2018 AUDI Q5 towing

Table of contents
About this Owner's Manual. . . . . .
6
Cockpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Cockpit overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Controls at a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Instrument cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 0
M ultif unction steering wheel pl us . . . . . . 12
Mu ltifunction steering wheel . . . . . . . . . . 15
Ve hicle functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
H ead-up display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Indicato r lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Starting and driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Opening and closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Cent ral lock ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Luggage com part ment lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
C hil d safety lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
40
Powe r windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 0
Panorama g lass roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Garage door opener (Homelink) . . . . . . . . 43
Lights and Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Exterio r lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Interior lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
V1s1on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
W indshield wipers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
Dig ita l compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Seats and storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Rea r seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
57
H ead restra ints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
M emory fu nction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
P ower so urces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
L uggage compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Roof rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Warm and cold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Climate control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3 zone del uxe automatic climate control .
70
Steering whee l heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Driving .... .. .. ............. .... .. . 73
Gene ral information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Steer ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5
Starting and stopping the engi ne . . . . . . . 76
2
Start/Stop system .... ... .. ..... ... . .
E lectromechanical parking brake .. ... . .
Start ing to drive . ..... ... .. ..... ... . .
0ffroad driving . .. .. .. ............. . .
Tilt angle d isplay . .. .. ............. . .
Automat ic transmission
Trailer towing ... .. ............. . .
Driving with a tra iler .. ... .. ..... ... . .
Driver assistance .. ............. . .
Assistance systems ............. .
Speed warning system ............... .
78
80
82
82 84
84
92
92
95
95
95
Cru ise cont rol system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Came ra-based t raff ic sign recogn it io n . . . 97
Lap time r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
P red ictive eff ic iency assis t . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Audi adaptive cruise contro l . . . . . . . . . . .
102
Audi pre sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Audi active lane assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Audi s ide ass ist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Audi drive select . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Parking aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Genera l information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Rear parking system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Parking system plus ... ............... 131
Rearv iew camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Per iphera l came ras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Adjus ting the pa rking aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Er ror messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
T raile r hitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Intelligent Technology . . . . . . . . . . 140
El ectron ic Stab iliza tion Contro l (ESC) . . . . 140
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
E lectromechanical steering, Dynamic
steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
144
A ll-wheel drive (quattro) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Notice about data recorded by the Event
Data Recorder and veh icle co ntrol
modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
145
Infotainment system . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Multi Media Interface............ 147
Traffic safety info rmat ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 7
Intro duction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14 7

Table of contents
Supported media and fi le forma ts 2
4 0
T roubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Audi smartphone interface . . . . . . 243
Setup ... ...... ... .. ..... ... .. .. ... 243
Op erating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Troubleshoot ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
System settings ... ..... ... .. .. ... 24 5
Sett ing the date and time . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
MMI sett ings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Con nection manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
System update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Sound setti ngs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Volume sett ings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
R estart ing the M MI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Softw are license i nfo rm atio n 250
Safety first . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 2
Driving safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 52
B asics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Correct passenger seating positions . . . . . 253
Peda l area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Storing cargo correctly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Report ing Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 1
Gene ral information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
W hy use safety belts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Belt tensioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Important information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
F ront a irbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
M on itor ing t he Advanced Airbag System . 28 1
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Side curtain air bags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Child safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 1
I mpo rtant inform ation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 1
Ch ild safety sea ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Securing c hild safety seats . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
L A TCH system (lower anchorages and
tethers for chi ldren) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Addit ional information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
4
Maintenance and Care . . . . . . . . . . . 3 10
Checking and Filling . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Fuel... ... .. .. .... .. ... .. ..... ... .. 310
Refueling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Emissions control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
On Board D iagnost ic System (OBD) . . . . . 313
E ngine compartment .. ............... 314
Engine o il .... ... .. .. ............... 317
Cooli ng sys tem. .. .. .. ............. .. 319
B rake fl uid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 1
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 21
Windshie ld washer system . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 23
Service interva l display 324
Wheels
.. .. .. .... .. ... .. ..... ... .. 3 25
Whee ls and Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Tire p ressure mo nitoring system 342
Care and cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 44
Genera l information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Car washes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Cleaning and care i nfo rmation . . . . . . . . . 345
Plac ing your vehicle out of serv ice . . . . . . 349
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Emergency assistance . . . . . . . . . . . 350
General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Eq uipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
T ire mobility ki t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Repla cing a whee l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Co llapsibl e sp are t ire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Fuses and bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 58
F u ses ..... .. .. .. .. .. ............. .. 358
B ul bs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 62
Emergency situations . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 63
Gener al . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Start ing by p ushi ng o r tow ing . . . . . . . . . . 3 63
Starting with jumper cab les . . . . . . . . . . . 363
U sing the jump start cable . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Towing with a tow truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Raising the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Accessories and Technical Data . 369
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Vehicle specificat ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Notes about technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Opening and clo sin g
~ WARNING
Read and following all WARNINGS c:> .&. in De ­
scription on page 30.
Anti-theft alarm system
Applies to: vehicles w ith anti-t heft alarm system
If the anti -theft alarm system detects a vehicle
break-in, audio and v isual warning signals are
triggered. The anti-theft alarm system is switch­
ed on or off when locking/unlocking your vehicle.
If the alarm is tr iggered, it w ill shut off automat ­
ically after a ce rta in amount of time .
Sw itching the alarm off manually
• To switch the alarm off, press the rrl button on
the remote control key or switch the ignition
on.
Depending on the vehicle equipment, the anti ­
theft alarm system may have the following fea­
tures:
Break -in security feature
The alarm w ill sound if the re is a break- in at the
doors, hood, and/or luggage compartment lid.
Interior /towing protection monitoring
button*
The alarm wi ll be triggered if there are move­
ments detected in the vehicle interior or if there
is a change in the veh icle ang le .
If you leave persons/an imals in the vehicle o r
have the vehicle t ransported, sw itch off the inte ­
rior/towing protection monitoring alarm to pre ­
vent the alarm from being triggered:
• Press the ffi button on the remote cont ro l key a
seco nd time
within 2 seconds. Or
• Applies to vehicles with convenience key: touch
the sensor on the door handle a second t ime
with in 2 se conds . Or
• Turn the mechanical key in the door lock to the
close pos it ion a second time
w ithin 2 second s.
• If you lock the veh icle now, then the interior/
towing protect ion monitor will stay off until
the next time the vehicle is u nlocked.
36
@ Tips
The interior/towing protection monitoring *
on ly functions correctly when the windows
and the roof* are closed.
Luggage compartment
lid
Opening/closing the luggage compartment
lid
F ig . 26 D river 's doo r: ope ning th e luggage compartmen t
l id
Opening the luggage compartment lid
• Press and hold the c::J button on the remote
control key for at least one second . The luggage
compa rtment l id u nlocks and opens slightly . Or
• Press the hand le in the luggage compartment
lid . Or
• Move the se lector lever to the "P" posit io n and
pull the
c::J button* in the dr iver's door .
Closing the luggage compartment lid
• Use the inside grip to pull the luggage com­
pa rtment lid down and allow it to close using a
gentle push
¢ .&, .
&_ WARNING
-After closing the luggage compartment lid,
make sure that it is latched . Otherw ise, the
luggage compartment lid cou ld open sud­
denly when driv ing, which increases the risk
of an accident.
- Never drive with the luggage compartment
lid ajar or open, because poisono us gases
can enter the vehicle interior and create the
risk of asphyx iat ion.
..,_

Drivin g
from rolling in t he "N " selector lever position, so
you need to set the pa rking
brake<®> ¢ page 80.
You must use the parking lock emergency release
before towing the
vehicle ¢ page 90.
R-Reverse
The reverse gear is engaged in this pos ition . Only
select reverse gear when the veh icle is stationary
and the eng ine is running at idle
speed ¢.& . To
engage the "R" se lecto r lever posit ion, p ress the
brake pedal , press the lock ing button
CD on the
selector lever, and select the "R " position
¢ fig . 90.
A confirmation tone w ill sound when the reve rse
gear is engaged .
N
· N eutral (idle )
The transm ission is in idle in this pos ition . To en­
gage the "N" selector lever position, press the loc king button
CD on the se lector lever and sh ift
into t he "N " posit io n
¢ fig. 90.
If you sw itch the engine off when the "N" selector
lever position is se lected, the transmission re­
mains in "N " for app rox imately 30 minutes and
t hen "P " is engaged.
You cannot select the "N " pos ition when the ign i­
tion is sw itched off. When d riving through an au­
tomatic ca r wash, first select the "N " posi tion and
t hen t urn the engine off.
For safety reasons, the vehicle cannot be locked
when the transm ission is in the "N" pos ition .
DIS· Dr iving forward
When the transmission is in the "D/S" pos it ion, it
can be operated e ither in the normal "D " mode or
in the "S" sport mode . Move the selector lever
back to engage the "S" spo rt mode . You can o nly
select the "S" se lector lever position when the "D"
or " E" pos it io n is selected. To sele ct the "D" or " E"
position again w hen "S " is engaged, move these­
lecto r leve r
back ¢.& . To shi ft from "N" to "D"
when traveling at speeds below 1 mph (2 km/h), pr ess th e brak e pedal and s hift into the "D" posi­
tion ¢_& .
In t he normal mode "D" , the transmission a uto ­
matica lly selects the suitab le gear ratio . It de -
86
pends on engine load , vehicle speed and driving
sty le.
Se lect t he sport mod e "S " for sporty dr iv ing. The
vehicle makes f ull use of the eng ine's power.
S hi ft ing may become noticeable when accelerat ­
ing .
The "S" se lector lever posi tion engages automati­
c all y w hen you select the dynam ic* mode in drive
select.
A WARNING
Read and fo llow all WARNINGS .
- The vehi cle can roll even i f the ig nit ion is
switched off .
- P owe r is s till tra nsmi tted to t he wheels
when t he engine is running at idle . To pre ­
vent the vehicle from "creeping", yo u must
keep your foot on the b rake in a ll selector
lever positions (except "P " and "N") when
the engine is ru nning.
- Before open ing the hood, select the "P " se­
lector lever pos it ion and set the parking
brake. This reduces the risk of an acc ident .
Always read and follow the app licab le warn­
ings ¢ page 314, Working in the engine
compartment.
(D Tips
If you accide nta lly select "N" while dr iv ing,
take your foot off the accelerator pedal and
wait fo r the e ng ine to slow down to idle be­
fo re selecti ng "D " or "S" .
Driving tips
Starting the engine
.,. The "P" or "N " pos it io n m ust be selected.
St arting from a stop
.,. Press and hold the brake peda l.
.,. Start the engine ¢ page 76.
.,. Press the locking button CD on the selector lev­
er a nd se lect the "D", "E", "S " or "R " pos it io n
¢ page 85.
.,. Wa it a mome nt until the t ransmiss ion sh ifts.
You will notice a slig ht movement when the
gear engages .

u co ..... N r--­N ..... 0 <( 0 00
~ Release the brake pedal and press the acce lera-
tor pedal
~ ,&. .
Various conven ien ce fun ctions are ava ilable for
s tarting on hills
~page 82.
Stopping temporarily
~ Press the brake pedal to stop the vehicle, for
example at a t raff ic light . Do not press the ac­
ce le rato r peda l w hen do ing th is.
~ T o p revent the vehicle from rolling when yo u
sta rt d riving, se t the pa rk ing brake when stop ­
ping on steep
hi lls¢ ,&..
~ The parking bra ke wi ll re lease automatically
and yo ur vehicle will begin to move when the
doors a re closed, the driver's safety belt is fas­
tened, and you accelerate as usual.
Stopping /parking
If the se lector lever is not in the "P" position
when yo u ope n the driver's door, the ve hicle
could rol l.
~ Press and hold the b rake pedal ¢,&. .
~ Set the parking brake.
~ To se lect the "P" selector leve r position, press
the "P" button
@ on the selector lever
¢page 85, fig. 90.
Under certain conditions, such as driving in the
mo unta ins or when towing a trailer, it may be
he lpful to switch to manual mode temporarily
and sh ift
manually to adapt to the driving condi­
tions
¢ page 88.
On hills, set the parking brake first and then s hift
into the "P" position
¢ page 80. This prevents too
much stress from being placed on the locking
mechanism .
A WARNING
- The veh icle can roll even when the engine is
switched off .
- Unintended veh icle movement can lead to
serious injur ies .
- To reduce the risk of an accident, do not
press the acce lera to r pedal when changing
the se lector lever posi tion while the vehi cle
is sta tionary an d the engine is running.
Driving
- To reduce the r is k of an accident, neve r se­
lect the "R" or "P" pos itions wh ile d riving.
- Do not inadvertently press the accelerator
pedal when the vehicle is stationa ry. Other­
wise the r is k of an accident increases be­
cause the vehicle will start to move immedi­
ately, even if the parking brake is set .
Hill descent control
The hill descent control system assists the driver
when driving down hills.
Hi ll d escent cont rol activates when the t ransmis ­
s ion is in the "D" or "S" pos ition and you press the
brake pedal. The transmission automatica lly se­
lects a gear that is s uitable for the hill. Hill de­
scent cont rol tr ies to maintain the speed ach ­
ieved a t the t ime of b raking, w it hi n physical a nd
tec hnical lim itations . If may still be necessary to
adjus t the speed w it h t he bra ke pedal.
Hill descent con trol switches off once the hill lev ­
els out or you press the accelerator pedal.
When operat ing the cru ise cont rol system*
¢ page 95, hill descent contro l is a lso activated
whe n the speed is set .
A WARNING
-
Hill descent cont rol cannot ove rcome physical
li mitat ions, so it may not be able to ma intain
a consta nt s pee d un der all conditions. A lways
b e ready to app ly the bra kes.
87

Trail er to wing
Trailer towing
Driving with a trailer
General information
Your veh icle is primari ly intended for transport­
ing peop le and luggage. Howeve r, if you dr ive
with a tra iler , follow the techn ica l requirements ,
the operation and driving tips, and the lega l reg ­
ulations.
Dr iving w ith a trailer affects the vehicle 's fuel
consumpt ion, performance and wear. It a lso re­
quires higher concentration from the driver .
A WARNING
Do not transport any people in a trailer due to
the risk of fatal injury .
Technical requirements
Certain requirements must be met when towing
a trailer.
Trailer hitch
Only use a trailer hitch with a removab le ball
h itch mount and ball h itch. The tra ile r hitc h must
be pe rm it t ed for the vehicle, the tra iler and the
permitted tota l weight of the trailer being
pu lled . Above all, it must be secure ly and safe ly
attached to the vehicle trailer.
Never mo unt a t rai ler hitch on the bumper. The
trai ler hitc h must be mounted in a way that does
not impair the function of the bumper. Do not
make any changes to the exhaust system and the
brake system.
Check regu larly if the trai ler hitc h is securely
mounted . A lways follow the instructions given by
the trai ler hitch manufacturer .
Trailer brakes
If t he tra ile r has its own bra ke system, then fol­
low the manufacturer specifica tions. Howeve r,
the brake system on the trai ler must never be
connected to the vehicle brake system.
92
Engine cooling system
D riving w ith a tra ile r means a higher load on t he
engine and the cooling sys tem. The coo ling sys­
tem must be designed for additiona l load and
contain enoug h
coolant ~@ .
A WARNING -
- Never mount a "weight -distributing" or
"load-balancing" trailer coupler as the trail­
er hitch. The ve hicle was not des igned for
these types of tra iler h itches. The tra iler
h itch can malfunction and t he tra ile r can
b reak off from the vehicle.
- If t he tra ile r i s equ ipped w ith elect ronic
brakes, these brakes can not be activated by
a facto ry-installed control system, whi ch in­
creases the r isk of an accide nt.
- To red uce the r is k of injury, always remove
the ball hitch mount if no tra ile r is mo unt ­
ed.
@ Note
L onge r incl ines cannot be dr iven without a
su itab le cooli ng system, especially if the out­
s ide temperatu res a re high. ot herwise, this
i nc reases the risk of eng ine da mage.
Operating instructions
Several things must be noted when towing a
trailer.
Towing capacity
The permitted towing capacity must not be ex ­
ceeded under any
circumstances ~ page 370.
You can dr ive up larger inclines if you are not us­
i ng the maximum towing capacity.
The towing capacities given only apply to e leva ­
tions up to 3,200 ft (1,000 m) above sea level. As
the e levation increases, the engine power de­
creases due to the decreasing air pressures. T his
reduces the hill climb ing ability and towing ca­
pac ity . For every additional 3,200
ft (1,000 m),
t h e maximum permitted tow ing weight must be
r educed by app roximately 10% . T he pe rm itted
tow ing weight is t he comb ined we igh t of the
( loaded) vehicle and the (loaded) trailer .

u co ..... N r--­N ..... 0 <( 0 00
Tongue weight
The maximum permitt ed tongue weight of the
trailer drawbar on the trailer hitch ball head may
not be exceeded .
I f the tongue we ight is too low, th is affects t he
trailer's handling. For driv ing safety, we recom­
mend to always utilize the maximum permitted
tongue weight, but not exceed it. You can reach
it, for example, by distributing the cargo in the
trailer correctly.
You can determine the tongue weight, for exam­
p le, with a bathroom scale or a public weigh sta ­
tion .
The permitted tongue we ight of your veh icle can
be found in the vehicle documentation or in
¢page 370.
Load distribution
Poor cargo load and distribution can negatively
i mpact ve hicle handl ing .
-Store objects preferably in the vehicle luggage
compartment. The vehicle shou ld always carry
the heaviest possible load and the trailer
shou ld have the lightest possible load.
-Distribute the load in the tra iler so that the
heavy objects are as close to the axle as possi­
ble.
-Secure objects from slid ing out of p lace.
-Utilize the maximum permitted tongue weight
if possible .
Tires
Set the tire pressure on your vehicle for a "full
load"; see the t ire pressure
sticker¢ page 335 .
If necessary, also adjust the tire pressure on the
trailer according to the manufacturer's recom­
mendation .
W inter tires should be mounted on the vehicle
and on the trailer during winter temperatures .
Outside mirrors
If you cannot see the traffic behind the trailer
with the standard exterior mirrors, then you must attach addit ional exterior m irrors. Adjust
them so you have a sufficient visibility behind
you .
Trailer towing
Exterior lighting
Follow the legal regu lations rega rding the light ­
ing equipment on your trailer. Contact an author­
ized Audi dea ler or authorized Audi Service Facili­
ty for more information.
Before starting to drive , check all lighting eq uip­
ment on the hitched trailer.
T he headlight range cont rol adjusts automat ica l­
ly to the light range of the headlights .
Safety chains
Make sure the safety chains are correctly applied
when pulling a trailer . The cha ins should hang
enough so that the trailer can drive around
curves . Howeve r, th ey must not touch the
ground.
Air suspension
Applies to: vehicles with air suspension
The air suspens ion must be at the standard vehi­
cle height before you set the tongue weight on
the tra iler and hitch the
trailer ¢@ , ¢page 128,
Raising/lowering the vehicle.
For vehicles with a factory-installed trailer hitch,
the a ir suspension trailer mode w ill automatically
switch on if you connect the trailer cable to the
socket.
For vehicles with a retrofitted trailer hitch, you
must sw itch on the a ir suspension trailer mode
manua lly . Select in the Infotainment system:
IMENU I button> Vehicle> left cont rol button>
Vehicle settings > Air suspension: trailer. Switch
i t off again after towing a tra iler .
You can also sw itch off trailer mode manually
wh ile dr iving, for example, whe n using a bicycle
rack system.
If you have to dr ive through d ifficult road cond i­
tions, you can ra ise the vehicle again after hitch­
i ng the tra iler o r after adjusting the tongue
we ight.
(UJ} Note
Applies to: vehicles with air suspension
-Changes in temperature or load can affect
the height of the vehicle .
93

Trail er to wing
- Set the a ir suspension to the standard vehi ­
cle height, otherwise the applicab le tongue
weight no longer applies to your vehicle.
(D Tips
- Use chocks when parking on incl ines if the
trailer is loaded .
- We recommend also having the vehicle in­
spected between the inspection intervals if
you are towing a trai ler frequent ly .
- Avo id driving with a trailer d uring the vehi ­
cle break-in period .
Driving with a trailer
Driving with a trailer requires extra caution .
Speed
Adhere to the legal speed limits. Follow the legal
regulat ions spec ific to the country.
As the speed increases, the driving stability of
the trailer decreases . Therefore you should not
exceed the maximum legal speed l imit whe n
there a re unfavorabl e road, weathe r and/or wind
conditions. This especially appl ies when dr iv ing
downhill.
You must always reduce you r speed as soon as
you not ice even the s lightest sw inging motion of
the t railer. Neve r try to "straighte n ou t" the t rail­
e r by accelera ting.
The weight distribution is very poor if t he veh icle
is empty and the t railer is loaded . H oweve r if you
m ust dr ive under these c ircumstances, t hen d rive
espec ially slowly.
Brakes
Brake in a t imely manner . Downshift before driv­
i n g downhill so that the engine can assist w ith
b raking
¢ ,&. .
When us ing a tra iler with overrun brakes, first
brake gently then qu ickly . This reduces the risk of
je rk ing w hile brak ing if the tra ile r w heels lock up .
Engine coolant temperature
Pay attention specif ica lly to the coolant tempera­
ture display when there are h igh outside tempe r­
atures, and when dr iv ing o n long inclines
94
¢ page 11. Shift to a higher gear in a timely man­
ner .
A WARNING
Constant braking causes the brakes to over­
heat and substantially reduces braking per­
formance, increases braking distance or caus­
es complete failure of the brake system.
-