2017 AUDI A4 tow

Lights and Vision
Interior lighting
Applies to: ve hicles w ith amb ient light ing
.,. Select in the Infotainment system: IMENU I but­
ton
> Vehi cle> left contro l bu tton > Vehicle
settings > Interior lighting.
The interior lighting turns on when you switch
the head ligh ts on while the igni tion is on .
Version 1
To adjust the brightness of individua l zones, se­
lect
Front brightness *, Door brightne ss or Foot­
w ell brightness .
Turn the control knob to the left
or to the right. Press the contro l knob to confirm
the br igh tness.
Version 2
Select and confirm one of the displayed profiles.
Individual: you can customize the brightness and
color of individual zones.
Press the right control button. Se lect and con­
fi rm one of the disp layed options. To change the
brightness or the color, turn the control knob to
the left or right . Press the control knob to con­
f irm the brightness or the color.
drive select : the interior and conto ur lighting col ­
or changes in drive se lect depending on these ­
lected driving mode in drive select*
¢ page 121.
To adjust t he brightness of other profiles, press
the contro l knob to confirm the profile again.
T urn the contro l knob to the left or to the right.
Press the control knob to confirm the brightness .
(D Tips
The setting is a utomatica lly stored and as­
signed to the remote control key that is be ing
used.
54
Instrument illumination
The brightness of the instrument and display
lighting as well as the Head-up display* can be
adjusted.
ID __ ________ _.:g
Fig. 51 Ins trumen t ill umi nat ion
.,. Press the knob to release it .
0
~
"° CD
.,. Turn the knob toward" -" or" +" to reduce or in­
crease the br ightness.
.,. Press the knob again to return it to its original
position.
(!) Tips
Depending on vehicle equipment, the instru­
ment illumination (needles and gauges) may
turn on when t he lig hts are off and the igni­
tion is switched o n. T he i llum ination for the
gaug es reduces automa tically and eve ntua lly
turn s off a s br igh tne ss ou tside increases. Thi s
f u nct io n remin ds the dr ive r to tur n the low
b eams on at the appropria te t ime.
Vision
Adjusting the outside mirrors
Fi g. 52 D river 's doo r: knob for the exter io r mirrors
Turn the knob to the des ired position:

Sea ts and stor age
button or the buttons @or@ <* page 61,
fig. 59.
Sockets
Fig. 65 Center console: 12 volt socket
Fig. 66 Rear center console: 12 volt socket*
The 12 -volt sockets can be used for electrical ac­
cessories. The power usage must not exceed
120 watts.
There is an additional 12 vo lt socket* located on
the side trim panel in the luggage compartment .
_& WARNING
The sockets and the electrical accessories con­
nected to them only function when the igni­
tion is switched on. Incorrect usage can lead
to serious injuries or burns. To reduce the risk
of injuries, never leave ch ildren unattended in
the vehicle with the veh icle key.
(D Note
- To reduce the risk of damage to the vehicle
electr ica l system, never attempt to charge
the vehicle battery by connecting accesso­ ries that provide power, such as solar pane ls
or battery chargers, to the 12 Volt sockets
or the cigarette lighter.
64
- To reduce the risk of damage to the sockets,
only use plugs that fit correctly .
Storage
Cup holders
Fig. 67 Section o f th e rear bench seat: rear cup holde rs *
Your vehicle has cup holders in the front center
console and in the center rear seat .
Cup ho ld ers in the cent er rear seat*
.,. Fold the center armrest downward .
.,. To open the cup holders, pull the top cover of
the cup holders toward the rear<=>
fig. 67 .
.,. Set your beverage in the holder.
.,. To close the cup holder, fold the cover back un­
til it clicks into place .
_& WARNING
-
-Do not put any hot beverages in the cup
holder while the vehi cle is moving. Hot bev ­
erages could spill, which c an cause injury.
- Do not use any b reakab le beve rage contain­
ers (for examp le, made out of g lass or por­
celain). Yo u co uld be injured by them in the
event o f an accident .
(D Note
Beverage containers in the cup holders should
a lways have a lid. Otherwise, beve rages could
sp ill and cause damage to vehicle eq uipment
or stain the seat covers.
Other compartments
You will find a var iety of storage compartments
and holders at various locations in the vehicle. ..,.

Driving
Sel ector l ev e r lo ck
The se lector lever lock prevents you from se lect­
ing a position unintentionally, causing the vehicle
to ro ll. When engaging some selector lever posi­
tions, you must press the locking button
CD on
the selector lever and/or press the brake pedal
¢fig. 83.
You must press the brake pedal to engage a se­
lector lever position when the engine is running
and the vehicle is stationary.
You do not have to press the brake peda l if you
shift from D to R within one second. This allows
you to "rock" the vehicle to free it when it is stuck.
P -Pa rk
The whee ls are loc ked in this pos it ion. On ly shift
into park when the veh icle is stationary ¢&. . T o
select the P selector lever position, press the P
button @on the selector lever ¢
fig. 83. Pap­
pears next to the se lector lever.
You can only shift out of park when the engine is running and you are press ing the b rake pedal. To
release the parking lock, press the brake peda l,
press the locking button
CD on the selector lever
and select the desired pos it ion ¢
fig. 83.
P engages automat ically if you switch the engine
off while the selector lever is in D, E, Sor R.
If yo u sw itch the engine off when the N position
is selected, the transmission remains in N for ap ­
proximate ly 30 minutes and then Pis engaged .
You must use the par king loc k emergency release
before towing the vehicle¢
page 89.
R -Reverse
The reverse gear is engaged in this pos ition. Only
select reverse when the vehicle is stationa ry and
the engine is ru nning at id le speed ¢.&. . T o en­
gage the R selector lever position, press the b rake pedal, press the lock ing button
CD on the
selecto r lever and select the R position ¢
fig. 83.
A confirmation tone wi ll sound when the reve rse
gear is engaged.
84
N -Neutral (idle )
The t ransmission is in idle in th is position. To en­
gage the N selector lever position, press the lock ­
i ng button
CD on the se lector lever and shift into
the N position ¢
fig. 83.
If you switch the engine off when the N posit io n
i s selected, the transmission remains in N for ap ­
prox imately 30 minutes and then P is engaged.
You cannot se lect t he N pos ition when the ig ni­
tion is swi tched off. When dr iv ing th rough an au­
tomat ic car wash, fi rst select the N position and
then turn the eng ine off.
Fo r safety reasons, the veh icle canno t be loc ked
whe n the t ransmiss io n is in the N pos it ion.
D IS -Driving forward
When the transm iss ion is in the D/S posit ion, it
can be operated either in the norma l D mode or
i n the S sport mode. Move the selector lever bac k
to engage the S sport mode. You ca n only se lect
the S se lector lever position when the Dor E pos i­
tion is se lected . To select the Dor E position
again when S is engaged, move the selector lever back ¢&. . To sh ift from N to D when traveling at
speeds below 1 mph (2 km/h), press the brake pedal and shift into the D position¢&. .
In the
normal mode D, the transmission auto­
matically selects the suitable gear ratio. It de­
pends on engine load, vehicle speed and driving
style.
Se lect the
sport mode S fo r sporty driving . The
vehicle makes f ull use of the engine 's power.
Sh ift ing may become noticeable when accelerat­
i ng .
The S selector lever posit ion engages automati ­
ca lly when you select
dynamic mode in drive se­
l ect*.
A WARNING
Read and follow all WARNINGS.
-The vehicle can roll even if the ignit ion is
sw itched off.

-Power is st ill transmitted to the wheels
when the eng ine is r unning at idle. To pre­
vent the veh icle from "creeping", you must
keep your foot on the brake in all selector
lever posi tions (except P and N) when the
engine is ru nning.
- Before opening the hood, se lect the P selec­
tor leve r pos ition and set the parking bra ke.
T his redu ces the risk of an accid ent. Always
read and fo llow the appli cable warnings
¢ page 30 4, Wor king in the engine com­
partment.
@ Tips
If you accidentally se lect N wh ile d riving, take
your foot off the a ccele rat or pedal an d wait
for the engine to s low down to idle before se­
lect ing Dor S.
Driving tips
Starting the engine
.,. The P or N posi tion m ust be selected .
Starting from a stop
.,. Press and hold the brake pedal.
.,. Start the engi ne ¢
page 76.
.,. Press t he lo ck ing bu tton (D on the se le ctor lev­
er and select the D, E, Sor R pos ition
¢ page 83.
.,. Wait a moment unti l the transmission shifts.
Yo u w ill notice a slight movement when the
gear engages .
.,. Release the brake pedal and press the acce lera­
tor pedal ¢
A,.
Stopp ing temporarily
.,. Press t he brake peda l to stop the vehicle, fo r
example at a t raff ic light. Do not press the ac­
ce le rator peda l when do ing this.
.,. To prevent the vehicle from rolling when you
sta rt driving, set the park ing brake when stop­
ping on steep hill s¢
A, .
.,. The park ing bra ke w ill release automatically
;;§ and the vehi cle will s tart moving on ce you press ....
~ th e accelerator pedal.
N .... 0 0
3 D riving
Stopping /parking
If the selector lever is not in the P position when
yo u open the drive r's door, the vehicle cou ld ro ll.
.,. Press and hold the b rake pe dal¢
A, .
.,. Se t the par king bra ke.
.,. To sele ct the P se lec to r lever posit io n, press the
P button @on the selector lever¢
page 83,
fig. 83.
Un der certa in conditions , such as d riv ing i n the
moun tains o r whe n towi ng a t railer, it may be
helpful to swi tch to man ua l mode tempo rari ly
and shift
manually to adapt to the driv ing condi ­
t ions ¢
page 86 .
On hills, ac tivate the park ing brake fi rst and then
shi ft into the P position¢
page 81 . This preven ts
too much stress from being p laced on the locking
mechan ism .
A WARNING
----The vehicle can roll even when the eng ine is
sw itched off .
- Unintended vehicle movement can lead to
serio us inju ries .
- Do not press the acce le rator pedal when
chang ing the se lector lever position while
the vehicle is stationary and the engine is r u nning . This could result in a c rash .
- To reduce the r isk of an accident, never se­
lect the R o r P positions while dr iv ing .
- Do not inadvertently p ress the accelerator
pedal when the vehicle is stationary. Other­
wise the veh icle wi ll start to move immedi­
ately , even i f the pa rking brake is set. This
could result in a c rash .
(D Tips
For safety reasons, the park ing bra ke only re­
l eases automatically when the drive r's door is
closed .
Hill descent control
The hill descent control system assists the driver
when driving down hills .
Hill descent control activates when the t ransmis-
s io n is in the Dor 5 position and you press the ..,.
85

Parking lock emergency release
The parking lock must be released using the
emergency release before towing the vehicle .
Fig. 86 Front cup holder: removing the cover
Fig. 87 Front cup holder : parking lock eme rge ncy release
~ 0
~ a, ID
The eme rgency re lease is located in the fron t cup
ho lde r under a cover
Releasing the parking lock using the
em ergency r ele ase
.. To prevent the vehicle from rolling unintention­
ally, set the parking brake<®>
c::>page 81 or
press the brake peda l.
.. Remove the rubber mat.
.. There is one slit open ing on the cover . Use the
screwdriver (from vehicle tool kit) to pry the
cove r off at the opening
c::> fig . 86 .
.. Inse rt the socket wrench (from the vehicle tool
k it) into the opening .
.,. Push and turn t he so cket w rench 90° until it
locks into place
c::> fig. 87 .
.. Leave the socket wrench inserted .
Resetting the parking lock
~ .. Pull the socket wrench out ve rtically c::> 0.
;:::: .. Reinsert the cover and rubber mat . ...... N ..... 0 0
~ co
Drivi ng
When the parking lock emergency release is
used, the
mJ indicator light and the N selector
l ever posit ion turn on in the instrument cluster .
The message
Da nger of rolli ng away ! P not po s­
sible. Please apply park ing bra ke
also appears.
A WARNING
-- Only activate the emergency release while
on a level surface or a slight slope.
- If you release the park ing lock us ing the
emergency release, secu re your vehicle with
the park ing b rake or the brake pedal if the
pa rking brake is not wo rking . T he veh icle
c a n roll away if it is not se cure d and cause a
crash.
(D Note
Do not tur n the socket wrench back when re­
setting the parking lock or else there is a risk
of damage.
89

Trailer towing
Trailer towing
Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passenger
transportation.
If you plan to tow a trailer, please remember that
the additional load will affect durability, econo­my and performance.
Trailer towing not on ly places more stress on the
ve hicle, it also ca lls for more concentration from
the dr iver.
F or this reason, always follow the operating and
driving instructions provided and use common
sense.
Technical requirements
Trailer hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross tra iler weight. The hitch must be suitab le
for your veh icle and tra iler and must be mounted
securely on the vehicle's chassis at a technically
sound
locat ion . Use on ly a trailer hitch with a re­
movable ba ll mount . Always che ck with the t rail ­
er hitch man ufac tur er to make s ure t hat you are
using the co rrect hi tc h.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
The hitch must be installed in such a way that it
does not interfere with the impact -absorbing
bumper system. No mod ificat ions should be
made to the vehicle exhaust and b rake systems .
Fr om t ime to t ime, che ck that all hitch mo unti ng
bol ts rem ain securely f aste ned.
W hen you are not tow ing a tra iler, remove the
tra ile r hitc h ba ll mount . This prevents the hit ch
from caus ing damage s hou ld your veh icle be
s truck from be hind ¢
,&..
Trailer brakes
If you r trailer is equipped with a brak ing system,
check to be su re that it conforms to all regula­
tions .
90
The t rai ler hydraulic bra ke system must not be
directly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
bra ke system ¢&. .
Safety chains
Always use s afety chains be tween you r vehi cle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Traile r lights must meet all regula tions . B e s ure
to check w ith your author ized Audi dealer for cor­
r ec t wir ing, swi tches and relays.
Mirrors
If you are unable to see t he traffic behind you us­
i ng t he regular outs ide mirrors, then yo u
must in­
stall ex tended mirrors . It is impo rtant that you
al ways have clear vision to the rear.
.&_ WARNING
Afte r remov ing the tra ile r hi tc h, do not s tore
it i n y our vehicle. In case o f su dden brak ing,
the hitch could fly fo rward and injure you or
your passengers.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
A tra iler f or yo ur vehicle is lim ite d to a typical
class 1 or class 2 trailer.
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the load in the t rai le r i s he ld se curely in
pla ce to p reve nt i t from shi fting forwar d, bac k­
ward or si deways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer ¢ &.
in Driver messages on page 91.
Engine cooling system
Towi ng a tra iler makes the engine work harder. It
is important that the cooling system's perform ­
ance is up to the additional load . Make sure tha t
the coo ling system has enoug h fluid.
Tire pressure
When towing a trailer, inflate the tires of your
vehicle to the cold tire p ressure listed under "Full
load" on the t ire press ure label. The t ire pressure
1111-

label is located on the driver's side B-pillar. In­
f late trai ler tires to trailer and tire manufactur­
ers' 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 connect­
ed from the tra iler to the hitch on the vehicle.
L eave enough slack in the chains to permit turn­
ing corners. When you install safety chains, make
sure they wi ll not drag on the road when you are
driving.
The chains shou ld cross under the trailer tongue
to prevent it from dropping in case of separation
from the hitch.
Driver messages
Driving with a trailer requires extra caution .
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded trailer w ith an empty car results
in a high ly unstable dist ribution of weight . If this
cannot be avo ided, drive at very low speeds only
to avoid the risk of losing steering control.
A "balanced" rig is easier to operate and cont rol.
This means that the tow vehicle should be loaded
to the extent possible and permissible, while
keeping th e trailer as light as possib le under the
circumstances . Whenever possib le, transfer
some cargo to the luggage compartment of the
tow vehicle whi le observing tong ue load require­
ments and vehicle loading considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficult it be­
comes for the driver to contro l the rig. Do not
drive at the maximum permissible speed. Reduce
your speed even more if load, weather or wind
<( conditions are unfavorable -particularly when a,
;::; going downhill. ,....
N .... 0 0
3 a,
Trailer towing
Reduce vehicle speed immediately if the trailer
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 down­
hill, shift into a lower gear to use the eng ine
braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of the
brakes alone can cause them to overheat and fail.
Coolant temperature
T he coolant temperature gauge~ page 11 must
be obse rved carefully. The coolant temperature
can increase if you drive on long inclines in a low
gear at high engine speeds . Reduce your speed
immediately if the LEDs in the top part of the dis­
play turn on.
For more information about indicator lights, re­
fer to.
~ page 31 .
A WARNING
= -
Anyone not properly restrained in a moving
vehicle is at a much greater risk in an acci­
dent. Never let anyone ride in your car who is
not properly wearing the restraints provided
by Aud i.
Trailer towing
information
Important to know
Your vehicle handles differently when towing a
trailer because of the addit ional weight and dif­
ferent weight distribution . Safety, performance
and economy will greatly depend on how careful­
ly you load your trailer and operate you r rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, pract ice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area away
from traffic . Keep pract ic ing until you have be­
come complete ly familiar w ith the way your vehi­
cle-trailer combination behaves and responds.
91

Trailer towing
Backing up is difficult and requires practice .
Backing up with a trailer generally requires steer­
ing action oppos ite to that when backing up your
veh icle w ithout a trailer .
Maintain a g reater distance between your vehicle
and the one in front of you. You w ill need more
room to stop. To compensate for the tra iler, you
will need a larger than normal turn ing radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot accel ­
erate as fast as you norma lly would because of
the added load. Make sure you have enough room
to pass. After passing, allow plenty of room for
your tra iler before chang ing lanes again .
Avoid jerky starts , sharp turns or rapid lane
changes .
@ Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break -in per i­
od of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may require
more frequent maintenance d ue to the ex ­
tra load
~ page 363.
Parking on a slope
Do not pork on a slope with a trailer. If it cannot
be avoided, do so only o~er doing the following:
When parking:
.. Apply t he foo t brake .
.. Have someone place chocks under both t he ve­
hicle and the tra ile r whee ls .
.. With chocks in p lace, slowly release t he brakes
u ntil the whee l chocks absorb the load .
.. Turn the wheels towards the curb .
.. Apply the parking brake .
.. Move the selector lever to P .
When restarting after pa rking:
.. Apply the foot brake .
.. Start the engine .
.. Move the selector lever to D/S .
.. Release the parking brake and slowly pull out
and away from the wheel chocks .
.. Stop and have someone retrieve t he wheel
chocks .
92