Towing a trailer 199
Controls Safety Driving tips General maintenance Self-help Technical data
additional mirrors fitted. Both exterior mirrors should be mounted
on hinged extension brackets. Adjust the mirrors to give sufficient
vision to the rear.
Power supply
When you remove the ignition key the power supply to the trailer is
interrupted.
Removable ball joint coupling
Vehicles with a factory-fitted towing bracket are equipped with a
removable ball joint coupling. It is carried under the floor panel on
the left-hand side of the luggage compartment.
Note
We recommend having the car serviced between the normal inspec-
tion intervals if it used frequently for towing a trailer.
Applies to vehicles: with towing bracket
Trailer stabilisation system
Trailer stabilisation helps to reduce the risk of the vehicle
skidding when towing a trailer.
When is the trailer stabilisation system activated?
Trailer stabilisation is active when the following requirements are
met:
• The ESP must NOT be switched off ⇒ page 186,
• The trailer connector must be properly secured in the vehicle
socket.
• Vehicle speed must be higher than approx. 60 km/h.
How trailer stabilisation works:
In many cases, the driver can stabilise a swaying trailer by manually
braking the vehicle.
However, if the ESP detects that the trailer is swaying and this is
affecting the towing vehicle, it will automatically brake the vehicle
to stabilise the trailer by slowing it down. The warning lamp will
light up in the instrument cluster. If possible, do not turn the
steering wheel at this stage.
In order to warn traffic behind you, the brake lights will come on
during this automatic braking operation.
A trailer weighing less than 70% of the kerb weight of the towing
vehicle may sway quite considerably without the trailer stabilisation
system intervening. This can happen when the swaying movements
of the light-weight trailer are not or hardly passed on to the towing
vehicle and are therefore not detected by the ESP.
If the system for activating the trailer brake lights is defective, this
will be indicated in the instrument cluster display ⇒ page 36, “Bulb
monitor ”.
Requirements for correct functioning of the trailer
stabilisation system
If these conditions are not met in full, the trailer stabilisation system
will only intervene to a limited extent or not at all ⇒ .
• The electrical connection between the towing vehicle and the
trailer must be functioning correctly, without any defects.
• The load on the trailer must be properly secured.
• The tyre pressures on both the vehicle and the trailer must be
adapted to the load that is being carried.
• Where possible, operate the trailer with the maximum permitted
draw bar weight.
• The trailer overrun brake must be set correctly. This is important
to ensure that the trailer can be braked correctly, to avoid the vehicle
and trailer “jack-knifing” and to prevent excess braking of the trailer.
• In low outside temperatures, both the towing vehicle and the
trailer should be fitted with winter tyres.
document_0900452a81793dcc.book Seite 199 Mittwoch, 21. März 2007 5:42 17
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