Audi A4 2013 Owner's Manual page 202

200 Trailer towing
Tire pressure
When towing a trai le r, inflate the t ires of your
vehicle to the cold tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver 's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open).
Inflate trailer tires to trailer and tire manufac -
turers' specifications.
Lights
The headlight settings should be checked with
the trailer attached before dr iving off. Check
to make sure both vehicle and tra iler lights
are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure trailer safety cha ins are properly con-
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve-
hicle. Leave eno ug h slack in the chains to per -
mit turning corners. When you install safety
cha ins, 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
separation from the hitch.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration.
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle
and trai ler, please 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 early .
.,. Monitor the temperature gauge.
Weight distribution
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
steering control.
A "ba lanced'' 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 circumstances. Whenever poss i-
ble, transfer some cargo to the luggage com -
partment of the tow veh icle while obse rving
tongue load requ irements and vehicle load ing
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more d iff icu lt 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 rt icularly
whe n 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 trailers are lower than for
regular veh icles .
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
c>
page 10
must be observed carefully . If the needle
moves close to the upper end of the scale, re-
duce speed imm ediately and/or turn off the
air conditioner.
If the coolant temperature warning light •
in t he instrument cluster starts flashing, pull
off the road, stop and let the engine idle for
abo ut two minutes to prevent heat build-up .
_&
WARNING
Anyone not properly restrained in a mov-
ing vehicle is at a much greater risk in an
accident. Never let anyone ride in your car
who is not properly wea ring the restraints
provided by Audi.
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