Audi A5 engine question ?

This is not uncommon with several German makes and there are a lot of things to consider. The caravan weight in relation to the car, is the car still under warranty. These are just two things to take into consideration when deciding to have the mod or not.

If the car is still under warranty then I think Audi will insist on the mod, you need to speak to them and get something in writing.

A lot depend on how far you will be towing and in what country as going abroad will have higher temp. and thus could overheat the gearbox especially in mountain areas etc. Has the vehicle not got transmission temp gauges in the DiD. I can view all temps of the engine oil/water/trans etc. this would help so you can cool everything down with a long lunch break.

You're lucky to have any temp gauges at all these days.

The car is not under a manufacturers warranty but is under a 12 months warranty from the garage I bought it from, I believe there is not a transmission temp gauge but I've not had a good look through it as only had the car a week, this year we plan on staying local as we have a couple of flying holidays booked but next year we will more than likely have a long trip in the van such as Italy or Spain. The best price I've been quoted is £740 so this is why I want to make sure if it really is necessary. By the way our van is approx.73% weight in relation to the car .

Well there not really gauges as such but have to change centre display to view these but can be very handy if stuck in traffic ti give you some idea of temps. worth having when towing.

I do have an engine temp 'gauge' but like you have to scroll through various other functions to get there. Just engine temp though. SWMBO's Citroen just has a red or blue temp light.

Both the MH(Pug) and OH's i20 have gauges as did, from memory, my old Kuga. Are they really that rare?

I would check the terms of the warranty if you have this in writing to see what if anything it says about modifications before fitting a tow bar. If there is a problem get written conformation if you can from the firm giving the warranty that they will accept the changes.

A bit late now but, before buying it may be worthwhile checking out what is needed to fit a tow bar.

In a way I did check out beforehand about fitting of a tow bar as I phoned around several local firms to get prices and such and even had one person send me a photo of a detachable he fitted to an A5 and it looked good and the prices were not a great deal more than what my Passatt cost 3 yrs before but it was only by going on the Halfords website it threw up a message saying "changes to the cooling system may necessary" so then I dug deeper and found out that things do need changing.

As with the warranty it was a free one for 12 months that the garage threw in so yes I do need to look through it.

I tow with an A6 3.0 tdi Quattro with an aftermarket Westfalia tow bar fitted at 45000 miles. Coding is necessary to integrate the towing functions into the vehicle. No alterations to the supplied engine or transmission cooling systems have been made and the car mileage is now 91000 miles. For the last 3 years we have towed our 1500kg caravan to Croatia, sometimes in very hot conditions (35 deg C +) and have never seen the water temperature rise above its normal 90 deg C.

I would stress though if your A5 has an automatic gearbox that you check the oil and filters in it have been changed at the required service intervals. For my car it is every 38000 miles. 

I've looked on Audi forums for fitting A5 towbar, but cannot find any references to cooling systems.

John.