15 Display : other equ ipment
• In the effic iency program, press the funct ion
select ion switch ¢
page 25, fig. 11 @ repeat­
ed ly until the other equipment appears in the
disp lay.
Other equipment that is currently affecting fuel
consumption is listed in the eff ic iency program.
T he display shows up to three other items of
equipment @. T he equipment using the most
fuel is listed first. If more than three items using
fuel are switched on, the equipment that is cur­ rently using the most fuel is displayed.
A scale @also shows the current total consump­
tion of all other equipment .
27

Light and Vision
The coming home and leaving h ome functions
only operate when it is dark and t he light switch
is in the AUTO position
~ page 48, fig. 42.
Auto headlights*
W hen the light swi tch is in the A UTO ~ page 48
position, the sw itch-on po int of the lights can be
cha nged in the automatic driving light function.
Daytime running lights
USA models :
You can switch the daytime r unning
lights
on and off .
Canada models: The funct ion cannot be tu rned
off .
It is activated automatically each t ime the ig­
n ition is switched on.
Tra vel mode*
The headlight beam is asymmetrical. This pro­
vides stronger illumination on the side of the
road on which you are driving.
If you are driving
in a cou ntry that dr ives on the opposite side of
the road from you r own country, this will cause
g lar e fo r oncom ing dr ive rs . To p revent glare:
- Travel mode must be selected in veh icles w ith
Xenon headlights* .
- In vehicles with halogen headlights, certain
areas of the headlight lenses must be cove red
with waterproof adhesive covers that prev ent
l ight from passing through. For more informa­
tion, ple ase see you r auth orized Audi dea le r or
a uthorized repair fa ci lity .
When travel mode is ac tiva ted, a disp lay in
t he dr ive r inf orm ation sys tem in dicates this
e ach t ime yo u sw itch the ignition on .
50
Emergency flashers
Fig. 44 Center console: emergency flashe r switc h
The emergency flashers makes other motorists
aware that you or your ve hicle are in an emergen­
cy situat io n .
.. Press the switch~¢
fig. 44 to turn the emer-
gency flashers on or off .
When the emergency flashers are on, all four
turn s ignals b link at the same time. The turn sig­
nal indicator lights
RB i n the instrument clus­
ter, as well as the light in t he emergency flasher
switch
IA] blink likewise .
You can indicate a lane change or a turn when the
emergency flashers are switched on by using the
turn signal lever . The emergency flashers stop
tempora rily .
The emergency flashe rs a lso wor k when the ign i­
tion is turned off.
The emergency flashers will turn on automatical­
l y if you a re in an accident where the airbag has
deployed .
@ Tips
You should turn on the emergency flashers
when:
-you are the last vehicle standi ng in a traffic
jam so that any other vehicles com ing can
see yo u, or when
- yo ur ve hicle has broken down or yo u are in
an eme rge ncy sit uat ion, or w hen
-your vehicle is be ing towed by a tow tru ck or
if yo u are towing another vehicle behin d
you.

Sea ts and stor age
Ski sack
Applies to vehicles: w ith sk i sack
Long objects such as skis or snowboards can be
transported in the ski sack .
Fig. 89 Backrest : pass-throug h cover
F ig . 90 Rear bench sea t: securing the ski sack
Loading
.,. Fold the rea r seat center armrest down.
.,. Fol d the pass -through cover ¢
fig. 89 -arrow­
down.
.,. Slide the ski sack from the luggage compart­
ment through the pass-through with the zipper
at the rear ¢,&. .
Secur ing
.,. Inse rt the ski sack strap@¢ fig. 90 in the cen­
ter buck le @ .
.,. Pull the safety belt taut on the free end of the
belt @.
A WARNING
-The ski sack is intended only for the trans­
portation of skis and other light objects . To
reduce the risk of serio us pe rsonal injury,
never transpo rt heavy o r po inted objects in
the ski sa ck.
74
-
-W hen braking rapidly or during an accident,
the load could be displaced and cause injury
to occupants.
- Sharp edges on the load must be covered
for protection . Always fasten the be lt t ight­
ly around the sack and its contents
¢fig. 90.
-For safety reasons, do not transport more
than two pairs of skis in t he ski sack.
- You must secure the ski sack with the strap
after loadi ng.
- Make sure that all objects you are transport­
ing in the pass-through are secured. Othe r­
wise they could slide around during sudden braking maneuvers and cause injur ies.
{!) Tips
- Never stow the ski sack away when it is still
wet or damp (for example, snow melting
from skis) . Allow it to dry completely before
stowing it away .
- Whe n transporting skis or snowboards,
t ighten the securing strap between the
bind ings.
- Pos it ion skis in the ski sack with the pointed
ends facing the front and sk i poles with the
pointed ends facing the rear.
- Sedan: You can lock or unlock the pass­
throug h using the mecha nical key . This pre­
vents any access to the luggag e compart­
ment from the veh icle inter io r .

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Audi side assist Side assist
Description
App lies to vehicles: with Audi side assist
Fig. 123 Sensor dete ction rang e
Fig. 124 Display o n the exterio r mirror
Side assist helps you monitor your blind spot and
traffic behind your vehicle . Within the limits of
the system , it warns you about vehicles that are
coming closer or that are traveling with you with­
in sensor range ©
r=;, fig. 123: if a lane change is
classified as critical, the display @ in the exter ior
mirror
r:¢> fig . 124 turns on .
The display in the left exterior mirror provides as­
sistance when making a lane change to the left,
while the d isp lay in the right exterior mirror pro ­
vides assistance when making a lane change to
the right .
Information stage
As long as you do not activate the turn signal,
side assist
informs you about vehicles that are
detected and class ified as critica l. The disp lay in
the respective mirro r turns on , but is dim .
Aud i side assist
The display remains dim intentionally in the in­
formation stage so that your view toward the
front is not disturbed.
Warning stage
If you activate the turn signal , side assist warns
you about vehicles that are detected and classi­
fied as critical. The display in the respect ive mir­
ror blinks bright ly. If this happens, check traffic
by glancing in the rearview mirror and ove r you r
shoulder
c::, .&. in General informa tion on
page 108.
{!) Tips
- You can adjust the brightness of the display
@ c::, page 109.
-Please refer to the instructions for towing a
trailer located in
c::, page 108.
107

Audi side assist
General information
Applies to veh icles: w ith Aud i s ide ass ist
®
@
©
F ig . 125 Driving s ituations
I AU DI
•
Fig. 126 Rear of the veh icle: pos it ion of the sensors
Side assist functions at speeds above approxi­
mately 19 mph (30 km/h).
@ Vehicles that are approaching
In certain cases, a vehicle will be classified as
critical for a lane change even if it is still some­
what far away. The faster a veh icle approaches,
the sooner the display in the exterior mirror w il l
turn on.
@ Vehicles traveling with you
Vehicles traveling with you are indicated in the
exterior mirror if they are classified as critical for
a lane change. All vehicles detected by side assist
108
are indicated by the time they enter your "blind
spot", at the latest .
© Vehicles left behind
If you slow ly pass a vehicle that side assist has
de tected (the diffe rence in speed between the
vehicle and your vehicle is less than 9 mph
(15 km/h)), the display in the exterior mirror
turns on as soon as the vehicle enters your blind
spot .
The display wi ll not turn on if you quickly pass a
vehicle that side assist has detected (the differ­ ence in speed between the vehicle and your vehi­
cle is greater than 9 mph (15 km/h)) .
Functional limitations
The radar sensors are designed to detect the left
and right adjacent lanes when the road lanes are
the normal width . In certain situations, the dis­
play in the exterior mirror may turn on even
though there is no vehicle located in the area
that is crit ical for a lane change. For example:
- if the lanes are narrow or if your are driving on
the edge of your lane. If this is the case, the
system may have detected the vehicle in anoth­
er lane that is
not adjacent to your current lane.
- if you are driv ing through a curve. Side assist
may react to a vehicle that is one lane over
from the adjacent lane .
- if side assist reacts to other objects (such as
high or displaced guard rails) .
- In poor weather conditions. The side ass ist
functions are limited.
Do not cover the radar sensors
c:> fig. 126 with
stickers, deposits, bicycle wheels or other ob­
j ects, because this w ill affect the function . Do not
use side assist when towing a trailer. For infor­
mation on cleaning, refer to
c:> page 193.
A WARNING
- Always pay attention to traff ic and to the
area around your vehicle. Side assist cannot
replace a driver's attention . The driver alone
is always responsible for lane changes and
-
similar driving maneuvers . IJ>-

Audi side assist
(D Tips
-Si de assist is not active w hile you are mak­
i ng t he a dju stment .
- You r settings are automatic ally store d an d
assi gned to t he remote co ntrol key being
u sed.
Driver messages
App lies to veh icles: w ith Audi side assist
If s ide ass ist switches off by itself, the LED in the
button turns off a nd a message will appear in the
i n str ument cluster d isp lay :
Aud i side assist unavailable: Sensors blocked
T he rada r senso rs ' vision is affe cted . Do not cove r
the area in front of the sensors wit h bike wheels,
sticke rs, dirt o r other objects. Clean the area in
front of the sensors, if necessary
c> page 108,
fig. 126.
Audi side assist : Currently unavailable
S ide assist c an no t be swi tc h ed on tem pora ril y be­
c a use there is a mal func tio n (fo r ex am ple, the
bat tery ch arge level may be too low) .
Audi side assist: System fault!
The system cannot guarantee that it wi ll detect
ve hicles co rrectly and it is swi tched off . The sen ­
sors have bee n disp lace d or are fa ulty . Have the
sys tem chec ked by a n aut hori zed Audi de aler or
a uthor ized Audi Se rvice F acility soon.
Audi side assist: Unavailable when towing
Side assist sw itches off automatica lly when a fac­
tory-installed trailer hitch is connected to the
electr ica l co nnector on the trailer. The re is no
gua rantee the system will sw itch off when usi ng
a retrofi tte d t raile r hi tc h. D o not use s ide ass is t
w hen towing a trailer.
110

..... N
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wireless telecommunications provider and the
"About Aud i connect" tab in your vehicle's
MMI*:
IMENU I button> Audi connect > About
Audi conn ect.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road ho ld ing and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of skid­
d ing and loss of veh icle control. It works only
when the engine is runn ing . E SC detects certain
d ifficult dr iving sit uat ions, including when t he
ve hicl e is begin ning to spin (yaw) out of co ntro l
a nd helps you to ge t the veh icle back under con­
tro l by se lective ly bra king the wheels, and/or re ­
d ucing engine powe r and provid ing steering as­
sistance to help hold the vehicle on the dr iver's
intended course. The indicator light
GJ in the in­
strument cluster blinks when ESC is taking action
to help you co ntro l the vehicle.
ESC has limitations. It is important to remember
that ESC cannot overcome the laws of physics. It
will not a lways be able to help out under all con­
d itions you may come up aga inst. For example,
ESC may not always be able to help you master
situations where there is a sudde n change in the
coeff icient of friction of the road surface. When
there is a section of dry road that is sudde nly cov­
e red with wate r, slush o r snow, ESC cannot pe r­
form the same way i t wo uld on the dry s urface . If
the vehicle hydrop lanes (rides on a cushion of wa­
ter i nstead of t he road su rface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the ve hicle because contact
with the pavement has been interrupted and the
ve hicle cannot be b raked or steered. Dur ing fast
cornering, pa rticula rly on w inding roads, ESC
cannot always deal as effect ively w it h difficult
d riving si tuations tha n at lowe r speeds. When
tow ing a t raile r, ESC is no t able to help you re­
g ai n con trol as it would if you we re not towing a
tra iler .
A lways adjust yo ur speed and driving sty le to
road, traffic and weathe r co nd itions. ESC canno t
override the vehicle's physical lim its, increase the
Intellig ent Technology
available t ract ion, or keep a vehicle on the road if
road depart ure is a resu lt of driver inattention .
Instead, ESC improves the possib ility o f keeping
the vehicle under contro l and on the road d uring
extreme maneuvers by us ing the driver's steer ing
i nputs to help keep the veh icle go ing in the in ­
tended direction.
If you are traveling at a speed
that causes you to run off the road before ESC
c an p rovide any assistan ce, you may not exper i­
en ce the benefi ts of ESC.
ESC is swi tched o n all the time . In certa in s itua­
t ions when you need less tract ion, you can sw itch
off AS R by press ing the button
11) c:> page 178,
fig. 173 o r c:> page 178, fig . 174. Be s ure to
swi tch ASR on again w hen you no longe r need
l ess trac tion.
T he following systems are integ ra ted in the ESC:
Anti-lock brak ing system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up w hen
braking. The vehicle can still be steered even d ur­
i ng hard braking. Apply steady p ressure to the
brake pedal. Do not pump the peda l. A p uls ing in
t h e br ake peda l indicates that the system is help­
i ng yo u to b rake the vehi cle.
Brake assist system
T he brake assist system can decrease braking dis­
tance . It increases b raking powe r when the dr iver
presses the b rake peda l quickly in emergency sit­
u at io ns. You mus t press and ho ld the br ake pedal
u nt il t he s ituat ion is ove r. In vehicles wi th adap­
tive cru ise control *, the brake assist system is
more sensitive if the distance detected to the ve ­
hicle ahead is too sma ll.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR )
ASR reduces engine powe r whe n the dr ive whee ls
begi n to spin and adapts the fo rce to the road
co ndit ions . Thi s makes it easier to start, acce ler ­
ate and d rive up hills .
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
T he ED L brakes wheels t hat are spi nning and
transfe rs the dr ive power to the o ther dr ive
whee l or wheels if the vehicle is equ ip p ed with
all -wheel drive*. This function is not ava ilab le at
higher speeds. .,.
177