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 .
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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-
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N .... 0 0
3 a,
& WARNING
Charging a battery can be dangerous.
- Always follow the operat ing instruct ions
provided by the battery charger manufactur
er when charging your battery .
- Never charge a frozen ba ttery . It may ex
plode because of gas trapped in the ice. A l
low a frozen battery to thaw out first .
- Do not reuse batteries wh ich were frozen.
The battery housing may have cracked and
weakened when the battery froze .
- Charge the battery in a we ll ventilated area.
Keep away from open flame or electrical
spark. Do not smoke . Hydrogen gas generat
ed by the battery is exp losive.
- To reduce the danger of explosion, never
connect or disconnect charger cables whi le
the charger is operat ing.
- Fast charging a battery is dangerous and
should only be attempted by a competent
technician with the proper equipment.
- Battery acid that may spill during charging
should be washed off with a solution of
warm water and baking soda to neutralize
the acid .
(D Note
Never use a fast charger as a booster to start
the engine. This will serious ly damage sensi
tive electronic components, such as control
units, relays, radio, etc ., as well as the battery
charger .
Replacing the battery
Your veh icle is equipped with an inte llige nt ene r
gy management system for d istr ibut ing elect rici
ty ¢
page 138. The battery cha rges better in
vehicles with the en ergy management system
than in vehicles without the system. To ensure
that th e additional pow er is availabl e after re
p lac ing the battery, rep lacing w ith the same type
of b attery from the s ame manufac turer ( like the
battery that was delivered with the veh icle) is
recommended . Yo ur authorized deale r must code
the battery in the energy management system to
Ch eck ing and Filling
enable you to use the energy management func
tions corr ectly aft er replacing the batt ery .
If it is no t possib le to use a battery of this type,
the new battery mus t have the same capacity,
vo ltage ( 12-volts), amperage, construction and
plug sealing.
When install ing the battery, make sure the ig ni
t ion and all electr ica l cons umers are tu rned off.
Q) Note
- Vehicles, fo r example with a Start-Stop sys
t em*, a re equipped with a specia l cycle
proof bat tery (such as an AGM battery). In
sta lling a different type of battery can cause
prob lems in the veh icle elect rical system .
When replacing the vehicle battery, always
install one w ith the same specifications as
the origina l battery.
- Make sure that the gas venting hose is al
ways connected to the original opening on the battery s ide . Otherw ise gasses or bat
tery acid could leak out .
- Battery mounts and clamps must always be
secured correct ly .
- Read and follow the warn ings under
¢
page 313, Working on the battery before
performing any work on the battery.
® For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper d isposa l of
a battery, we recommend your authori zed
Audi dealer change the battery for you. Bat
teries contain sulfur ic acid and lead and must
always be disposed of properly in compliance
wi th a ll envi ronmenta l reg ulat ions. Dispos ing
of veh icle bat teries improperly is very da nger
ous to the environment.
315
Emergency situations
Emergency situations
General
This chapter is intended for trained emergency crews and working personnel who have the nec
essary tools and equipment to perform these
operations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
CD Note
Vehicles with an automatic transmission
cannot be started by pushing or towing.
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary, the engin e con be started by con
necting it to the battery of another vehicle.
If the engine should fail to start because of a dis
charged or weak battery, the battery can be con
nected to the battery of
another vehicle, using a
pair of jumper cables to start the engine.
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently large cross
section
to carry the starter current safely. Refer
to the manufacturer's specifications.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated terminal
clamps which are distinctly marked :
plus(+) cable in most cases colored red
minus(-) cable
in most cases colored black.
A WARNING
Batteries contain electricity, acid, and gas.
Any of these can cause very serious or fatal in
jury. Follow the instructions below for
safe
handling of your vehicle's battery.
-Always shield your eyes and avoid leaning
over the battery whenever possible.
-A discharged battery can freeze at tempera
tures just below 32 °F (0 °C). Before con
necting a jumper cable, you must thaw the
356
frozen battery completely, otherwise it could explode.
- Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes or
skin. Flush any contacted area with water immediately.
- Improper use of a booster battery to start a
vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batteries generate explosive gases.
Keep sparks, flame and lighted cigarettes
away from batteries.
- Do not try to jump start any vehicle with a
low acid level in the battery.
- The voltage of the booster battery must also
have a 12-Volt rating. The capacity (Ah) of
the booster battery should not be lower
than that of the discharged battery. Use of
batteries of different voltage or substantial
ly different "Ah" rating may cause an explo
sion and personal injury.
- Never charge a frozen battery. Gas trapped in the ice may cause an explosion.
- Never charge or use a battery that has been
frozen . The battery
case may have be weak
ened .
- Use of batteries of different voltage or sub
stantially different capacity (Ah) rating may
cause an explosion and injury. The capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery should not be
lower than that of the discharged battery.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
~page 304.
CD Note
-Applying a higher voltage booster battery
will cause expensive damage to sensitive
electronic components, such as control
units, relays, radio, etc.
- There must be no electrical contact between
the vehicles as otherwise current could al
ready start to flow as soon as the positive
(+) terminals are connected.
@ Tips
The discharged battery must be properly con-
nected to the vehicle's electrical system. .,..