towing AUDI S4 SEDAN 2013 User Guide

188 Intelligent technology
200 kilometers) of normal city driving.
You can compensate for this by pressing
the brake pedal more firmly. This also applies later when new pads are instal­
led .
- You should perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake
system only if road conditions permit.
Other road users must not be put at risk -
you may cause an acc ident!
- Before descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift transmission into a lower
gear or lowe r driving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too
long or too often. This could cause the
brakes to get hot and diminish braking
efficiency.
- Do not "ride the brakes" by resting your
foot on the pedal when you do not intend
to brake . This may cause the brakes to
overheat, premature wear and increased
stopping distance.
- Under certain climatic and operating
conditions such as passing through wa­
ter, driving in heavy rain or after washing
the vehicle, the effectiveness of the
brakes can be reduced. In winter, ice can
accumulate on the brake pads, linings,
discs and drums. Carefully apply brakes
for a test. Brakes will dry and ice coat­
ings will be cleaned off after a few care­
ful brake applications.
- Driving for an extended period of time on
salt-covered roads without using your
brakes can also affect braking efficiency.
Clean off accumulated salt coating from
brake discs and pads with a few careful
brake applications.
- If you damage the front spoiler, or if you
install a different spoiler, be sure the air
flow to the front brakes is not obstruct­
ed . Otherwise the brake system could
overheat reducing the effectiveness of
the entire brake system.
- Failure of one brake c ircuit will impair
the braking capability resulting in an in­
creased stopping distance. Avoid driv ing
the vehicle and have it towed to the near- est authorized Audi dealer or
qualified
workshop.
- Never let the vehicle roll to a stop with
the engine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not working, for
example when towing your vehicle, or
because the brake booster has somehow
been damaged, the brake pedal must be
pressed considerably harder to make up
for the lack of booster assistance.
Electro-mechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering.
Power steering adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed .
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defective! Do not drive vehicle!
If this indicator light turns on and stays on
and this message appears, the power steering
may have failed.
Do
not continue driving . See your authorized
Audi dealer or other qualified repair facility
for assistance.
E!"4 Dynamic steering: System fault! You can
continue driving
If the indicator light turns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steering may be more diffi­
cult to move or more sensitive than usual. The
steering wheel may also be at an angle when
driving straight .
Drive slowly to your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop to have the malfunction
corrected .
ls!'fl Dynamic steering: initializing
If this driver message appears and the indica­
tor light is flashing on the instrument panel,
dynamic steering* is being reinitialized. Once
you start the engine after this is finished, the ..,..

196 Trailer towing
Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a trai ler, p lease remember
that the additional load will affect durability,
economy and performance .
Trailer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
For this reason, always fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
Technical requirements
Trailer hitch Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer weight. The hitch must be suita­
ble for your vehicle and trailer and must be
mounted securely on the veh icle's chassis at a
technically sound location. Use only a trailer
hitch with a removable ball mount. Always
check with the trailer hitch manufacturer to
make sure that you are using the correct
hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
The hitch must be installed in such a way that
it does not interfere with the impact-absorb­
ing bumper system . No modifications should
be made to the vehicle exhaust and brake sys­
tems . From time to time, check that all hitch
mounting bolts remain securely fastened.
When you are not towing a trailer, remove the
trailer hitch ball mount. This prevents the
hitch from causing damage should your vehi­
cle be struck from behind
¢ A.
Trailer brakes
If your tra iler is equipped with a braking sys­
tem, check to be sure that it conforms to a ll
regulations . The trailer
hydraulic brake system must not be
direct ly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
~ A.
Safety chains
Always use safety chains between your vehicle
and the trai le r.
Trailer lights
T railer lights must meet all regulations. Be
sure to check w ith your authorized Audi dealer
for correct wiring, sw itches, and relays.
Mirrors
If you are unable to see the traffic behind you
using the regular outside mirrors, then you
must install extended mirrors . It is important
that you
always have clear vis io n to the rear.
,8. WARNING
- If a trailer has electrical brakes please
note that these brakes are not activated
by the factory-fitted control unit -risk of
accident!
- Afte r removing the trailer hitch, do not
store it in your vehicle. In case of sudden
braking, the hitch could fly forward and
injure you or your passengers.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
-
A trailer for your vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 tra iler.
Trailer load distribution Be sure the load in the trailer is held secure ly
in place to prevent it from shifting forward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢ A in Driving instructions on page 197.
Engine cooling system
T owing a trailer makes the engine work hard ­
er. It is important that the cooling system's
performance is up to the additional load.
Make sure that the cooling system has enough
fluid . .,..

Tire pressure
When towing a trai le r, inflate the t ires of your
vehicle to the co ld tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver's
side B-pillar (vis ible when the door is open).
Inflate trailer tires to trailer and tire manufac­
turers' specifications.
Light s
The headlight settings should be checked with
the trailer attached before driving off. Check
to make sure both vehicle and trai ler lights
are working properly.
Safety chains
Be su re tra iler sa fety chains are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
hicle. Leave enough slack in the chains to per ­
mit turning corners . When you install safety
chains, make sure they w ill not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains shou ld cross under the trai ler
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separatio n from the hitch .
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
core and consideration.
To obtain the best possible handling o f vehicle
and trai ler, p lease note the following:
.,. Do not tow a loaded trailer whe n your car it­
self is not loaded .
.,. Be especia lly careful when passing other
vehicles .
.,. Observe speed limits .
.,. Do not drive at the maximum permissible
speed .
.,. Always apply brakes ea rly .
.,. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight di stribution
Towing a loaded trai ler with an empty car re­
sults in a highly unstable distribution of
weight . If this cannot be avo ided, drive at very
low speeds only to avoid the risk of losing
steer ing control.
Trailer towing 197
A "balanced" rig is easier to operate and con­
trol. This means that the tow vehicle should be loaded to the extent possible and permissi­
ble, while keep ing the trailer as light as possi­
ble under the c ircumstances. Whenever poss i­
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com ­
partment of the tow vehicle while observing
tongue load requirements and vehicle loading
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more d iff icult it be­
comes for the driver to control the rig . Do not
drive at the maximum permissible speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -pa rticularly
when going downhill.
Reduce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing .
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limits . In some areas, speeds
for vehicles tow ing tra ilers are lower than for
regular vehicles .
Always apply brakes early. When driving downh ill, shift into a lower gear to use the en ­
gine braking effect to slow the vehicle . Use of
the brakes alone can cause them to overheat
and fail.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge ¢ page 10
must be observed carefully . If the need le
moves close to the upper end of the scale, re­
duce speed immediately and/or turn off the
air conditioner.
If the coolant temperature warning light •
in the instrument cluster starts flashing, pull
off the road, stop and let the engine
idle for
about two minutes to prevent heat build -up .
A WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov ­
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident . Never let anyone ride in yo ur car
who is not properly wearing the restraints
prov ided by Audi.
-
•
•

198 Trailer towing
Trailer towing tips
Important to know
Your vehicle hand les different ly when tow ing
a trailer because of the addit ional weight and
different weight distribution . Safety, perform­
ance and economy wi ll greatly depend on how
carefully you load your trailer and operate
your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopp ing and backing up in an area
away from traffic. Keep practicing until you have become completely familiar with the way
your veh icle-trailer combination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice.
Backing up with a trai ler generally requires
steering action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you. You will need
more room to stop. To compensate for the
trailer, you will need a larger than normal
turning radius .
When passing, remember that you cannot ac­
celerate as fast as you normally would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass . After passing, allow
plenty of room for your tra iler before chang­
in g lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a tra iler dur ing the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load
q page 2 72.
Parking on a slope
Do not park on a slope with a trailer . If it can­
not be avoided, do so only after doing the fol­ lowing :
When parking:
.. App ly the foot brake.
.. Have someone place chocks under both the
vehicle and the trailer wheels .
.,. With chocks in place, slowly release the
brakes until the wheel chocks absorb the
load.
.. Tur n the wheels towards the curb.
.. App ly the parking b rake.
.. Place an automatic transmission* in P, re­
spectively a manual transmission in first or reverse gear.
When restarting after parking:
.. App ly the foot brake .
.. Start the engine.
.. Move the se lector lever to D/S, respectively
a manual transmission in first gear.
.. Release the parking brake and slow ly pu ll
out and away from the wheel chocks.
.. Stop and have someone retr ieve the wheel
chocks .
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the auto­
matic transmission* to P before applying
the parking brake and before blocking the
whee ls, you may have to use more force
lat er to move the lever out of the P posi­
tion.

-Always make sure that the total load be­
ing transported - including the weight of
a trailer hitch and the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer -does not make the vehi­
cle heav ier than the vehicle's Gross Vehi­
cle Weight Rating.
Determining correct load limit
Use the example below to cal­
culate the total weight of the
passengers and luggage or oth­
er things that you plan to trans­
port so that you can make sure
that your vehicle will not be
overloaded.
Steps for Determining Correct Load Limit
1. Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OC­
CUPANTS AND CARGO
SHOULD NEVER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX LBS"on your vehi­
cle's placard (tire inflation pressure label)
¢ page 234,
fig. 174.
2. Determine the combined
weight of the driver and pas­ sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined
weight of the driver and pas­ sengers from
"XXX" kilo­
grams or
"XXX" pounds
Tires and wheels 239
shown on the sticker
¢ page 234, fig. 174.
4. The resulting figure equals
the available amount of car­
go and luggage load capaci­
ty. For example, if the
"XXX"
amount equals 1400 lbs.
and there will be five
150
lbs. passengers in your vehi­
cle, the amount of available
cargo and luggage load ca­
pacity is
650 lbs. (1400-7 50
(5
X 150) = 650 lbs.)
5. Determine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo being loaded on the vehicle.
That weight may not safely
exceed the available cargo
and luggage load capacity
calculated in Step
4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing
a trailer, load from your trail­
er will be transferred to your
vehicle. Consult this manual
to determine how this re­ duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle.
.,. Check the tire sidewall
(¢ page 241, fig. 178) to de­
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire.
•
•
'

What do I do now?
Vehicle tool kit
The tools ore stored underneath the floor
panel in the luggage comportment.
F ig . 180 Luggage compartment: tool kit
When you need access to the veh icle tool kit
or jack*, you will need to take o ut the spare
tire* and cover¢
page 251.
The vehicle tool kit includes:
- Hook for removing wheel covers*
- Alignment pin for changing the whee l
- Screwdriver w ith reversible blade
- T ool for chang ing light bulbs
- Reversible bit (reve rsible Torx bit for chang-
ing light b ulbs)
- Rod for jack
- Jack*
- Lug wrench
- Towing eye
Some o f the ve hicle items listed above are
p rov ided o n certain models on ly or are opt ion­
a l extras.
Before returning the ja ck* to its place, ret ra ct
the jack a rm fully.
& WARNING
- Never use t he screw driver hex head to
tighten whee l bolts, since the bolts can­
not attain the necessary tightening tor ­
que if yo u use the hex head, potentially
caus ing an accident.
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on­
ly for your ve hicle model. Unde r no cir­
c u mstances should it be used to
lift
What do I d o now ? 251
heavy ve hicles o r other loads; yo u risk in­
juring yo urself.
- Never start the engi ne when the vehicle
is raised, which could cause an acc ident.
- Support the vehicle secu re ly wit h app ro­
priate stands if wor k is to be performed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there
is a pote ntia l risk for injury.
Space-saving spare tire
(compact spare tire)
App lies to vehicles: wi th space -saving spare tir e
The spore tire/wheel is located in the luggage
comportment under the cargo floor cover. It
is in tended for shor t-term use only.
Fig. 181 Spare tire
Removing the spare ti re
.. Lift
th e ca rgo floo r by the p lastic handle
r:!) fig. 1 Bl.
.. Hook the handle into the luggage compart­
ment weather strip.
.. Turn t he large screw ¢
fig. 181 counter­
clockw ise.
.. Take out the spa re tire .
.. Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack*,
an d the replaced tir e in the luggage com­
par tme nt
¢page 132.
.. Unhook the cargo floor befo re closing the
rear lid .
Using the spare tire (compact spare tire)
The compact spa re ti re is only intended for
eme rgencies unt il yo u ca n reac h a repa ir sh op.
Rep lace i t as quickly as possible with a stan d­
ard whee l and tire.
T he re a re some restr ictions o n the use of the
compact sp are tire. The compa ct spare tire
IJ>

252 What do I do now?
has been designed specifically fo r you r type of
vehicle . It must not be swapped with a com­
pact spare t ire from another type of veh icle.
Snow cha ins
F or technical rea son s, the use of snow chains
on the compact spare tire is
not p ermitt ed .
If you do have to dr ive with snow cha ins and a
front tire fails, mount the spare whee l w ith
tire instead of a rear t ire. Install the snow
cha ins on the rear tire and use it to rep lace
the defective front tire .
A WARNING
-Never use the spare tire if it is damaged
or if it is worn down to the tread wear in­
dicators.
- If the spare tire is more than 6 years o ld,
use it only in an emergency and w ith ex­
treme caution and careful driving.
- The spare tire is intended only for tem­
porary and short-term use. It should be
replaced as soon as possib le w ith the
normal wheel and tire.
- After mounting the compact spare tire,
the tire pressure must be checked as
soon as poss ible. The tire pressure of the
compact spa re tire must be 4.2 bar; oth­
erw ise, you risk hav ing an accident.
- Do not drive faster than SO mph (80 km/
h). You risk having an acc id ent.
-Avoid full-throttle acce le rat ion, heavy
braking, and fast corner ing . You risk hav­
ing an acc ident.
- Never drive us ing more than one spare
wheel and tire. You risk having an acci­
dent .
- Normal summer or winte r tires must not
be mounted on the compact spare whee l
rim.
- For technical reasons, the use of ti re
c hains on the spare tire is not permitted.
If it is necessa ry to dr ive wi th tire ch ains,
the spare whee l must be mounted on the
front axle in the event o f a f lat in a rear
t ir e. The newly ava ilable front wheel
must then be installed in place of the rear whee
l with the flat tire. Installing
the t ire cha in before mounting the whee l
and tire is recommended.
- Loose items in the passenger compart­
ment can cause serious personal injury
during hard brak ing or in an accident.
Never store the inflatable spare tire or
jack and tools in the passenge r compart­
ment.
Changing a wheel
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang ­
ing a wheel .
.,. After you experience a t ire failure, p ull the
car we ll away from moving traffic and try to
reach
level ground before you stop ¢ A .
.,. All passengers should lea ve the car and
move to a safe location (for instance, behind
the guardrail)¢
A.
.,. Engage the park ing brake to prevent your
ve hicle from rolling unintentionally ¢
A.
.,. Shift into 1st ge ar on veh icles with manual
transmiss ion, or move th e
selector lever to
the P positi on
on vehicles w it h automatic
transmiss io n.
.,. If you are towing a trai ler : u nhitch the trail­
er from your vehicle .
.,. Take the
jack ¢ page 251 and the spare tire
¢ page 251 out of the luggage compart­
ment.
A WARNING
You or your passengers could be injured
while changi ng a wheel if you do not fo l-
l ow these safety precaut ions:
- If you have a flat tire, move a safe d is­
tance off the road. Turn off the engine,
tur n the eme rgency flashers on and use
o ther warni ng device s to a le rt othe r mo­
torists.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a safe
place aw ay from the vehicle a nd well
-
away from the road and traffic . ~

262 Emergency situations
Emergency situations
General
This chapter is intended for trained emer­
gency crews and working personnel who
have the necessary tools and equipment to perform these operations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
Q;) Note
Vehicles with an automatic transmission
cannot be started by pushing or towing.
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary , the engine can be started by
connecting it to the battery of another vehi­
cle.
If the engine should fail to start because of a
discharged or weak battery, the battery can be
connected to the battery of
another vehicle,
using a
pair of jumper cables to start the en­
gine .
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently
large cross section to carry the starter current
safely. Refer to the manufacturer's specifica­
ti ons.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated termi­
nal 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
injury. Follow the instructions below for
safe handling of your vehicle's battery.
- Always shield your eyes and avoid lean­
ing over the battery whenever possible. -
A discharged battery can freeze at tem­
peratures just below 32 °F (0 °C). Before
connecting a jumper cable, you must
thaw the frozen battery completely, oth­
erwise 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 gas­
es . Keep sparks, flame and lighted ciga­
rettes 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 bat­
tery . Use of batteries of different voltage
or substantially different "Ah" rating
may cause an explosion and personal in­
jury.
- Never charge a frozen battery. Gas trap­
ped in the ice may cause an explosion.
- Never charge or use a battery that has
been frozen. The battery case may have
be weakened.
- Use of batteries of different voltage or
substantially different capacity (Ah) rat­
ing may cause an explosion and injury.
The capacity (Ah) of the booster battery
should not be lower than that of the dis­
charged battery.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS¢
page 208, Engine com­
partment.
@ Note
- Applying a higher voltage booster bat­
tery will cause expensive damage to sen­
sitive electronic components, such as
control units, relays, radio, etc.
- There must be no electrical contact be­
tween the vehicles as otherwise current
could already start to flow as soon as the
positive(+) terminals are connected. ..,.

264 Emergency sit uat ions
-Jumper cables mus t be long enough so
that the vehicles do not touch.
- W hen connecting jumper ca bles, make
sure that they cannot get caught in any moving parts in the eng ine compart­
ment.
- Do not bend over the batteries -danger
of chemical burns!
- The battery ce ll locking screws must be
tightened securely .
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
9 page 208, Engine com­
partment.
(D Note
Improper hook-up of jumper cables can r u­
in the generator.
- Always connect POSITIVE( +) to POSI­
TIVE(+), and NEGATIVE( -) to NEGATIVE
( - ) ground post of the battery manager
control unit.
- Check that a ll screw plugs on the battery
cells are sc rewed in firmly. If not, tighten
plugs prior to connecting clamp on nega­
tive battery term inal.
- Please note that the procedure for con­
nect ing a jumper cable as described
above applies spec ifically to the case of
your vehicle being jump started . When
you are giv ing a jump start to a nothe r ve­
hicle, do
not connect the negat ive (-) ca­
ble to the negat ive (-) term inal on the
discharged battery @
9 fig. 194. In­
stead, securely connect the negative(- )
cab le to e ither a solid metal component
that is firmly bolted to the engine bloc k
or to the engine block itse lf. If the bat­
tery that is being charged does not vent
to the outside, escaping batte ry gas
could ignite and explode!
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow­
ing.
T he following information is to be used by
commercial tow truck operators who know
how to operate their equipment safely.
- Ne ver tow your Audi , towing will cau se
damage to the engine and transmi ssion .
- Ne ver wrap th e safet y chains or winch ca­
ble s around the brak e lines.
- To prevent unne cessar y damage, your Audi
must be tr an sp o rted with a flat bed tru ck.
- To load th e vehi cle on to the fl at bed, use
the towing l oop found in the ve hicle to ols
and atta ch to th e front or rea r anchorage
c:> page 265 and c:> page 265 .
& WARNING
= -
A vehicle being towed is not safe for pas­
sengers. Never allow anyone to ride in a
vehicle being towed, for any reason.

Front towing loop
Do not install the front towing loop until it is
needed.
ou
Fig . 195 Fro nt bumper : removing t he cover cap
ou
Fi g. 196 Front bumper: screw ing in t he tow ing loop
The tow ing loop fits into the th readed hole lo­
cated on the r igh t side of the fron t bumper
and covered by a small cover when not in use .
"' Remove the towing loop from the veh icle
toolkit
c:::> page 251 .
"' Press the cover in by applying short st rong
pressure to the bottom part to re lease it
from the bumper
c:::> fig. 195 .
"' Screw the towing loop tight ly into the
threaded hole as far as it will go
c:::> fig. 196 .
When it is no longer needed, unscrew the
towing loop and put it back into the vehicle
too lkit. Be sure to have the tow ing loop stored
in the vehicle at all times.
A WARNING
If the towing loop is not screwed in as far
as it w ill go, the thread can pull out when
the vehicle is towed - potential risk of an
acc ident.
Emergenc y situ ation s 265
Rear towing loop
Do not install the rear towing loop until it is
needed .
Fig . 1 97 Rea r bumper: Screw ing in tow ing loop
On the right s ide of the rear bumper there is a
th readed hole for the towing loop . The
threaded hole is protected by a cover .
"' Remove the tow ing loop from the vehicle
t oo lkit
c:::> page 251.
"' Press the cover in by app lying short strong
pressure to the bottom part to release it
from the bumper
c:::> fig. 197.
"' Screw the tow ing loop tightly into the
threaded hole as far as it w ill go.
Unscrew the towing loop again after use and
insta ll the cover in the bumper. Install the
cover in the bumper. Return the towing loop
to the toolkit. Be sure to have the towing loop
stored in the vehicle at all times .
A WARNING
If the towing loop is not screwed in as far
as it will go, the thread can pull out when
the veh icle is towed -potent ia l risk o f an
accident.