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 .
200
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, an d 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 mirro rs . It is impo rtant that you
al ways have clear vision to the rear.
.&_ WARNING
- If a tra ile r has e lectr ical brake s ple ase no te
t h at these b ra kes are not activated by the
factory -fit ted contro l unit -risk of accident!
- After removing the traile r h itch, d o no t
s t o re it in your vehicle. In case of sud den
braking, the hitch co uld fly forwar d and in
jure you or yo ur passenge rs.
- Never install a "we igh t distribu tin g" or
"loa d eq ualizing" trailer hitch on your veh i
cle . The vehicle was not designed fo r these
kinds o f trailer hitches. The hitch attach
ment can fail, ca us ing the tra ile r to tear
loose from the vehicle .
- The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating for your
veh icle, found on the safety compliance la
be l on the driver's s ide B-pillar, must never
be exceeded under any circ umstances . Ex
ceed ing the Gross Vehicle We ight Rat ing of
your veh icle is likely to damage yo ur vehicle,
a nd such d amage will no t be covered by
your Limi ted New Vehicle W arra nty . Exceed
ing the Gross Ve hicl e We ight Rating will al
so change the pe rformance and han dling
characte ristics o f yo ur vehicle, which could
cause a crash result ing in se rious injury or
death.
Checking and Filling
-Always follow the operating instructions
provided by the battery charger manufactur
er when charging your battery.
- Never charge a frozen battery . It may ex
plode because of gas trapped in the ice. Al
low a frozen battery to thaw out first.
- Do not reuse batteries which were frozen .
The battery housing may have cracked and
weakened when the battery froze .
- Charge the battery in a well ventilated area.
Keep away from open flame or electrical
spark . Do not smoke. Hydrogen gas generat
ed by the battery is explosive .
- To reduce the danger of explosion, never
connect or disconnect charger cables while
the charger is operating .
- 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 seriously damage sensi
tive electronic components, such as control
units , relays , radio, etc., as well as the battery
charger.
Battery replacement
The new battery must have the same specifica
tions and dimensions as the original equipment
battery.
Intelligent energy management in your vehicle is
responsible for distributing the electrical energy
throughout your vehicle
~ page 192. The intelli
gent energy management system will keep the
engine battery charged better then vehicles with
out this system. To mak e sure the additional
electrical energy is available once again after you
have changed the battery, we recommend that
you install batteries of the same type and manu facture only (the same as those installed at the
time your vehicle was delivered) . Specifications
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are listed on the battery housing. Your author
ized dealer must cod e the battery in the energy
management system to enable you to use the en
ergy management functions correctly after re
placing the battery.
If it is not possible to use a battery of this type,
the new battery must have the same capacity,
voltage (12 volts), amperage, construction and plug sealing.
When installing the battery, make sure the igni
tion and all electrical consumers are turned off.
([) Note
- Make sure the ventilation hose on the side
of the battery is connected, otherwise
fumes or battery acid can leak out.
- Vehicles with the Start-Stop-System* are
equipped with a special cycle-proof AGM
battery. Installing a different type of bat
tery can cause problems in the vehicle elec
trical system. When replacing the vehicle battery, always install one with the same
specifications as the original battery.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the problem of proper disposal of
a battery, we recommend your authorized
Audi dealer change the battery for you. Bat
teries contain sulfuric acid and lead and must
always be disposed of properly in compliance
with all environmental regulations. Disposing
of vehicle batteries improperly is
very danger
ous to the environment.
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
(D Note
Vehicles with an automatic transmission
cannot be started by pushing or towing.
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary, the engine 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 dead battery can freeze at temperatures
around 32 °F (0 °C) . If the vehicle battery is
frozen, you must thaw it before connecting
the jump start cables.
If you do not, this in-
266
creases the risk of an explosion and chemi
cal burns. After jump starting the vehicle,
drive to an authorized Audi dealer or author
ized Audi Service Facility immediately to
have the vehicle battery checked.
- 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
r=:> poge 217.
([) 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.